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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia announced capital controls on some foreign investments Wednesday to try to curb the soaring peso, which has made greater gains against the dollar this year than any other currency.
Finance Minister Oscar Zuluaga said that starting immediately, foreign portfolio investors will be required to deposit 40 percent of their investments in non-interest-bearing accounts in the Central Bank for six months. The measure is designed to absorb a surfeit of dollars and discourage speculative financial transactions.
The controls complement similar actions announced May 6 by the Central Bank to freeze 40 percent of offshore loans and deposits repatriated by local companies. The monetary authority has also steadily ratcheted up interest rates to blunt a resurgence of inflation.
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