CARACAS, (Reuters) – Kimberly-Clark Corp is planning a 234 million bolivar ($37.1 mln) investment to expand operations in Venezuela, the state news agency said, in a move that should help ease an embarrassing national shortage of toilet paper.
Scarcity of some food items, medicines and basic bathroom products has marred the start of President Nicolas Maduro’s government, which began in April.
The shortages have become symbolic of the South American OPEC nation’s increasingly tangled economic problems, particularly a shortage of dollars for importers.
The government blames private businesses for hoarding and price-gouging. Critics say the shortages, high inflation, and slowing growth are the result of nationalizations and other socialist economics under Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez
