Venezuela Suspends Bond of South III

The Venezuelan Finance Ministry announced the suspension of the Bond of the South III, a measure that responds to the crisis affecting international stock markets.

Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas pointed out on Thursday that the reasons why this step was taken "resulted from the volatile nature of stock prices in emerging markets."

Over the past few days, high-risk credits and a weak real estate sector have strongly hit the US stock market, causing a domino effect in Europe and Asia.

The decision has nothing to do with "the strength of Venezuelan economy," which has grown steadily for 15 trimesters in a row, he added.

The measure is aimed at protecting investors until better conditions exist and the international stock market stabilizes, Cabezas noted.

The third issue of Bonds of the South since January, as the second issue was on sale in February, and the state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) issued billions of dollars' worth of bonds in April.

Venezuela is trying to encourage small- and medium-size investors to participate in the transaction, as part of efforts to reduce the liquidity affecting the country's financial system.

The country's liquidity was 59 billion dollars on August 3.