Venezuela May Change Restrictions on Exchange, Nobrega Says

May 29 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuela may change some of its foreign exchange restrictions to speed up dollar sales and relieve shortages of imported goods and raw materials, Finance Minister Tobias Nobrega said.

``We're re-evaluating the exchange system and all its rules,'' Nobrega told Union radio late yesterday. He didn't give details on what changes may be made.

President Hugo Chavez last week stripped the foreign exchange commission he created in January of its powers and put his Cabinet in charge of selling hard currency.

The commission distributed just $12 million of the $205 million was authorized to sell since exchange controls were imposed in January, Edgar Hernandez, president of the foreign exchange commission said last week. Last year, the central bank sold an average of about $50 million a day.

The result has been a shortage of products ranging from medicines to foodstuffs, as the country imports about 60 percent of what it consumes, and many companies rely on imported raw materials and parts to operate.

Nobrega said the government has authorized the sale of $338 million, and planned to authorize $105 million more this week. He didn't say how many dollars had been distributed.

Companies have complained that current prerequisites, such as providing proof they are up-to-date on tax payments, are too time- consuming.

Venezuela banned dollar sales at the beginning of the year to stem a decline in international reserves after a two-month general strike cut oil output, which accounted for 43 percent of government revenue last year.

Last Updated: May 29, 2003 08:46 EDT