JBIC denies giving Venezuela $1.5 bln credit line
Mon Apr 6, 2009 9:21am BST
TOKYO, April 6 (Reuters) - Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) denied on Monday it had approved a $1.5 billion credit line for Venezuela to finance the expansion of two refineries.
Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said late last month that the Japanese state-backed lender had approved the new loan, following a credit line of $3.5 billion opened in 2007. [ID:nN26514286]
"The loan framework has not been set," an official at JBIC told Reuters, declining to be identified. The official said JBIC had no plans to meet the Venezuelan delegation, including President Hugo Chavez and Ramirez, visiting Tokyo on Monday.
Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA [PDVSA.UL] is struggling to make payments to providers and partners following a tumble in oil prices over the last six months, and may need to seek financing this year for new projects in the Orinoco belt.
The 2007 loan underwritten by JBIC allowed PDVSA to make payments in oil and fuel.
PDVSA has relied heavily on such financing arrangements because its heavy spending on social programmes that keep Chavez popular have left it with cash flow constraints. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Michael Watson)
