The President of the Venezuelan Confederation of Industries (Conindustria), Juan Pablo Olalquiaga, asserted that the Venezuelan industrial sector sought to participate and collaborate with the High Level Committee for the Substitution of Imports, set up by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last weekend.

In that regard, Conindustria brought forward five proposals to the Executive Office.

Olalquiaga warned that the business tendency survey for this year's second quarter showed that 85% of respondents reported falling inventories of raw material, compared to 73% in the same period of 2014.

The five proposals were announced by Olalquiaga at a press conference, namely:

1) Securitizing the debt incurred with international providers, in order to recover confidence and external credit while continuing raw material imports.

2) Giving seized companies back to the private sector.

3) Relaxing price control so as to establish prices closer to the real costs.

4) Gradually modifying foreign exchange control by legalizing the parallel market, so it can operate in a transparent manner through banks, which would foster competitiveness within the local industry.

5) Supporting the proposal of linking technology and scientific centers with industries, in order to increase production through investigation centers and universities.

El Universal