Economics &
Finance
Financial system income grew 88% during
the first semester 2012 from
acquisitions of bond and Treasury bills from the Ministry of Finance, which rose
to VEB 8.524 billion, as the government continues to increase its debt with the
banking system in order to meet the deficit amid the reelection campaign. More
in Spanish; (El Universal, 08-17-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120817/crecen-88-ingresos-de-la-banca-por-compra-de-bonos)
Government will pay 18% interest on
new bond on the so-called Petro-Orinoco,
which has been designed to repay debts outstanding with public employees.
Petroleum and Mining Minister Rafael Ramirez says buyers will receive 18%
interest rates, "far above the rate
we paid before." (AVN, 08-15-2012; http://www.avn.info.ve/node/127438)
Study shows 70% perceive scarcity, according to a study by the DATOS firm
shows 70% of the entire population perceives there is scarcity in the market,
particularly in milk, cooking oil, coffee, sugar, butter, and cornmeal. More in
Spanish: (El Universal, 08-17-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120817/estudio-revela-que-70-de-las-personas-percibe-que-hay-escasez)
Commodities
PDVSA has transferred U$D 32.2
billion to special "missions"
over the past 9 and a half years, as
ordered by the national government. During the first semester of 2012 it has
transferred U$D 1.5 billion, and industry data shows that the Housing Mission
alone has received U$D 8 billion over the years. More in Spanish: (El Universal,
08-17-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120817/322-millardos-destino-pdvsa-a-las-misiones-en-9-anos-y-medio)
Ramírez claims oil sold to China is
U$D 10 per barrel above price on sales to the US. The Oil and Mining Minister, who is also President of
PDVSA, told government media that the price of crude oil "revalues more" in growing Asian
markets than in the North American market which is being "hit by internal economic crisis and the
devaluation of the dollar". More in Spanish: (AVN, 08-17-2012; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/ramírez-barril-que-se-vende-china-es-diez-dólares-mayor-al-que-se-negocia-ee-uu)
Output in the Orinoco Oil Belt now
said to start during Q3 2012
Early oil output from the new business operations in the
Orinoco Oil Belt will not take place until the third quarter of 2012, said
Rafael Ramírez, Minister of Petroleum and Mining, and president of Venezuelan
state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). He added that the Junín
10 and Junín 2 blocs within the Orinoco Oil Belt operated by PDVSA and PETROMACAREO,
respectively, "will be leading"
early production. PETROMACAREO is a joint venture owned 60% by PDVSA and 40% by
Vietnam's state-run oil company PETROVIETNAM. A start in production had been expected in
June, and that had been originally scheduled early in May. (El Universal, 08-16-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120816/early-oil-output-in-the-orinoco-oil-belt-starts-in-the-third-quarter)
PDVSA expects to hit Perla gas
output target in 4Q 2013
PDVSA in June pushed back the estimated start of
production at Perla to the first quarter of 2013 from its earlier estimate of
the end of this year. It didn't cite a reason for the delay. Located in
Venezuela's Cardon IV bloc, Perla holds 16.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas
and is considered one of Latin America's largest fields. PDVSA signed a
contract in December with Italy's ENI SPA and Spain's REPSOL SA to develop the
field. The Perla project is expected to help Venezuela overcome power shortages
that have plagued the country in recent years. It is slated to receive around
U$D4.5 billion in investment. (Fox Business, 08-16-2012; http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/08/16/petroleos-de-venezuela-expects-to-hit-perla-gas-output-target-in-4q-2013/;
El Universal, 08-16-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120816/approved-off-shore-gas-operations-north-venezuela)
International Trade
Entry into MERCOSUR reopens doors
for arbitration
Venezuela's entry into the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR)
is bringing out official contradictions in economic policy. Although the
government has moved against international against arbitration, by joining the
South American trade bloc it implicitly "embraces" new arbitration
mechanisms, says Diana Droulers, executive director of the Caracas Chamber of
Commerce Arbitration Center. "The
contradiction is that the State criticizes arbitration, as it broadens the
basis for it," says Droulers. (El Universal, 08-16-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120816/venezuelas-entry-into-mercosur-opens-the-door-to-arbitration)
Logistics
& Transport
Bridge collapses on highway connecting
Eastern Venezuela to Caracas
A bridge on the main highway connecting Caracas to the eastern part of
the country has collapsed, restricting transit to cities including Puerto La
Cruz. Five vehicles, including a cargo truck were on the bridge when it fell
into a river due to an excess of weight at the town of Cupira in Miranda state,
85 miles east of Caracas, the Transport Ministry said in a statement. The government
is working to establish temporary bridges and alternative routes, Vice
President Elias Jaua said. (Bloomberg, 08-16-2012; http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-16/venezuela-bridge-collapses-on-highway-from-caracas-to-east-1-.html)
Politics
UNASUR to support Electoral Council
Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) and the
Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) are signing an agreement allowing the
group's first mission to support Oct. 7 presidential elections. CNE President
Tibisay Lucena said it will be Unasur's debut as an international participant
in a presidential vote. Further, the event will be attended by Peru's Foreign
Minister Rafael Roncagliolo, empowered to initial the agreement on behalf of
the regional body. (El Universal,
08-16-2012; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/unasur-sign-support-agreement-electoral-council)
Prison violence rises, report says
The number of killings inside Venezuela's notoriously
violent prisons has increased this year even as President Hugo Chavez faces
mounting pressure to curtail the violence as he campaigns for re-election,
according to a human rights group. Riots and clashes between rival gangs in
Venezuelan prisons left 304 dead inmates during the first half of 2012, a 15%
increase compared to the same period last year, according the Venezuelan
Prisons Observatory, which tracks the violence. Prison violence killed 264
inmates in the first six months of 2011, and a total of 476 prisoners in all of
2010, according to the watchdog group. (Huff Post World, 08-13-2012; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/13/venezuela-prison-violence_n_1773848.html)
Sex, cocaine and murder
Venezuela’s new Ambassador to Kenya, veteran diplomat Olga Fonseca, was
discovered strangled in her bed in the official residence in Nairobi only 12
days after assuming her new post. She had replaced former Ambassador Gerardo
Carrillo Silva, who fled Kenya last March after he was accused of sexual
harassment by three male Kenyan domestic employees. Kenyan police officially
charged the Embassy’s First Secretary, Dwight Sagaray with the murder of Ambassador
Fonseca, and believe he murdered her because she discovered that cocaine was
being smuggled from Venezuela to Kenya in Venezuelan diplomatic pouches
prepared and dispatched from Caracas by Foreign Ministry officials. (Caracas Gringo,
08-07-2012; http://caracasgringo.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/sex-cocaine-and-murder/)
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