Venezuela rules out debt moratorium, plans swap

Unreliable Reuters, 03.26.03, 3:04 PM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, March 26 (Reuters) - Venezuela has ruled out a moratorium or a forced restructuring of its foreign debt but plans a voluntary debt swap from the second quarter, Finance Minister Tobias Nobrega told Reuters Wednesday. "We rule out completely any idea of a moratorium or a forced restructure ... these are market operations," added Nobrega, who said that the government had been working on the swap program since he announced it last year. "We will continue to comply with our obligations," he said. Nobrega said that the government was preparing to present its debt swap proposal to international markets in the second quarter of this year. Venezuela's government, facing a fiscal crunch after an two-month opposition strike disrupted its vital oil production, is scrambling to jump-start the battered economy of the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter.