Economics &
Finance
World Bank: Investing in Venezuela
is hazardous
A World Bank study, Doing Business 2012, shows that
Venezuela has one of the worst legal environments for investing or starting a
business. Out of total 183 countries evaluated, Venezuela comes in 177th, and
is perceived as even worse than Haiti, which placed 174th. This runs counter to
a world trend toward increasingly favorable conditions for business, as
politicians become increasingly aware of the importance of improving their
economies in the long term. More in Spanish: (Ultimas Noticias, 08-23-2012; http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/banco-mundial--invertir-en-venezuela-es-un-lio.aspx;
El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/venezuela--entre-los-peores-paises-para-invertir-o.aspx)
Central Bank forecasts inflation
under 20%
Nelson Merentes, president of the Central Bank of
Venezuela, estimates that this year the inflation will come in below the goal
set at 20%-22% in the national budget. He says: "This year we are going to finish below the goal for inflation, it means
that it is going to be below the lower limit, but it continues to be a
two-digit inflation". (El Universal, 08-23-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120823/venezuelas-central-bank-forecasts-inflation-under-20)
Worker protests force SIDOR to sit
down and talk
Nicolas Maduro, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and
directors of the Venezuelan Corporation of Guayana (CVG) met with trade union
leaders, after workers from the state-run iron and steel company Siderúrgica
del Orinoco (SIDOR) loudly complained to President Chávez about delays to
discuss their collective bargaining agreement, which expired two years ago. (El
Universal, 08-22-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120822/workers-claims-constrain-iron-and-steel-company-to-take-a-seat-and-tal;
More in Spanish: El Nacional, 08-22-2012; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
BCV aid to PDVSA is up to VEB 107.7
billion
Although the price of oil continues to average U$D 100, PDVSA needs additional
resources to meet the demands made on it by the central government. It then
turns to the Central Bank of Venezuela. BCV figures show that by the end of
July financial assistance to the oil company reached VEB 107.7 billion. More in
Spanish: (El Universal, 08-23-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120823/asistencia-del-bcv-a-pdvsa-asciende-a-bs-1077-millardos)
Commodities
Venezuela expects to produce 6
million BPD by 2019
Venezuela is expected to produce 6 million oil barrels
per day by the year 2019, informed the president of the Republic, Hugo Chavez.
In a visit to platform Cayaurima, at Carabobo Division of
the Orinoco Oil Belt, in eastern state of Monagas, President Chavez said it is
expected to generate 4 million barrels per day by 2019 only in this area.
Venezuela's field Orinoco Oil Belt counts with 150
"macolla" or platforms through which may be drilled several oil wells
and 4,000 oil wells. (AVN, 08-22-2012; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-expects-produce-6-million-bpd-2019)
Oil Belt to increase production by
1,350,000 B/D this year
Seeking to continue boosting Venezuela's economic
expansion, President Hugo Chavez informed that the Orinoco Oil Belt will
increase its production to 1,350,000 crude oil barrels per day (B/D) by the end
of 2012.
Meeting with employees at the oil belt in eastern state
of Monagas last Tuesday, the Venezuelan president recalled that daily
production at the oil strip -the site of the world's largest oil reserves- is
1,200,000 B/D.
In the last five years, Chavez remarked, oil production
increased by 33 percent and this "is part of the plan of expansion, plan
to recover the oil full independence." (AVN, 08-22-2012; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/oil-belt-increase-production-1350000-bd-year)
Chavez Says Venezuela to Invest $130
Billion in Orinoco Oil Fields
Some $130 billion will be invested in Venezuela's Orinoco
Oil Belt between 2013 and 2019 to boost national production from 3 million
barrels per day to 6 million bpd, President Hugo Chavez said.
The investment program for that heavy oil region, the
world's largest petroleum reservoir, is equivalent to roughly a third of the
$383 billion the Treasury says it collected in taxes and royalties over the
past 10 years. (Latin American Herald Tribune, 08-22-2012; http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=562565&CategoryId=10717)
Domestic steel output down 25.73% in
the first half of the year
Venezuelan basic industries output capacity is still
facing the impact of low production registered in 2005-2006. Fitful supply of
raw materials along with management and labor issues limited the operation of
the industries.
