NewsWhore
01-03-2012, 11:30 AM
The Central Bank has announced that its Gross International Reserves ended the year at US$4.09 billion, a record for Dominican financial and monetary history. The total is equal to 7.7% of the Gross Domestic Product. The net reserves also reached a record level of US$3.63 billion, according to the Central Bank. Listin Diario reports this will enable the financial and monetary authorities to strengthen their exchange policies.
In an interview with Listin Diario, Central Bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu said that the Gross Domestic Product ended with a real growth of 4.5%, superior to the average for the Latin America and Caribbean region. He forecast inflation for 2011 to end at 8%.
Valdez attributed the achievement to the "titanic efforts" made by President Leonel Fernandez, who is committed to economic stability at a time of historic financial global turbulence. Valdez said that Dominicans should feel optimistic, that despite the adverse international environment the government has been able to maintain growth and macroeconomic stability. He attributed this to the combination of a more neutral monetary policy with an adjustment of public spending during the first half of the year to moderate the impact of imported inflation on prices, to put domestic consumption inline with the potential capacity of the economy.
He said that growth sectors in the year were free zones, tourism and mining. He said that case of the free ones is a very positive news for the year as this was the first time since 2006- that the sector was able to reverse the negative trends, growing more than 14% in value added to the GDP and 19% in their contribution to foreign exchange generation of the country.
He also pointed out that tourism growth should be around a 5% increase at the close of the year.
In the agriculture sector has prospered, with growth over average, and taking advantage of the high prices of commodities on international markets. He also commented industrial sector expected to show growth of 6.5%, with local manufacturing at 5.5%. Construction is expected to post a 3% growth.
Hector Valdez said that the mining sector is expected to have an outstanding year in 2012 with gold exports of US$1.3 billion and ferronickel exports of US$600.
Valdez Albizu said that has deficit generated by the rising petrol prices has been financed by entering capitals, primarily foreign investment. He said that foreign investment capitals in 2011 were more than US$2.3 billion, a reflection of the trust of foreign investors in the macroeconomic stability of the country.
He denied in the interview that growth and financial stability were sustained with foreign loans. He said that the net borrowing, the difference between capital disbursed and payments to capital owed was on average US$860 million during the period 2005-2011, and was not enough to maintain economic growth of the DR that averaged 7% during that period. He said that the net flow of accumulated financing represents barely 13% of the foreign exchange revenues of total exports, and 21% of tourism receives, 29% of the remittances and 47% of the direct foreign investment. He commented that in an economy as open as the Dominican one, there is a daily average of exchange operations of US$70 million.
The Central Bank governor said in the interview that the debt of the non financial public sector at November 2011 was 29% of the GDP, and the consolidated public debt, that includes the debt of the Central Bank, is equal to 39% of GDP, 10 points below the level that would bring difficulties to the country.
See www.bancentral.gov.do (http://www.bancentral.gov.do)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
In an interview with Listin Diario, Central Bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu said that the Gross Domestic Product ended with a real growth of 4.5%, superior to the average for the Latin America and Caribbean region. He forecast inflation for 2011 to end at 8%.
Valdez attributed the achievement to the "titanic efforts" made by President Leonel Fernandez, who is committed to economic stability at a time of historic financial global turbulence. Valdez said that Dominicans should feel optimistic, that despite the adverse international environment the government has been able to maintain growth and macroeconomic stability. He attributed this to the combination of a more neutral monetary policy with an adjustment of public spending during the first half of the year to moderate the impact of imported inflation on prices, to put domestic consumption inline with the potential capacity of the economy.
He said that growth sectors in the year were free zones, tourism and mining. He said that case of the free ones is a very positive news for the year as this was the first time since 2006- that the sector was able to reverse the negative trends, growing more than 14% in value added to the GDP and 19% in their contribution to foreign exchange generation of the country.
He also pointed out that tourism growth should be around a 5% increase at the close of the year.
In the agriculture sector has prospered, with growth over average, and taking advantage of the high prices of commodities on international markets. He also commented industrial sector expected to show growth of 6.5%, with local manufacturing at 5.5%. Construction is expected to post a 3% growth.
Hector Valdez said that the mining sector is expected to have an outstanding year in 2012 with gold exports of US$1.3 billion and ferronickel exports of US$600.
Valdez Albizu said that has deficit generated by the rising petrol prices has been financed by entering capitals, primarily foreign investment. He said that foreign investment capitals in 2011 were more than US$2.3 billion, a reflection of the trust of foreign investors in the macroeconomic stability of the country.
He denied in the interview that growth and financial stability were sustained with foreign loans. He said that the net borrowing, the difference between capital disbursed and payments to capital owed was on average US$860 million during the period 2005-2011, and was not enough to maintain economic growth of the DR that averaged 7% during that period. He said that the net flow of accumulated financing represents barely 13% of the foreign exchange revenues of total exports, and 21% of tourism receives, 29% of the remittances and 47% of the direct foreign investment. He commented that in an economy as open as the Dominican one, there is a daily average of exchange operations of US$70 million.
The Central Bank governor said in the interview that the debt of the non financial public sector at November 2011 was 29% of the GDP, and the consolidated public debt, that includes the debt of the Central Bank, is equal to 39% of GDP, 10 points below the level that would bring difficulties to the country.
See www.bancentral.gov.do (http://www.bancentral.gov.do)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)