The president of the American Chamber of Commerce, Andres Aybar Baez, has recommended that the government not issue US$500 million in sovereign bonds. He urged the government instead to accept a proposal from a pool of local banks that would provide credit at low interest rates and more attractive conditions. Expanding on the Chamber’s position, he criticized that the bill the Executive Branch sent to Congress does not specify what type of public works the bond funds can be used for. The former president of the Association of Commercial Banks said that if the government issues the bonds now it would have to pay interest rates of 12 and 13% which he considers very high. Aybar feels the bonds should be issued gradually, not in such an aggressive manner as proposed by the government.
