Blogging has been light as the semester kicks off.  But three news stories have highlighted the aftermath of government expropriations of investment.

1.  A few months I provided a link to an article on Sri Lankan government’s decision to expropriate for mostly domestic investors. The scoop (more of a conjecture) from some folks in the political risk industry is that this was the current government punishing investors aligned with the previous government.  But a few foreign brands were collateral damage, including Hilton.  Now there is talk about the government entertaining the idea of compensating some of these investors.

2.  Argentina expropriates a major European oil investment (Spain’s Repsol).  Then they stir the pot by talking about oil exploration in the Falkland Islands.  Now they are in the UK looking for new investors for their expansion plan. You can’t make this stuff up.

3.  Zambian government expropriates South African owned railway.  Then they detain the CEO and General Manager.  I honestly don’t know anything about this dispute, but the detainment definitely raises eyebrows.