China, Russia to Invest $36bn in Venezuela

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has announced that China and Russia plan to invest $36bn over the next three years to develop oil reserves in the Orinoco basin. Of this amount, China will invest $16bn and Russia $20bn. “This pact was executed with the objective of producing, among both countries, a total of 900,000 barrels of oil [per day],” Chavez says. “If confirmed this would be a positive development but we warn that in the past there have also been announcements of major investments in the sector that have not materialized or which are ruining significantly behind schedule,” says economist Alberto Ramos from Goldman Sachs.