International Trade
Incoming cargo at Puerto Cabello:
- 26, 698 tons of food have arrived for state
agency CASA, including powdered whole milk, tuna, semola noodles, soy oil,
green peas, margarine, chicken and frozen beef.
- 753 of air
conditioning units in 50 vans from Lilly Associates Intl to their
local affiliate
- 144 tons of tires from Ecuador for Logística
Multimodal (Logimodal)
- 626 tons of whole and skim milk from Ecuador for
Lechera Andina.
More in Spanish: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/La-Costa/Llegaron-mas-de-26-mil-toneladas-de-alimentos-2201640/2014/07/21/340473)
CENCOEX allocating FOREX to priority areas
FOREX allocation for pending import debt has improved
for priority pharmaceutical and food areas over the past weeks. Food industry
sources indicate payments are around 30% of the total overdue debt, and even
higher in some cases. POLAR Foods, the nation's largest food producer, reports
a slight lowering of outstanding FOREX obligations. More in Spanish: (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140722/cencoex-liquida-parte-de-la-deuda-a-sectores-prioritarios)
Logistics
& Transport
LATAM Airlines says agreed deal with Venezuela to
repatriate funds
LATAM Airlines, Latin America's biggest airline,
has agreed to a deal with Venezuela for the repatriation of funds
owed to the company. The total debt of around U$D 148 million for fiscal 2013 would
be repaid according to a payment plan proposed by the government and accepted
by LATAM. A number of airlines have reduced flights
to Venezuela over a dispute over ticket sales revenue. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/20/venezuela-airlines-latam-idUSL6N0PV15K20140720;
Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-20/latam-airlines-accepts-payment-offer-from-venezuelan-government.html;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140721/latam-airlines-group-accepts-venezuelas-payment-plan)
International airlines cut 4,528 seats from and to
Venezuela
A group of international airlines flying to different
destinations has decided to lower flight frequency and seat supply as of
August, the very month’s children are on their school break. The group includes
AEROLÍNEAS ARGENTINAS, Caracas-Buenos Aires; Spain's AIR EUROPA, to Madrid;
Panama's COPA Airlines, which diversifies connections from Caracas, Valencia,
and Maracaibo to Panama and from Caracas to Bogotá; DELTA Air Lines, in flights
to Atlanta; and Germany's LUFTANSA, which offers connections to several
European countries. The companies' move follows after the adoption of cuts by
other airlines. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140721/international-airlines-cut-4528-seats-from-and-to-venezuela)
CONVIASA provides aircrafts for passengers stranded in
Madrid
State-run airline CONVIASA says that it has taken
action to assist passengers in Madrid and Buenos Aires left stranded after the
airline experienced operating difficulties. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140721/conviasa-provides-aircrafts-for-passengers-stranded-in-madrid)
Oil &
Energy
Venezuela plans to ship one million barrels a day to
China in 2016, according to PDVSA CEO,
Mining and Oil Minister and Vice President for the Economic Area Rafael
Ramírez. He said 524,000 bpd is currently dispatched to China. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=40294&idc=4)
China and Venezuela agreed to exploit gold in the Sifontes Sur area says Mining and Oil Minister Rafael
Ramírez. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=40289&idc=3)
Commodities
Venezuela
and China going in to joint ventures to manufacture chemicals for agriculture,
cement Joint ventures are also planned in cement production and building new
housing. More in Spanish: (AVN; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-y-china-acuerdan-creaci%C3%B3n-empresa-mixta-para-producir-agroqu%C3%ADmicos; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-y-china-instalar%C3%A1n-planta-cemento-para-producir-12-millones-toneladas-al-a%C3%B1o)
Economy
& Finance
China to provide Venezuela with an additional U$D 4 billion
in exchange for oil
China will provide Venezuela with a new
U$D 4 billion credit line, with funds to be repaid through oil shipments. The
deal was inked during a 24-hour visit to Venezuela by Chinese
President Xi Jinping, and will go into the Joint Chinese-Venezuela Fund, which
focuses on infrastructure and economic development here. President Nicolas
Maduro says the Venezuelan government will also put U$D 1 billion into the
fund, but officials later said that amount was in fact U$D 2 billion. (Reuters,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/21/venezuela-china-idUSL2N0PW1BE20140721;
More in Spanish: CNN, http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2014/07/21/cual-es-el-efecto-de-los-prestamos-de-china-a-venezuela-y-otros-paises-de-la-region/?iref=allsearch)
Maduro claims Chinese financing does not create a
heavy debt burden
President Nicolás Maduro claims financing from China
"does not leave the country with a heavy debt." More in Spanish: (Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/maduro-financiamiento-chino-no-deja-una-deuda-pesa.aspx#ixzz38C20HLky; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/venezuela-y-china-firman-30-nuevos-acuerdos-cooperaci%C3%B3n-econ%C3%B3mica-y-social; El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140722/maduro-financiamiento-chino-no-pone-al-pais-una-deuda-pesada)
Venezuela´s debt to China is higher than international
reserves
Venezuela and China have put U$D 56 billion into
several joint funds, U$D 45 billion of which are f China Development Bank
financing for 245 projects in industry, oil, mining, housing, and air, among
others. U$D 13.7 billion in the so-called Great Volume Fund remain
