On Sunday, the day the Christian world remembers the Resurrection of the Christ, holders of Dominican sovereign bonds will receive their own cash resurrection: US$23.7 million. This coupon payment will, according to the El Caribe, neutralize some of the efforts the government is trying to carry out in order to get money back into circulation, and so, the economy continues to creep along. The new payment will need, at current exchange rates, RD$672.8 million, and there is a ten-day period of grace, without falling into arrears.
During the week, President Fernandez and his economic team had tried to stimulate the economy by announcing the release of RD$1.5 billion for agriculture, small and medium sized business loans, as well as RD$1.8 billion in public works and water projects.
Former UASD rector Porfirio Garcia told reporters that the one thing that will activate the economy is if the Congress passes the much discussed RD$8 billion bond issues.
The five year interest payments on the 2001 bond issue for US$500 million is estimated at US$237.5 million, and the interest payments on the US$600 million bond issue of 2003 will be US$564 million over a ten year period.