Venezuela Says It Won Arbitration Case Against Brandes Partners
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CARACAS -(Dow Jones)- The Venezuelan government said Wednesday that a case
brought against it by U.S.-based Brandes Investment Partners was dismissed by an
international arbitration court on "jurisdiction" grounds.
Brandes had held an equity stake in Venezuelan telecommunications company
Compania Anonima Telefonos de Venezuela, or CANTV, which was nationalized in
2007. The investment adviser took its case against Venezuela to the World Bank's
International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes in 2008, seeking
compensation.
In a statement on the website of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, or
PDVSA, the government said the case had been thrown out since the ICSID didn't
have jurisdiction to rule on the dispute. The statement said the decision
concludes the proceedings.
A call to Brandes seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
After the government's takeover of CANTV, Venezuela paid Verizon
Communications Inc. (VZ) $572 million for its 28.5% stake in the Venezuelan
company.
Despite the latest decision, Venezuela still has 17 cases pending before the
ICSID as a result of the widespread nationalization campaign undertaken in
recent years by President Hugo Chavez, who has aimed to bring several key
economic sectors under government control.
PDVSA officials have said that they expect to settle cases this year with
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and ConocoPhillips (COP) for assets the government
expropriated nearly four years ago. On Monday, Canadian miner Gold Reserve Inc.
(GRZ) slightly increased its claim against Venezuela to $2.1 billion for two
gold projects seized by the state.
The ICSID is also expected to hear a case brought forth by U.S. company Koch
Industries after the Venezuelan government last year seized a fertilizer plant
called Fertinitro.
-By Kejal Vyas, Dow Jones Newswires; 58-414-249-6821; kejal.vyas@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-03-11 2018ET
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