IMF agreement welcomed

[NewsWhore]

The recently announced "monitoring" agreement with the IMF will be the DR's ninth agreement with the international financial institution since 1959 and it is receiving support from the DR's private sector. According to Diario Libre, the agreement will not entail the disbursement of funds, nor will it involve a revision of the goals as set out in the Stand-by Arrangement that ended last January. The DR's private sector believes the agreement will serve as a vote of confidence for foreign investors interested in the DR. Pablo Piantini, president of the Young Entrepreneurs Association (ANJE) said the agreement could bring more investments to the DR because the IMF projects an image of transparency and confidence. However, former Central Bank governor Carlos Despradel questioned the circumstances under which the agreement was signed. Quoted in El Caribe, Despradel says that this agreement is much lighter than the previous Stand-by arrangement, because the government didn't want such a rigid agreement this time. Despradel also entertained the idea that possibly the IMF didn't see the need for another rigid agreement. He added that ultimately what is important is to see if the government is willing to monitor itself with or without an agreement.

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