Bolivia - nationalism

Morales Orders Energy, Telecom Companies Nationalized

Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalized local operations of BP plc and AEI Ltd., as well as a unit of Telecom Italia SpA, as he moves to boost state control of the economy.

The government also said it agreed with Repsol YPF to buy a majority, $6 million stake in a joint oil venture called Andina, and will take full control of Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos Boliviana, a business that stores and ships oil and gas, the state news agency, Agencia Boliviana de Informacion, said.

``Starting today the state has 51 percent of shares in all our energy companies,'' Morales said in a statement posted on the news service's Web site. ``We've said we need partners and not bosses, we truly need investment and we will guarantee the company's rights if they respect our norms.''

Morales, an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, has pledged to take greater control of the Andean country's natural resources to keep energy revenue in the country. The nationalizations decreed today are a continuation of a push begun by Morales in 2006 when he sent troops to occupy oil gas fields after meeting with Chavez and former Cuban President Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba.

The decrees specify that state-run energy company YPF Bolivianos will take a 51 percent stakes in BP-controlled Empresa Petrolera Chaco SA and Transredes SA, which is owned by Cayman Islands-based AEI, according to a statement from the president's press office. AEI spokesman Chuck Dohrenwend declined to comment.

The government has been in negotiations with Telecom Italia's SpA to buy a majority stake in the country's largest phone company, Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones SA, known as Entel, for about a year. Morales said talks with the European company hadn't born fruit, which led to his decision, according to a press release from the presidential press office.