Venezuelan minister predicts higher growth in rest of 2008

Venezuela's planning minister says economic growth will pick up during the rest of the year, after a sharp slowdown in the first quarter. Planning Minister Haiman El Troudi told reporters Friday that the oil-exporting economy 'will heat up again,' after first-quarter growth slowed to a four-year low of 4.8 percent. Venezuela's government is aiming for 6 percent annual growth this year, and the minister says gains should average 5 to 6 percent a year throughout the next decade. President Hugo Chavez this week announced a package of measures to boost growth and encourage investment.