Argentina: on the cusp of change

Argentines vote in the second round of presidential elections on 22 November, after the trailing opposition candidate, Mauricio Macri, surprised pollsters and secured sufficient votes to trigger a run-off. Regardless of the electoral outcome, the successor will face a complex economic environment full of distortions, brought about by more than a decade of kirchernismo policies. On the oil & gas front, the two candidates have similar aims to stimulate more investment in the strategic sector but their approaches differ. For foreign companies, larger economic adjustment in the near term will preoccupy current producers and may trigger labour concerns, but improvements anticipated over the medium term are expected to be favourable for the industry.