March 25, 2006
Venezuela sells $300M in Argentine bonds

(Associated Press) - "Venezuela has sold US$300 million (euro250 million) in Argentine bonds during the past month, Venezuela's finance minister said.

The latest sale means Venezuela has sold a total of US$1.4 billion (euro1.17 billion) out of the US$2.5 billion (euro2.08 billion) in Argentine bonds it has bought, Finance Minister Nelson Merentes said.

Merentes said the Venezuelan government has obtained US$80 million (euro66.7 million) in profits on the sales.

He said that President Hugo Chávez's government could buy even more Argentine debt, but that it will depend on market conditions.

The Venezuelan government, which draws a large share of its income from the country's dominant oil industry, has seen growing revenues amid high oil prices.

Chávez has said his government is buying Argentine bonds as a step toward creating a 'Bank of the South' to provide financing to the region and boost integration.

The finance ministry has been selling Argentine bonds to a number of Venezuelan banks interested in reselling them in exchange for U.S. dollars. Chávez's government imposed currency controls in 2003 that have put controls on the trading of Venezuelan bolivars for dollars.

The government permits businesses to skirt those controls using government debt transactions".