Venezuela can more than double its reported reserves, which fell to a nine-year low of $22.9 billion on Aug. 5, if it chooses to take control of all the dollars held by state enterprises as of March 31. Increasing its foreign-currency holdings would bolster Venezuela’s ability to repay $40.5 billion in obligations at a time when its borrowing costs, at 11.59 percent, are almost double the developing-nation average, according to Bank of America Corp. in New York.
“If the government would show even half of the dollars they have in off-budget funds in reserves, the market would be satisfied,” Francisco Rodriguez, senior Andean economist at Bank of America, who rates Venezuela’s bonds buy, said in a telephone interview from New York. “There is a lot of skepticism outside of the country about how much Venezuela holds in its off-budget funds.”
Lea el articulo completo en Bloomberg aquí: Venezuela Ogles Chavez’s Hidden Billions as Reserves Sink - Bloomberg
