Caputo touts $210B RIGI pipeline as end to Argentina's FX problems

Speaking at the first RIGI Business Round in Rosario on Thursday, alongside Karina Milei and Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli, Economy Minister Luis Caputo said the large-investment incentive regime ensures Argentina will no longer face exchange-rate problems. He argued the country never truly lacked dollars; rather, past policies punished the sectors that generate them.

Caputo said 48 projects have been submitted under RIGI for about $210B, with 30 already approved, spread across 20 of Argentina's 24 provinces. He projected $7B in RIGI investment this year and $55B in energy and mining exports by 2030, and said the projects already draw on 1,794 local suppliers.

The figures largely repeat what Caputo said on October 17, when he cited $50B in approved investment plus $160B in the pipeline. The gap between the headline number and near-term flows is the key point for markets: dollar supply depends on actual disbursements, not announced commitments.

The message came on the same day the IMF, after reaching a staff-level agreement on the program's third review, urged Argentina to keep accumulating net reserves to bring down country risk, which had climbed above 700 bps. Markets were mixed: sovereign bonds rebounded and country risk fell about 3% to roughly 740 bps, but the Merval dropped for a fourth straight session.

What to watch: the pace of BCRA reserve purchases, actual RIGI disbursements versus announcements, and the IMF board vote on a roughly $900M disbursement expected in early December.