The Herald spoke to Azman Rahim, Malaysian Ambassador to Argentina, about Argentina’s RIGI large investment regime, what it means for the YPF-Petronas LNG plant, and Malaysia’s upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chairmanship. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

The RIGI has been approved nationally, but now has to be discussed on a provincial level. What impact does that have?

For me, the RIGI itself is a work in progress, because yes, it’s been approved at the federal

level, but of course it needs to be debated at the provincial government level. So it’s very important for us to see the overall implementation, how it will be executed, and the time frame. So it’s still a work in progress. Having said that, we will work closely, because Petronas and YPF, we are the two partners, so we will work closely with the provincial government and with all the stakeholders. That’s the key.

The YPF and Petronas LNG project could be the first large international project to enter the RIGI, as opposed to the local projects we’ve seen subscribing. What does that mean?

It means that the RIGI would be an indicator for us. We have to understand the structure of the RIGI. This is not only for foreign investors, but for local investors as well. So it will benefit investors overall. At this stage, people see that the first foreign investment project is between YPF and Petronas. Because of the timing it’s happened that way. So, of course, it will be a benchmark, an indicator. This is a very important project because it will change the landscape of the economy of Argentina, especially the........

© Buenos Aires Herald