International Risk

Political risk exists in varying degrees, but the most severe is appropriation of a company's assets. GM became the latest company to have its assets appropriated in Venezuela as the government of that country took control of GM's remaining plant. The plant had stopped producing cars in 2015, manufacturing only spare parts since. GM joins a list of companies, including more than 60 oil companies, meat processing plants, rice farms, and the Manpa toilet paper plant, that have had assets seized by the Venezuelan government. In March, ExxonMobil had parts of a $1.4 billion award related to seizure of its assets by the Venezuelan overturned.