Javier Milei, the presidential candidate of the Liberty Advances coalition, arrived in Buenos Aires to vote in the presidential runoff election. The victory of Milei caused massive surges in shares of state-owned oil firm YPF, rising 40% on Monday. During his campaign, Milei pledged to reform the Argentine economy and expressed a desire to privatize YPF.

On Monday after his win, YPF saw its New York-listed shares spike more than 40%. The stock hovered at $14.90, up 38.82% on that same day. Milei, a right-wing libertarian candidate, secured his win by a wider margin than expected. He has promised to revitalize the ailing Argentine economy, promoting the use of the US dollar domestically and mentioning potential sales of YPF and other state-controlled companies to improve public accounts. In a radio interview, the president-elect stated his administration will “create value” for companies to be sold beneficially for Argentines.

Other Argentina-related equities also saw gains following Milei’s victory. Grupo Financiero Galicia, Banco Macro and the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF all reported positive returns. Milei expressed his commitment to ending the “model of decadence” in a post-election speech, suggesting change is imminent. Investors and markets will be closely watching the exchange rate between the peso and the dollar as Milei’s economic plan involves prioritizing the US currency over the local peso to help mitigate historic inflation.

Milei’s victory has sparked debate about how he plans to reform Argentina’s economy and what impact it will have on state-owned companies like YPF. Some experts predict that privatization could lead to increased competition and lower prices for consumers, while others warn that it could lead to job losses and social unrest.

As investor confidence grows ahead of Milei’s inauguration on December 10th, many are eagerly awaiting details about his economic policies and how they will affect different sectors of Argentina’s economy.