UPDATE 1-Colombia says carries out $100 mln debt conversion
(Adds details throughout)
BOGOTA, May 16 (Reuters) - Colombia has carried out an operation to convert $100 million in foreign debt to local peso obligations in the first such measure to take advantage of the strong currency, the finance ministry said on Friday.
Colombia earlier this month it plans to eventually convert all of its $20 billion foreign currency debt into pesos through a serious of hedge operations as the peso soars.
The government has said the operations would start with up to $2 billion in its World Bank obligations. The Colombian peso <COP=RR> has strengthened around 10 percent against the U.S. dollar over the last 12 months. (Reporting by Patrick Markey in Bogota; Editing by Jan Paschal, Gary Hill)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Entertainment
Rice meets Gaddafi in historic visit
