Gazprom

[watsa_is_a_randian_hero]

wondering if anyone is knowledgeable on this name and can give me the 15 second rundown on why its trading at a PE of 3x (besides the obvious of natural gas tanking and having Russian government as majority owner). 

 

What other major risks are weighing this down?

[petec]

I don't think natural gas tanking is a global phenomenon; it is local to the US/Canada.  Gazprom's problem is government control.

[Packer16]

I owned it a few years ago and the biggest issue I had was the gov't control.  At the time they sold much of their gas at below market prices into the Russian market and to friends of Russia (Belarus and some of the other previous Soviet states).  They would use gas as a political weapon of the state at that time against the Ukraine.  In the end I sold because I had a small profit and could not see how I as a foreign minority shareholder was going to get a fair return on the vast reserves Gazporm had.  At the time I think the current President was the head of Gazprom and I think many high gov't officials are part of Gazprom's management team.

 

Packer

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

wondering if anyone is knowledgeable on this name and can give me the 15 second rundown on why its trading at a PE of 3x (besides the obvious of natural gas tanking and having Russian government as majority owner). 

 

What other major risks are weighing this down?

[Myth465]

This too is quite good. Highly recommended.

 

[Ballinvarosig Investors]

In today's news.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17732910

The Argentine government will seize a controlling interest in oil company YPF owned by Spanish firm Repsol.

 

President Cristina Fernandez said a bill will be presented to the Senate allowing the government to expropriate 51% of YPF shares.

 

The move, announced on national television, was welcomed by her cabinet and Argentine governors.

 

Spain and the EU have already expressed concern at such a state takeover of YPF, in which Repsol has a 57.4% stake.

[barminov]

Well, the biggest problem is it's in Russia and a large part of the cleptocracy that currently rules there. Nearly everyone in the top 10-15% of the company is, or can be directly traced to, a crony of Putin. I could probably write a small book on some of the ways that they have screwed minority shareholders previously and that would all just be stuff that's out there in the open. Here's an article from the New Yorker that lightly touches on some of the issues:

 

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/04/110404fa_fact_ioffe

 

Browder's experience there is also good reading to see how people not connected to Putin (or those he is not happy with) are treated in business and the courts. 

[fareastwarriors]

Gazprom: lots of gas, nowhere to go?

 

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/01/15/gazprom-lots-of-gas-nowhere-to-go/#axzz2qbGuIln5