Venezuela Relaxes Exchange Controls as Protests Continue
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Venezuelan bonds rallied as the government said it will ease exchange controls and get as much as $7 billion in financing from China and Russia as it attempts to damp three-week-old protests that are expected to continue.
The state won’t impose restrictions on trading in the so-called Sicad 2 market when it starts on March 10, Economy Vice President Rafael Ramirez said yesterday. The government will offer “significant” foreign currency to the new market while it continues to ensure an exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per dollar for essential imports such as medicines, he said. Francisco Rodriguez, a Latin American economist at Bank of America, said the move amounts to a devaluation.