Foreign capital and energy: Madrid Gas Company (Madrileña de Gas), 1846-1935

Authors

  • Alberte Martínez-López

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ihe.2018.04.002

Keywords:

Madrid, Foreign capital, Energy, Gas, N73, N83, N93, N84

Abstract

The article analyses the behaviour of Madrileña de Gas as an example of the performance of foreign capital in the utilities sector. Several common features of this type of investment are presented. On the one hand, there was the French sectoral specialisation in gas, and on the other, their interest in the markets of big cities. Foreign bank support (Crédit Mobilier) allowed fluid access to Parisian financing in a capital intensive activity. The French connection helped in the technology transfer and the management of the facilities. During the monopoly phase, the company expanded, both in Madrid and in the provinces, and obtained good results. The competition with electricity meant the beginning of the decline, aggravated by the weight of the debt service, the deterioration of the exchange rate, and the renegotiation of the lower rates. Finally, the nationalist context of the first post-World War period favoured its sale to Spanish electricity groups.

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How to Cite

Martínez-López, A. (2020). Foreign capital and energy: Madrid Gas Company (Madrileña de Gas), 1846-1935. Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 16(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ihe.2018.04.002

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Section

ARTICLES