Chilean Budget Surplus Widened in 2006, Savings Climb on Copper
Chile’s budget surplus climbed in 2006 from a year earlier, bolstered by revenue from government- owned Codelco, the world’s biggest copper producer.
The government budget surplus widened to 6 trillion pesos ($11 billion), or 7.9 percent of gross domestic product, higher than an October forecast for a surplus of 7.6 percent of GDP, said Budget Director Alberto Arenas in a statement released in Santiago. Chile’s public holdings rose to $10.2 billion in December from the $9.75 billion in September, as reported earlier
The government had 89 percent of its assets in dollars and 11 percent in peso-denominated assets, Arenas said. The government said 86 percent of those funds were invested outside of Chile.