NewsWhore
05-18-2006, 02:17 PM
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services issued a commentary today that examines some of the key economic and political challenges facing the Dominican Republic following its congressional and municipal elections on 16 May 16, 2006. The article, entitled "New Reforms Key To Improving Dominican Republic's Creditworthiness," finds that strengthening government institutions is the main challenge facing the Dominican Republic. "A number of institutional reforms in the areas of debt management, banking supervision, the judiciary, among other areas are greatly needed to underpin the government's creditworthiness and improve economic prospects," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Richard Francis. Moreover, a number of international agencies including Transparency International, the UNDP and World Bank all point to significant institutional deficiencies. "The Dominican Republic ranks in the bottom half of Transparency International's corruption perception ranking at 85, well below most Latin American countries. The country's UNDP human development indicators also rank in lower half of the nations surveyed," he added.
Francis explained that the framework for the policy agenda under the first half of the Fernandez administration has been led by the agreement with the International Monetary Fund in combination with the negotiated DR-CAFTA free trade agreement with the US. He points out, however, that weak institutions and an apparent high level of corruption have been one of the key constraining rating factors for the credit; both of which take considerable time to fix.
"Clearly, the Dominican Republic has weathered the worst of its financial and economic crisis and has begun to witness solid growth similar to its halcyon days of the 1990s," writes Francis. "However, to put the country on a sustainable path to improved creditworthiness and continued high economic growth, a number of institutional reforms in the areas of electricity, financial sector, debt management, and fiscal policy are needed. The passage and implementation of these reforms will be key for positive ratings actions going forward," he concluded.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)
Francis explained that the framework for the policy agenda under the first half of the Fernandez administration has been led by the agreement with the International Monetary Fund in combination with the negotiated DR-CAFTA free trade agreement with the US. He points out, however, that weak institutions and an apparent high level of corruption have been one of the key constraining rating factors for the credit; both of which take considerable time to fix.
"Clearly, the Dominican Republic has weathered the worst of its financial and economic crisis and has begun to witness solid growth similar to its halcyon days of the 1990s," writes Francis. "However, to put the country on a sustainable path to improved creditworthiness and continued high economic growth, a number of institutional reforms in the areas of electricity, financial sector, debt management, and fiscal policy are needed. The passage and implementation of these reforms will be key for positive ratings actions going forward," he concluded.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)