Bolivia

Bolivia’s central bank ditched new rules on reporting its gold reserves which it had published just two days earlier, Bloomberg News reported. The bank said in a statement Friday that it wouldn’t implement the resolution to avoid “speculation that seeks to damage the economic stability of the country.” The resolution would have allowed the bank to report its gold holdings twice a year: on Nov. 5 and May 5. That could potentially have allowed it to access more liquidity to pay for imports and address a crippling fuel shortage.

The Latin American high-yield bond rally that started in El Salvador and expanded to Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador has now swept up Bolivia in its wake. That’s a step too far for some investors, Bloomberg News reported. El Salvador gained after unexpectedly meeting all its debt payments, while Venezuela rallied after the US lifted sanctions. Ecuador and Argentina jumped as they imposed radical free-market reforms following years of mismanagement.

Bolivia's government set out on Tuesday a package of measures to spur investment and exports as it seeks to reverse a worsening dollar scarcity that has left shelves empty and workers unpaid, Reuters reported. The government of President Luis Arce said its plan, agreed with businesses, would aim to cut red tape for exports, increase investment in grains production, make diesel imports easier, and allow bigger trucks on the roads.

Bolivia's economy grew by 2.21% in the second quarter of this year compared to a year earlier, the country's planning ministry said on Friday, boosted by a growth in internal demand, Reuters reported. Growth was led by the South American country's services, electricity, gas and water, financial establishments and construction sectors, the ministry said in a report. "Bolivia maintains a sustained economic growth above the South American average," Planning Minister Sergio Cusicanqui said. The government forecasts annual growth of 4.86% this year.

The Bolivian financial regulator (ASFI) will offer the savings deposited in Banco Fassil to other banks that can guarantee its devolution, a process that could last a month, but if this fails, a forced liquidation of assets may be considered, said ASFI Director Reynaldo Yujra in a press conference, Bloomberg News reported. Fassil reported liquidity problems since the beginning of the year but the situation worsened in March, when the entity cut its credit and debit card services and interrupted online transfers.

Bolivia’s central bank is rebuilding its international reserves as it deals with a “transitory” liquidity problem affecting the country, according to Finance Minister Marcelo Montenegro, Bloomberg News reported. The minister declined to elaborate on what the current level of reserves is, but said it had increased recently. The central bank board can decide to withhold the data to avoid creating “more speculation,” he said. “They’re replenishing them,” Montenegro said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington.

Bolivia’s government has arrested a former Treasury Ministry official as part of an investigation into a loan from the International Monetary Fund that was renounced by new President Luís Arce, the Associated Press reported. Former Vice Minister Carlos Schlink was arrested Tuesday as he was trying to leave the country, according to prosecutor Manuel Saavedra. Three former treasury ministers also are under investigation. Schlink served under former interim President Jeanine Áñez, who herself has been detained on charges of sedition.

Apex Silver Mines Ltd, which runs silver mining operations in Latin America, has sought bankruptcy protection from creditors with a New York court, with plans to sell its stake in a Bolivian mining operation, Reuters reported. The company filed a Chapter 11 petition with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan late Monday, and says it will receive $27.5 million plus other consideration for its stake in the San Cristbal Mine in Bolivia from Sumitomo Corp.