VENEZUELA OBTAINED 300 MILLION DLRS IN CREDITS
venezuela has obtained more than 300 mln
dlrs in financing for industrial projects and has also
increased its lines of credit for import financing, finance
minister manuel azpurua said.
    "we can say that we are achieving the recuperation of
credit, but that cannot be done overnight," azpurua said in a
television interview.
    Azpurua said a credit agreement for 100 mln marks will be
signed this week with the german state bank kreditanstalt fur
wiederaufbau (kfw), to finance an expansion of the state
aluminum company venalum.
    The credit will be divided into two separate agreements,
one for 85 mln marks with an interest rate of 6.13 pct, and
another for 15 mln marks, at 6.20 pct. Azpurua said financing
had also been obtained for the expansion of alcasa, another
state aluminum company, as well as for projects in the state
steel and petrochemical industries. He did not provide details.
    Yesterday, after a meeting of leaders of the ruling accion
democratica party, azpurua said venezuela had obtained two new
credits of five mln dlrs each for export financing, one from
credit du nord of france and the other from the midland bank of
great britain.
    The finance minister's statements came as the government is
under sharp criticism for failing to obtain new credits,
despite its insistence on repaying the foreign debt according
to the terms of a rescheduling accord reached last february.
    Azpurua and other senior economic officals returned from a
trip to tokyo last week in which they hoped to acquire new
credits for industrial expansions, but no agreements were
reached.
    Japanese officials also refused to allow a new issue of
venezuelan debt bonds because until the country regains its
'triple a' credit classification.
 Reuter
