This is just another payday for the corrupt Chavez government.
Out of the $3 billion, probably only about $100-200 million will actually be used as stated. The rest, will be split in two with some going to line the pockets of corrupt government officials and another portion used to buy votes.
Elections are scheduled for September, and Chavez is worried that rampant crime and corruption, a deteriorating health care situation and hyper inflation in Venezuela will cost him votes. So, he’s breaking out the green guns.
Unfortunately for Chavez he has run his previous source of green cash money aka PDVSA, the national oil company, into the ground. Since PDVSA has no cash flow to speak of, it has no more cash to give out. A foreign debt issue in the currency of “The Empire” is the only resort to get money to pay for votes.
It’s sad really.
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela plans to sell $3 billion of dollar-denominated bonds that come due in 2022 and pay an interest rate of 12.75 percent, President Hugo Chavez’s government announced Monday.
The finance ministry said Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG will manage the offering.
Half of the bonds will be offered to private companies seeking foreign currency through Venezuela’s currency exchange office, known as Cadivi, while the remaining bonds will be sold to individual investors and smaller companies, a ministry statement said.
The bond market for years has been an important source for Venezuelan businesses to obtain dollars to pay for imports because the government maintains currency-exchange controls and makes available a limited amount of dollars at official rates.
The official rates are 2.6 Venezuelan bolivars per dollar for high-priority goods like food and medicine and 4.3 bolivars to the dollar for nonessential goods.
Read more at www.msnbc.msn.com