The Central Bank has announced that it will free up RD$20 billion (US$487 million) to stimulate growth by lowering reserve requirements and expanding loans to companies and consumers. According to the bank, funds will help boost lending in productive sectors such as construction and agriculture and facilitate expansion of small and medium-sized business. According to Central Bank Governor Hector Valdez Albizu, RD$5 billion will be used to finance around 3,700 housing units, and there will also be credit for consumer loans.
Economic growth in the Dominican Republic is forecast to slow to about 3% this year from 3.9% in 2012, which was its slowest pace in three years.
“Economic growth in the first quarter was very, very low,” said Bernardo Fuentes, an economist at Santo Domingo-based consulting firm Economi-K SA, in a phone interview with Bloomberg.com.
“I think part of the slowdown is due to less consumption due to the tax reform,” Fuentes said. “Slower economic activity has been a result of less spending, which has been more aggressive than the central bank expected.”
www.listindiario.com/economia-y-negocios/2013/5/8/276200/El-Banco-Central-libera-RD20-mil-millones-del-encaje-legal-para-reactivar
www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-09/dominican-republic-seeks-487-million-stimulus-as-growth-slows.html