outstanding. The Binational Fund was originally U$D 20 billion and has not
been renewed, Venezuela has repaid U$D 8 billion through oil shipments and
still owes China U$D 12 billion from that fund. ECOANALÍTICA says both debts
add up to U$D 25.7 billion, and total Venezuelan international reserves are
around U$D 20.7 billion, according to this nation's Central Bank. More in
Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
China Development Bank opens branch in Venezuela
As part of the meetings leading up to the arrival
today of China President Xi Jinping, the China Development Bank opened an
office in Caracas – only its second office in Latin America. "Our office in Caracas is the second
financial institution we have established in Latin America after Rio de Janeiro,"
says Hu Huaibang, President of the China Development Bank. Trade between the
two nations exceeded U$D 20 billion in 2012 and China is the second largest
buyer of Venezuelan oil after the U.S.A. Venezuela has signed loans-for-oil
deals valued at more than U$D 50 billion, making it the biggest recipient of
Chinese financing in the region. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2344615&CategoryId=10717)
Venezuela, China signed 38 bilateral cooperation
agreements
Venezuela and China signed 38 bilateral cooperation
agreements during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Caracas. The
agreements are related to exploitation of oil blocks; supplementary binational
projects; agricultural exchange and cooperation, promotion of industrial and
technological investments, as well as cultural and social exchanges. Since the
beginning of the Bolivarian Revolution in 1999, Venezuela and China have
strengthened their trade relations gradually by evolving from 20 agreements
between 1974 and 1998, to 450 from 1999 to date, says National Assembly President,
Captain Diosdado Cabello. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/140721/venezuela-china-sign-38-bilateral-cooperation-agreements; AVN, http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/jinping-proposes-upgrade-relations-venezuela-strategic-partnership;
http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/over-450-agreements-have-been-signed-china%E2%80%93venezuela-1999)
China-Venezuela economic relations at a glance
- U$D 41 billion in loans from the China Fund, plus
U$D 4 billion just signed for.
- 524.000 BPD are being sent to China.
- U$D 254 million in Venezuelan non-oil exports sent
to China in 2013.
- U$D 7.6 billion in imports from China during 2013.
- Venezuela has invested U$D 580 million to build and
launch 2 satellites with China.
- China has 5 joint ventures with Petróleos de
Venezuela (PDVSA) for exploring and extracting crude oil here. More in Spanish:
(El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/claves---las-cifras-de-la-relacion-venezuela---chi.aspx#ixzz386KWopXs)
Deutsche Bank doubts the economy will improve
A report by Deutsche Bank indicates potential
conflicts within "chavista" ranks create doubt about the
sustainability of policies, and warns that "the complexity of the current economic situation also impacts any
expectation of a quick improvement in performance". It also
indicates that risk perception has improved slightly, based on the behavior of
sovereign bonds. More in Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Politics
Opposition mayor murdered in his home
Enrique Franceschi, mayor of Río Caribe and the only
opposition mayor in Sucre state in Eastern Venezuela, was found stabbed to
death at his home. Opposition leader and Miranda State governor Henrique
Capriles Radonski made the announcement. César Rincones, a legislator in the
National Assembly for Sucre state, said Franceschi's body was found
approximately at 5:00 a.m. by a maintenance worker. The mayor lived there
together with his wife, grandmother and five-year-old son. All of them were in
Caracas at the time of the killing. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140721/venezuelan-opposition-major-is-killed;
Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2344705&CategoryId=10717;
More in Spanish: CNN, http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2014/07/20/asesinan-al-alcalde-de-rio-caribe-venezuela/?iref=allsearch)
Amid low voter turnout in government party voting
Maduro seeks a single vision
The pro-government United Socialist Party has elected
537 delegates to its upcoming 3rd Congress and - despite claims of 7.6 million
members - a very low turnout has been reported, some as low as 12%. A prominent
"chavista" intellectual,
Nicmer Evans accused the party of "lying"
about its number of members enrolled, and National Assembly President and Party
vice president Diosdado Cabello reported that it would be very difficult to
count the votes, but announced the elected delegates. The party has been racked
with dissent after former Chavez ministers published letters highly critical of
Maduro and he retorted there is no excuse to "betray" the revolutionary project, and criticized "big egos" in some "comrades". Maduro says the 3rd
Congress will seek to "unify us
around a single vision"...for the next 20-30 years". More in
Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140721/presidente-dice-que-se-busca-unificar-en-una-sola-vision-al-partido; NTN24, http://www.ntn24ve.com/node/140150;
and Infolatam)
Lopez is taken out of isolation
Attorneys for Leopoldo López report he now enjoys the
same rights as other prisoners and can receive third party visits, interact
with other prisoners and visit the prison patio, as well as send and receive
uncensored correspondence. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140722/autoridades-le-levantan-a-lopez-el-aislamiento)
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