Peru interview break news on fast growing economy and bank bond row

In a rare interview while on a visit to Chile, Peruvian President Alan Garcia told Reuters on Jan 20 his country grew at break-neck speed last year and acknowledged it risked overheating. Garcia’s interview was published by the main Peruvian newspapers and quoted by market analysts. Our Chile team scored another exclusive with Peruvian Finance Minister Ismael Benavides who said the state cannot yet guarantee repayments for controversial land reform bonds. The billion dollar debt controversy has led the country’s biggest bank to sue the government over the unpaid bonds. The back to back exclusives during Garcia’s trip to neighboring Chile gave clients key insight on Peru’s finances only months before presidential elections in a country that in a decade has emerged from the dark days of car bombs and political instability to become an investor magnet.