China signs off on $5 billion loan to boost Venezuela oil output: Maduro

Venezuela and China have signed a deal for a $5 billion loan designed to increase the OPEC country's oil production, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said. Maduro, speaking from China in a show broadcast on Venezuelan state television on Tuesday night, said the loan was destined "to increase oil production in a gradual way in coming months," without providing further details.A source at Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA told Reuters in March that China was set to extend a "special" $5 billion loan that would likely stipulate hiring Chinese companies to boost output in the company's mature oil fields. More…