Brazil, Through BNDES, to Lend $1 Bln to Venezuela, Estado Says
By Guillermo Parra-Bernal
Recife, Brazil, April 26 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Brazil, through its state development bank, will lend $1 billion to Venezuela in a bid to boost bilateral trade, O Estado de S. Paulo reported, citing a presidential accord.
The money will be lent by the National State Development Bank, or BNDES, Estado said. BNDES will pay for Brazilian-made goods, equipment and services exported to Venezuela, which will use oil as a guarantee, the paper said.
The loan covers this year and 2004, the paper said. The 25- point accord was signed between Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Venezuela President Hugo Chavez yesterday. Calls put to the Brazil Foreign Affairs Ministry seeking further details weren't answered.
Brazil previously financed other trade, despite being the most indebted nation in the developing world with about $300 billion of debt. Brazil lent $3.3 billion to Poland in the 1970s, with the money being repaid in 2001.
(Estado 4-26, A8)
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