Newly released market study: Venezuela Country Risk Report Q3 2016

Low oil prices, high inflation and a poor business environment will see Venezuela's recession stretch into its third year in 2016, and persist until 2018.

Major political gains on the part of the opposition in December's legislative elections will result in a gradual turn towards more orthodox economic policy, although the pace of change will be substantially hampered by the institutional strength of the PSUV and the power of the executive branch.

Political risk will remain elevated due to deteriorating living standards and lack of confidence in leadership to competently govern.

Inflation will remain elevated, at the highest level in Latin America, and the operating environment will remain very precarious for foreign multinationals in the country.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/1191604_venezuela_country_risk_report.aspx?afid=301

Major Forecast Changes

Due to increased political gridlock which has diminished the probability of meaningful and timely economic reform, we have downgraded our real GDP growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017. We forecast the economy to contract by 7.0% in 2016 and by 1.6% in 2017.

Following our Oil & Gas team's upgrade to oil prices, we believe that current account shortfall will be slightly narrower than we previously forecast, although still very wide by historical and regional standards, at 7.1% of GDP in 2016.

Key Risks

Upside Risks: If the Maduro administration were to decide to take steps towards meaningful economic reforms, investor sentiment would rebound relatively quickly, lowering financing costs and increasing FDI inflows.

Downside Risks: The potential for elevated political tensions to materialise in a wider political crisis could result in a further deterioration of investor sentiment and lower economic growth. Although we have already downgraded our oil price forecasts, downside risks still exist, due to abundant supply and subdued global demand for crude.

Assess your risk exposure in Venezuela with our 100% independent forecasts assessing the pace and stability of this key market. Backed by trusted data from BMI Research's 52 million data point economic forecast model, this report will allow you to measure political, economic, business environment and operational risks in Venezuela with confidence.

Your subscription service includes:
Delivery of the report in print and PDF
Online access for 12 months
The functionality to translate your online report into your choice of 10 languages - Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish
The ability to export data and graphs from the online report directly into your workflow
The support of a dedicated Account Manager to answer any questions you might have about your subscription
Access to our team of leading analysts who will be happy to answer any questions you might have about the data and forecasts included in this report

About Fast Market Research

Fast Market Research is a leading distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff is always available to help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget.

For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156 (1.413.485.7001 Int'l)