We're buying and that's that

[NewsWhore]

Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa says that the Dominican government is committed to buying Shell's 50% stake in the Dominican Petroleum Refineries and said that the government doesn't need the IMF's endorsement of the deal. Speaking yesterday, Bengoa was defiant in his attitude towards the purchase of Shell's shares and is quoted in Hoy as saying that "the IMF can't stop us from making a move like this. Let it be clear! We will not retreat in this process." Bengoa did say however that the purchase would be transparent and would respect the government's commitments to the IMF and the Stand-by Arrangement, which limits public spending and foreign debt. Bengoa's comments came as a response to IMF country representative Eric Offerdahl's comments that he sees no advantages in purchasing Shell's shares and added that the company should stay in the hands of the private sector. Bengoa added that Offerdahl was just giving his personal opinion and defended the government's imminent purchase by explaining that complete control of the Refineries would allow the government full access to the 50,000 barrels of fuel available from Venezuela through the Petro Caribe agreement.

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