Morales ready to negotiate with oil cos.

President-elect Evo Morales is ready to negotiate with foreign oil companies over the future of Bolivia’s vast natural gas reserves and wants to boost exports beyond South America, a key member of his transition team said Friday.

Carlos Villegas, a likely choice for an economic post in Morales’ Cabinet, said the new administration will also try to boost economic growth — which has averaged 3.5 percent annually for two decades in Bolivia — in a bid to create jobs in one of the region’s poorest countries.