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Government against enlarging bond issue The government warned the Senate not to modify plans for the projected new bond issuance, saying that such changes “could send the wrong signals to the international capital market.” Minister of Finance Jose Lois Malkum said that, “the uncertainty surrounding the world economy requires that the Congress approve the project, just as it has been sent, since the windows of opportunity could close.” Malkum pointed out that efforts to re-acquire businesses that had been capitalized would call for a public debate. The Senate has said it would like to expand the placement to include US$200 million to buy back shares of power distributors. President Mejia has already said that he is not in favor of expanding the new sovereign bond issue in order to re-purchase some of the power distribution companies. The Minister of Finance said that the new bond issuance would be used to reduce the impact of short-term foreign currency obligations which, in his opinion, are poorly structured. As an example, Malkum cited the upcoming commitment to repay RD$14.6-billion for debt service in 2003. Malkum calls this an absurdity, since the Dominican Republic would be paying US$220-million dollars more in debt service than what was borrowed for the year 2003. |
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Bond issue clarifications The Ministry of Finance published a full-page communication that gives details on the new proposed bond issuance. Firstly, the bonds will be issued for a term of ten years and will improve the external position of the Dominican Republic. The release of the US$600-million dollars in bonds will not produce an overall increase in the foreign debt, since US$450-million will be used to cancel short-term loans. US$135-million will go to local commercial banks to pay the short-term loans, and US$315-million will go pay international short-term obligations. The remaining US$150-million will be directed to the Central Bank, in order to strengthen its reserves of foreign currency and thereby allowing it to possibly restructure other short-term debts. The Ministry of Finance also confirmed that the syndicate to handle the sale of the bonds is JP Morgan, with Chase and Salomon Smith Barney Citigroup as Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Manager. Morgan Stanley and Deustche Bank will be the co-managers. The syndicate will receive a 0.39% commission on the sale and will have to cover all the expenses. The previous issuance paid a 0.50% commission. |
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DR credit rating just affirmed, not raised DR1 erroneously reported yesterday that Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency had raised the sovereign credit rating for the Dominican Republic. “The rating was raised on September 5, 2001 and has not changed since that time. We recently affirmed the rating -- nothing has changed,” points out Richard Francis, credit analyst for Standard & Poor’s. In its 14 November update S&P’s affirmed the credit rating that had been raised from 'B+' to 'BB-' on 5 September 2001. |
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High tech medicine The first liver transplant in the Dominican Republic took place yesterday in the Plaza de la Salud (Health Plaza) in Santo Domingo. Little Wilmary Montilla, only 9 months old, received 25% of her mother’s liver. Dr. Victor Garrido of the Dominican Republic coordinated the operation with a visiting team of doctors from the University of Pittsburgh. The operation lasted 24 hours and the results, so far, have been satisfactory. |
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Other health news AIDS patients protested yesterday in front of the Presidential AIDS Commission demanding better health care. With many of their faces covered, these previously anonymous patients have formed the People Living with AIDS Network, led by Felipa Garcia. Garcia told the newsmen that over 300 people had requested assistance from the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights, but the government had only heard 10 cases. The demonstrators placed clothing belonging to deceased AIDS patients on the lawn of the Presidential Commission. The leaders of the delegation of AIDS patients said that all of those people died because they could not afford the medicines and were not assisted by the government. If something is not done to prevent the spread of AIDS, there will be 78,000 children with the disease within the next 5 years, according to Claudina Valdez and Claudio Dońé Castillo, coordinator of the HIV/AIDS program between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and Vision Mundial (World Vision) respectively. “A revealing factor to us is the existence at the border of 27 marketplaces. We took 33 random samples in Jimani and 11 came up HIV positive.” |
