Reuters reported that a planned dividend payment by steelmaker Siderar was blocked by an Argentine judge in the latest twist in a row linked to the government's efforts to tighten control over leading companies.

The steel company had planned to pay a 2010 dividend of USD 359.5 million despite a ruling last month by the country's stock market regulator that effectively annulled the payment by declaring a shareholders meeting void.

Judge Mr Hernan Papa said in the ruling, a copy of which Siderar sent to the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, that "Siderar is not entitled to pay dividends using funds from its future dividend reserves."

Siderar, which is majority owned by Ternium SA, declined to comment on the decision, which marks a victory for the center left government of President Ms Cristina Fernandez.

A dispute erupted between the steelmaker and her administration last month after the company resisted the government's choice to represent the Anses state pensions agency on the company's board of directors. The Anses holds stakes in 42 companies as a result of Fernandez's 2008 nationalization of private pension funds.

Soon after Siderar rejected the government's nominee to sit on its board, Ms Fernandez signed a decree to scrap a rule limiting the state to holding just 5% of voting rights on company boards, even when its stakes were greater. The Anses holds a 26% stake in Siderar, which has challenged the government decree in court.

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)