Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo spoke at an event on the growth dividend of reforms in Latin America and the Caribbean, held during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
In a conversation with World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean Susana Cordeiro Guerra, Caputo said the government had cut public spending by 30% in real terms and achieved fiscal balance in its first month in office.
The government has presented its 2027 budget bill, Caputo said. Argentina aims to record a financial surplus for four consecutive years for the first time in its history. He described macroeconomic stability as a necessary condition for sustained growth.
The investment incentive regime RIGI has approved projects worth $50 billion, with another $160 billion in investments under consideration, the minister said. He also said the Central Bank was buying more than $100 million a day and had purchased about $16 billion so far this year.
Caputo said Argentina was well placed to supply the world with energy and critical minerals and contribute to food security. He added that social benefits had more than doubled in real terms even as public spending fell by 30%.
At the start of the government’s term, lending to the private sector amounted to just 3% of GDP and was practically nonexistent, Caputo said. It has since increased by 170% in two and a half years, with considerable room for further growth.
The minister said Argentina would continue to remove regulations, cut taxes and financing costs, and improve infrastructure through private investment.