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Distance learning The State University of New York at Utica/Rome and the APEC University of Santo Domingo have announced that students in the Dominican Republic will have access through UNAPEC to degrees offered by SUNY Utica/Rome. Classes will be intense - from 6 pm to 10 pm, Monday through Thursday, and from 8 am to 5 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The cost will be US$8,000 for a degree in Business Administration, however financing will be available. In order to register for the course, a student must take 84-credit courses at UNAPEC and the rest via the Internet at SUNY Utica/Rome. |
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Ecuador and the DR Yesterday the Dominican Republic and Ecuador signed a mutual assistance agreement that covers the areas of hydrocarbons, energy, tourism and mutual positions on international topics. President Hipolito Mejia and President Gustavo Noboa of Ecuador signed the joint declaration at the Presidential Palace in Santo Domingo. Noboa is in the country on an official visit that continued for nearly 2 days following his participation in the XII Iberoamerican Summit. Presidents Noboa and Mejia also attended an academic ceremony in Santiago, where Noboa was named Honorary Professor at the PUCMM. Noboa, described as the richest man in Ecuador, is an investor in Dominican agroindustries, as well as having many other interests in the country. |
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Glasgow mayor visits Santo Domingo The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow, Scotland, Mr. Alex Mosson, visted his colleague, Santo Domingo Mayor Roberto Salcedo, yesterday. Mayor Salcedo expressed his interest in a sister-city program with Glasgow. The mayors exchanged gifts of amber cufflinks and fine Scotch whisky. As the Leader of the Glasgow City Council and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s representative for the city, Mosson has a technical background and an interest in the environment that spans many years. Among the offices he has held is that of Vice Chair of the Environmental Health Committee, as well as the office of Convenor of Environmental Services in the Council's labor administration. |
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More blackouts After a period of relatively consistent service, the energy situation deteriorated yesterday when two of the suppliers went off-line, causing widespread blackouts. The areas most affected were Santiago, Moca, La Vega, the southernmost parts of the country and the areas of Herrera and Los Alcarrizos in Santo Domingo. Both EDE Norte and EDE Sur defended themselves by saying that the service breaks had not been scheduled by the distributors, but were however authorized by the Superintendent of Power. The energy deficit yesterday was approximately 110 megawatts, with the out-of-service producers identified as being Mitsubishi in San Pedro de Macoris, Itabo Turbogas I, Smith-Enron, Haina II and Cogentrix I, II, and III. |
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USA 3000 Airline seeks new routes USA 3000 Airlines seeks to add regular flights to the Dominican Republic to its schedule. The Civil Aviation Board will hold a public hearing on 27 November regarding the request to exploit the following routes: Newark/Santo Domingo/Newark Philadelphia/Santo Domingo/Philadelphia San Juan, P.R./Santo Domingo/San Juan, P.R. Newark/La Romana/Newark Philadelphia/La Romana/Newark San Juan, P.R./Punta Cana/San Juan, P.R. Chicago/Punta Cana/Chicago Baltimore/Punta Cana/Baltimore Cleveland/Punta Cana/Cleveland Cincinnatti/Punta Cana/Cincinnatti Pittsburgh/Punta Cana/Pittsburgh Bradley/Punta Cana/Bradley |
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Guinness Record for local radio host Dominican radio host JM Hidalgo established a new world record for non-stop radio broadcast. Hidalgo talked for 80 hours on ZOL 106.5 FM. During the last day of the broadcast the radio station received an average of 2,000 calls per hour, according to Tricom, and the switchboard could only handle a few more than 900 calls per hour. JM, as he is called, began his marathon at 7 am last Friday and finished yesterday at 3 pm. As his marathon session was coming to a close dozens of other radio stations joined in to celebrate the event. Hidalgo touched on as many as 1,500 different topics during the live radio broadcast, according to Hoy newspaper. |
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Baseball Players Museum Mario Melvin Soto, president of the Federation of Professional Ballplayers, announced the construction of the Museum of Professional Ballplayers of the Dominican Republic. The project has an estimated cost of US$500,000, according to an announcement made yesterday during a press conference. The five-floor building will be erected on Calle Fernandez Dominguez No. 6, across from the Quisqueya Ball Park. Pitcher Jose Lima said he would finance the construction of one of the floors, picking up the tab for US$100,000. As explained, the building will also house doctors’ offices and the offices of the Federation of Professional Baseball players, with the museum on the top two floors. |
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