SELF IMPROVEMENT

Venezuelan officials confirmed Wednesday that they are looking to repatriate billions in gold reserves held abroad to "diversify" their portfolio in light of debt problems plaguing the U.S. and other advanced economies around the world.

In a televised press conference, Finance Minister Jorge Giordani and Central Bank President Nelson Merentes defended the plans, calling them a move to "safeguard national interests."

President Hugo Chavez, who spoke via telephone during the conference, urged Merentes to expedite the process of transferring nearly $11 billion in gold from the U.S. and Europe back to the vaults of the Central Bank in Caracas.

"How much longer are we the countries of South [America] going to finance the development of the countries of the north?" Chavez said.

The news comes one day after documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal showed that the Venezuelan government is looking to bring back home billions of dollars in cash reserves held abroad to banks in Russia, China and Brazil and tons of gold from European banks. According to the documents, the South American country aims to move 211 tons of gold it keeps abroad and values at $11 billion to the Central Bank in Caracas, where the government keeps its remaining 154 tons of bullion.

Analysts said the move would make little sense financially and seems more likely to be driven by geopolitical reasons as Venezuela tries to strengthen ties with allies and away from ideological foes like the U.S.

In addition, "moving liquid assets to less stringent jurisdictions is likely to diminish the transparency of Venezuela's reserve position in the future," said Nomura strategist Boris Segura.

The Venezuelan Central Bank held nearly $18 billion in gold as of the end of the first half of the year, making up nearly 63% of its total reserves. As of the end of June, Venezuela had the largest gold holdings in all of Latin America, according to the World Gold Council.

During his comments Wednesday, Chavez went commented on how strongly the Chinese and Russian economies are advancing while Venezuela's reserves were unjustifiably being kept in "sinking economies" like the U.S. and Europe, where they also receiving low interest rates.

Earlier in the day, the leftist leader announced that he will soon pass a decree to nationalize the gold sector--including exploration and extraction of the precious metal--in a bid to combat smuggling and ramp up the country's international reserves.

Rodrigo Cabezas, a former finance minister under the Chavez government, said during a separate conference on state television that authorities have for some time been looking to bring gold holdings back home.

Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday criticized the "secretive" nature of the potential transfer of funds but Cabezas defended the plan saying "that it's not necessary to be informing and saying every month where reserves are being allocated."