Hyperinflation-Stricken Venezuela: President orders 96% devaluation

I want the country to recover and I have the formula. Trust me, says Maduro

CARACAS: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced a single exchange rate pegged to his socialist government’s petro cryptocurrency, effectively devaluing by 96% in a move economists said would fan hyperinflation in the chaotic country. In one of the biggest economic overhauls of Maduro’s five-year government, the former bus driver and union leader also said he would hike the minimum wage by over 3,000%, boost the corporate tax rate, and increase highly-subsidised gas prices in coming weeks. “I want the country to recover and I have the formula. Trust me,” Maduro said. But economists expressed doubts that Venezuela’s cash-strapped government would succeed. Venezuelans will see their meagre salaries further eroded and companies will struggle with major increases to both taxes and the minimum wage, they said. The IMF has predicted that inflation in Venezuela would hit 1 million percent this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2018.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.