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Senate approves US$185 million in loans

The Dominican Senate on Wednesday, 11 September 2024 approved a trust agreement between the Infrastructure Development Fund (FDI), signed between the Dominican state, represented by the Ministry of the Presidency, and Fiduciaria Reservas. The Senate also confirmed loans in a second reading totaling US$185 million.

During the session, senators approved an amendment to modify the interest rate of several agreements and replaced LIBOR with SOFR.

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) was a benchmark interest rate for short-term loans between major global banks. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by Treasury securities. The main difference between SOFR and LIBOR is how the rates are produced. While LIBOR is based on panel bank input, SOFR is a broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by Treasury securities in the repurchase agreement (repo) market.

Pedro Catrain, president of the Senate Finance Committee, requested that the plenary include these files in the legislative work, which were submitted by the Executive Branch.

In a single reading, the full Senate approved several agreements, including the agreement between the Dominican Republic and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the project to support the implementation of the State Reform and Modernization Plan, executed by the Ministry of Public Administration. This is a loan valued at US$40 million that had been previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies.

Likewise, the Senate also approved two agreements between the Dominican Republic and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) for the Program to Improve National Distribution Systems, which will be executed by the Eastern Electricity Distribution Company (EdeEste), aimed at purchasing transformers and increasing by 13% the lack of electricity. These are loans of US$120 million, signed between the Dominican government and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

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Noticias SIN

12 September 2024