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Doing business & staying in touch

Although Venezuelan businesses are generally up to speed on communications technology, the personal touch remains essential, and some socializing should supplement your e-mail and telephone exchanges.

Appointments are necessary and business visitors should be punctual, even though their Venezuelan counterparts may show up a little late. At introductions, a handshake is customary and it is common to exchange business cards. Although English is becoming more widely spoken in business circles, particularly at the executive level, Spanish is essential for most negotiations.

Business people tend to dress formally in Caracas, despite the heat. Nearly any office is fiercely air conditioned, so you'll often be glad to have a jacket to wear.

Office hours: 

Working hours vary, but are roughly 0800 to 1700 Monday to Friday. Some businesses take a break in the middle of the day - usually from noon to 1500, to avoid the heat of the day.

Economy: 

Venezuela was a primarily agricultural country until the discovery of oil in the 1920s. A prominent founding member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the country ranks fifth in the world in oil reserves, and it is among the world's top 10 oil exporting nations. The resource provides 90% of export earnings, half of government revenues and approximately a quarter of the country's GDP (in contrast, agriculture comprises less than 4% of GDP). Overdependence on oil revenues, however, has left Venezuela vulnerable to world price fluctuations.

Following an overwhelming electoral victory in December 2006, President Hugo Chávez moved to nationalise petroleum and other companies, somewhat ruffling foreign investors. Despite Chávez's vociferous denunciation of his American counterpart, George W Bush, the US remains a major trading partner, accounting for more than half of the country's exports (mostly oil).

Buoyed by major government investments and increased access to credit, consumer spending jumped substantially in 2007, though at the expense of a 20% rise in inflation. In an effort to boost confidence in the currency, in 2008 the government introduced the Bolívar Fuerte, slashing three zeroes so that a beer now costs about 1 Bolívar instead of 1,000.
Larger hotels have facilities. For further information, contact the Buró de Conveciones y Visitantes de Venezuela (conventions bureau) (website: www.burodevenezuela.com).

GDP: 

US$226.9 billion (2007).

Main exports: 

Petroleum, aluminium, steel, chemical products, agricultural products.

Main imports: 

Machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods and construction materials.

Main trading partners: 

USA, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, China.

Staying in touch in Venezuela

Mobile phone: 

Roaming agreements exist with some international mobile phone companies. Travellers on extended stays might consider getting a local SIM card to insert in their own phone.

Internet: 

There are Internet cafes in most urban areas.

Post: 

Mail service from Venezuela to the USA and Europe is unreliable and could take anywhere from a week to a month to arrive.

Post office hours: 

Mon-Fri 0800-1200 and 1300-16:30

Media: 

President Hugo Chávez has been roundly criticized by outsiders for his attempts to muzzle opponents in the media. The most recent incident occurred in May 2007 when his government refused to renew the broadcast licence of Radio Caracas Television, an opposition-backed TV station, replacing the channel with state-run TVes. Soon afterward, he threatened to shut down another station, Globovisión, which he accused of attempting to assassinate him. In general, however, the Venezuelan press is free to denounce Chávez's policies, and his opponents in the country's main newspapers can be downright scathing in their criticism. The president has his own weekly TV and radio programme, on which he voices his opinions and sings his favourite tunes.

Press: 

• The English-language daily newspaper is The Daily Journal, published in Caracas.
• Spanish-language dailies include El Nacional, El Mundo, El Universal and Últimas Noticias.

Television: 

• Venezolana de Television and TVes are government-run.
• Other channels include private networks Televen, Venevisión and 24-hour news channel Globovisión.
• Telesur is a pan-Latin American broadcaster based in Caracas.

Radio: 

• Radio Nacional de Venezuela (www.rnv.gov.ve) is a state broadcaster with several stations, including Canal Informativo, Canal Clásico, Canal Juvenil, and Canal Popular.
• Union Radio is a commercial news network.

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