Chavez seeks agreement on Sidor nationalization

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Lawmakers loyal to President Hugo Chavez declared Sidor -- Venezuela's largest steel maker -- a "public utility" on Tuesday, a legal prerequisite to expropriation.

But the near-unanimous decision by lawmakers does not necessarily mean the steel maker will be expropriated.

Chavez said earlier Tuesday that he wants a "consensus" on compensation for Sidor, shifting to a more conciliatory tone in his latest nationalization move.

Venezuelan officials are talking with Sidor's parent company, Ternium SA, to reach a deal for the Luxembourg-based company's 60 percent stake in the company.

"We have always said that we want to bring these decisions down the best of roads, looking for an agreement, consensus," Chavez said during a televised address. "Win-win, that's our motto."

Earlier this week, Chavez accused Ternium of demanding excessive payment and he threatened to expropriate the company outright if an agreement was not reached by Monday.

Ternium, which is controlled by Argentine-Italian conglomerate Techint Group, has asked for roughly $4 billion (2.6 billion euros) in exchange for its 60 percent share, according to Chavez.

A top government official recently said that Ternium's majority stake in the steel maker is not worth more than $800 million (514 million euros).

Company officials could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.

The Venezuelan government holds 20 percent of Sidor and the rest is held by current and former employees.

Sidor -- whose formal name is Siderurgica del Orinoco -- was privatized in 1998. It produces about 85 percent of the 5 million metric tons (5.5 million U.S. tons) of steel Venezuela turns out annually, according to the Belgium-based International Iron and Steel Institute.

Chavez says that state control over key industries is essential in steering this South American country toward what he calls "21st-century socialism."

Earlier this month, the president said Venezuela would nationalize cement companies including Mexico's Cemex SAB, France's Lafarge SA and Switzerland's Holcim Ltd. The government is negotiating terms with the companies.

Last year, Chavez took control of the country's largest telecommunications and electricity companies, as well as joint oil ventures previously run by some of the world's largest oil firms. E-mail to a friend

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