Data released by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) on
the physical production index at the end of the first half of 2012 show that
both primary aluminum and primary steal output went down 29.52% and 25.73%,
respectively. (El
Universal,08-23-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120823/domestic-steel-output-down-2573-in-the-first-half-of-the-year)
Chavez says: "we are entitled
to a larger share of OPEC"
President Hugo Chavez says Venezuela, after the increase in its proven
reserves of oil "is entitled a higher quota within OPEC." He explained
that Venezuela is working on increasing production capacity, through increased
drilling, as part of the strategy to achieve an increase in the share of OPEC
production. More in Spanish: (El Universal, 08-23-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120823/chavez-afirma-que-tenemos-derecho-a-una-mayor-cuota-en-la-opep)
International Trade
Venezuelan seaports unready for
exports
President Hugo Chavez claims that the recent entry of
Venezuela into the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) opens the doors to an
"era of exports", yet
besides a Venezuela's lack of competitiveness, there are infrastructure
limitations in seaports and obstacles by authorities. "If seaports do not work well, there will be
no exports. In addition to being competitive in production, it is necessary to
be competitive in logistics," says a source closely connected to port
activities. (El
Universal,08-23-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120823/venezuelan-seaports-unable-to-export)
First Venezuelan export to the MERCOSUR
The first export operation within the framework of the
recently adhered Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) agreement corresponds to
over 6,200 tons of aluminum containers, produced by ALENTUY, a company in
Barquisimeto, Lara state. It went to Puerto Victoria in Brazil. The shipment
arrangements were in charge of the Seniat via the main Mid-Western customs.
(Veneconomy, 08-22-2012; http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=31793&idc=3)
Logistics
& Transport
Slow port activity during the first
half of 2012
Venezuelan ports cannot cope with the current volume of imports. Since
2010 ports operations have slowed down as obstacles increase. This is reflected
by the length of time freight has spent in ports over the last two years,
according to a joint report by the Confederation of Industries (CONINDUSTRIA)
and the National Council for Trade and Services (CONSECOMERCIO). For instance,
in 2010 the average time for a shipment in the main port, Puerto Cabello, was
18.8 days, and in a year's time the number of days jumped to 20.8. The second
major port, La Guaira, improved slightly from 23.3 days in 2010 to 21.3 days in
2011. (El Universal, 08-22-2012; http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/120822/slow-port-activity-in-the-first-half-of-2012)
Politics
Venezuela, more deadly than Iraq,
wonders why
Some here joke that they might be safer if they lived in
Baghdad. The numbers bear them out. In Iraq, a country with about the same
population as Venezuela, there were 4,644 civilian deaths from violence in
2009, according to Iraq Body Count; in Venezuela that year, the number of
murders climbed above 16,000. Even Mexico’s infamous drug war has claimed fewer
lives. Venezuelans have absorbed such grim statistics for years. Those with
means have hidden their homes behind walls and hired foreign security experts
to advise them on how to avoid kidnappings and killings. And rich and poor
alike have resigned themselves to living with a murder rate that the opposition
says remains low on the list of the government’s priorities. (The New York
Times, 08-22-2012; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/americas/23venez.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all)
Romney plans to stop Venezuelan oil
imports
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says that
when he arrives at the White House he will make sure the United States does not
buy oil from Venezuela and other unfriendly nations in the Middle East. He
presented a plan to make the United States energy independent by 2020, through
alliances with Canada and Mexico. More in Spanish: (El Nacional, 08-24-2012; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
UN shows Venezuela has the lowest
rate of social inequality in the region
In a recent UN study Venezuela comes up with a GINI Index
of Economic Inequality rate of 0,41: the lowest in the region, followed by Uruguay.
The nations with most unequal income distribution are Guatemala, Honduras,
Colombia, Brasil, Dominican Republic and Bolivia, in that order, all of them
with a rate above 0,56. More in Spanish: (El Mundo, 08-24-2012; http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/venezuela-es-el-pais-con-menos-desigualdad-social-.aspx)
Agreement signed for UNASUR to
attend elections
Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Rafael Roncagliolo has signed an
electoral “accompaniment” agreement with the head of National Electoral Council
(CNE) Chief Tibisay Lucena, in his capacity as pro tempore president of the
South American Nations Union (UNASUR). (Veneconomy, 08-22-2012; http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=31801&idc=1)
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