As reported in El Caribe and El Siglo newspapers, Mauro Leos, vice president and a senior risk analyst at Moodys Investors Services said yesterday that doubts among international investors about Latin American economic stability could affect the Dominican Sovereign Bonds announced by the Mejia administration. He said the volatility of the financial markets in general also could have a negative effect and the country may have to pay higher than normal rates to access these funds. Leos was a speaker at a conference on sovereign risk and DR risk rating organized by Stewart Title. On the positive side he said the announcement of the bond issue has not met with any rejection from investors. He attributed this to the fact that the DR does not have a track record issuing bonds. He says the investors will give the DR an opportunity. This lack of experience with bonds could work against the DR, though. He said how things go will depend on the strength of the measures being taken by the Dominican government and monetary authorities.
