Diario Libre reports today that the local affiliate of the AES Corporation has sold its shares in the AES Ede-Este power distribution company to TCW Energy Advisors, LLC. The newspaper describes the firm as one of the largest holding companies in the world and speculates that this could have implications for the DR’s sovereignty. TCW stands for Trust Company of the West, and is described online as a group of companies that has been providing investment management services for nearly a quarter century and is ranked among the largest employee-owned investment counseling firms in the United States. TCW manages both domestic and global investments for a broad spectrum of clients with diverse objectives. Diario Libre says that the company is the largest holder of sovereign bonds of the Dominican Republic.
Today’s newspaper’s editorial says that the sale announced on Monday is not a run-of-the-mill one. The newspaper observes that the sale of Ede-Este shares comes on the heels of the Chamber of Accounts’ announcement of irregularities in internal operations, and that the transfer appears to be a maneuver to escape investigation. National District Attorney Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero last week received results of a study on the audit conducted that indicated perjury was committed against the Dominican state to the tune of RD$2 billion. According to the Chamber of Accounts, Ede-Este defrauded the Dominican government by using irregular maneuvers that obscured the real results of its operations while negotiating with allied companies.
Yesterday, Felix Alcantara, the president of the Fondo Patrimonial de las Empresas Reformadas (Fonper), which body overseas capitalized companies, ordered an investigation to determine the conditions under which AES sold its shares in the electric distribution company.
Diario Libre reports that with the sale of Ede-Este, AES is effectively freeing itself from a money-losing operation while maintaining its profitable power generation outfits.
For more on TCW, see http://www.tcw.com/