Ecuador to turn to Iran, China for 2010 financing
QUITO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Ecuador will turn to China, Russia and fellow OPEC member Iran for financing needed to meet $4.1 billion in expected borrowing next year, Finance Minister Elsa Viteri said on Wednesday.
"Ecuador has lagged behind in a lot of investment strategies, including at the binational level," Viteri said.
"We have four strong governments: China, Russia, Iran and others that are part of OPEC," she added.
The Andean country has been shut out of the international capital markets since it defaulted on $3.2 billion in global bonds last year. Leftist President Rafael Correa refused to pay the obligations, saying the "illegitimate" debt was contracted by corrupt public officials in collusion with greedy bankers.
The country has relied largely on multilateral lending since the 2008 default.
Oil is the biggest industry in Ecuador, which produces 500,000 barrels per day of crude. The sector has been hit by lower demand caused by the global financial crisis.
The government expects to receive more than $2.5 billion in financing from Russia to develop "strategic sectors" of the country's economy, Correa said this month.
Ecuador has already signed a $1 billion cash-for-oil deal with China, and Correa has said he expects more bilateral deals ahead. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Editing by Dan Grebler)
© Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved
Economy seen growing at 7.2 pct in FY10 - govt
The forecast reinforces the possibility that the government may start to unwind its fiscal stimulus in the budget. Full Article
Greek crisis sets euro zone enlargement back
The Greek debt crisis has dealt a setback to prospects of enlarging the euro zone by highlighting the difficulties of managing the single currency area. Full Article
India
US
UK
