The Peruvian government is looking to create a sovereign wealth fund to help protect the economy against future downturns, he said. The fund will likely be initially created within Peru's existing stabilization fund, and the process will likely begin within the next few weeks, he added.

Accroding to the minister, the existing stabilization fund has about US$2 billion, reported Dow Jones.

In addition, Peru could tap the international bond market this year, though it is not clear whether it would issue a global bond before April's presidential elections, he said.

"We would like to look at doing something this year, either with this government or with the incoming government," Benavides stated.

Peru will start issuing local bonds this month and continue throughout the year, he added.

(END) INT/PSY