Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04SANTODOMINGO5480
2004-10-01 22:22:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

IMF VISIT TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REVEALS LITTLE

Tags:  ECPS BEXP EFIN DR 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 005480 

SIPDIS

E, EB, EB/IFD/OMA, WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/EPSC;
TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA, TOLOUI, LEE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2014
TAGS: ECPS BEXP EFIN DR
SUBJECT: IMF VISIT TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REVEALS LITTLE
PROGRESS


Classified By: DCM Lisa Kubiske. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 005480

SIPDIS

E, EB, EB/IFD/OMA, WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/EPSC;
TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA, TOLOUI, LEE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2014
TAGS: ECPS BEXP EFIN DR
SUBJECT: IMF VISIT TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REVEALS LITTLE
PROGRESS


Classified By: DCM Lisa Kubiske. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: An IMF team led by Steven Phillips (protect)
to Santo Domingo this week reported that the Dominican
Republic continued to face an acute crisis. The GODR had
made only limited progress toward an integrated plan that
could serve as the basis for resuming its IMF program. The
team reported scant evidence that the Dominicans had taken
adequate concrete steps that would allow negotiations to
begin. There was a feeling that some members of the
Dominican economic team are more open to IMF advice than
others. Despite the disappointingly slow pace, Phillips did
see some progress this week, with the government narrowing
its focus in some areas, and signals that conversations on
the margins of the Fund/Bank meetings October 2-3 could be
important for the Fund's decision on an appropriate strategy
for the next (revised) IMF program for the Dominican
Republic. End summary.

--------------
Slow progress
--------------


2. (C) The visit to Santo Domingo of an IMF technical team
led by Steven Phillips, September 22-30, was one more in a
series that started early in the year with the goal of
reaching a plan that could allow talks aimed at resuming an
IMF program. Despite the many visits (most recently one in
August),Phillips (protect) said that there were still not
enough concrete details coming from the Dominican side to
begin formal negotiations. This was a disappointment after
what had seemed to be rapid progress early this summer just
following elections. The Fund indicated that up to now, it
has been trying to avoid dictating a detailed plan,
preferring rather to give guidance to the government and
letting the government choose its own path. The slow pace,
however, is leading Phillips to consider being more forceful
with his suggestions.

--------------
Fiscal gap still hard to fill
--------------

3. (C) Phillips said that previously, two thirds of the 2004
gap could have been filled by the Paris Club, and the
remaining third by the private sector. The gap is now

several times greater and continues into 2005, for many
reasons, including some external causes. Fiscal slippage and
higher oil prices have played a role. The fiscal package
actually passed, he noted, brings in a full percentage point
less (i.e. about 1.7 percent of GDP) than the package
originally submitted to the Dominican Congress in July.
Arrears are growing. Additional factors are the slower
disbursement of IFI funds and the discovery last spring of
unreported debt. All in all, bridging the gap remains a
problem. The Dominican team has put little on paper about
how to resolve these issues. There are still no numbers in
the Dominican plan that add up and the ideas that the
government has presented lack specificity. Nonetheless,
there was some progress this week, especially by the
Dominican team's developing a matrix of policies and measures
to reduce expenditures. Again, however, the matrix provided a
rough sketch of a plan with little specific information.
Phillips feels that more progress can be made with sustained
international attention, and that, optimistically, putting
together a program by the end of October is possible.

--------------
Paris Club - No information
--------------

4. (C) The Dominicans sent a team to New York last week to
talk with private banks about debt restructuring, but the
government has not yet chosen any of the options presented
during the visit (or it perhaps was unwilling to share this
information with the Fund). As for the October 1 obligatory
report to the Paris Club, the IMF had no information on what
the government plans to present.

--------------
Bank Debt
--------------

5. (C) In the banking sector, the IMF team's emphasis is on
coming up with a timetable and assessing weaknesses, a
process that has also apparently lost pace over the summer.
Phillips noted that the timetable for implementing banking
reform had slowed. Phillips expressed concern that in the
face of growing domestic and international arrears, the
government's ability to be firm with the banks would be
undermined by its continuing need for bank loans.


6. (C) While the Central Bank's announcement on September 29
to extend maturities on certificates of deposit and index
them to inflation is fine in principle, IMF representatives
received no information beyond what was said in the press
release. They saw this as a sign that some members of
government are not yet fully comfortable with working openly
with IMF.

--------------
Still in Crisis
--------------

7. (C) On the positive side, the IMF team found no
ideological opposition with planning, just technical issues.
There were signs, Phillips said, of greater integration.
Dominicans made some progress this week, as noted above, and
the peso's rise and the decline in inflation are both
positive signs, for now. Unfortunately, the Dominican
Republic is still in crisis, and it is the single acute
crisis case in the hemisphere, "if not in the world,"
commented IMF resrep Ousmene Mandeng. Implementation of
structural measures in banking slowed during the summer and
the banking picture remains one of liquidity strength but
capitalization weakness. The improving strength of the peso
and drop in inflation seem at odds with the picture above and
are threatened by the growing arrears.


8. (C) The IMF team expressed mild concern that some of the
Dominican team members are not able to coordinate or work
together effectively. IMF noted a lack of both vertical and
horizontal organization and some "really sharp differences
and rivalries."

--------------
Ahead
--------------

9. (C) Under the best of circumstances, Phillips said,
predicting the timetable for program negotiations is
difficult. With a constant IMF presence, it might be
possible to conclude a revised agreement in October. The
conversations in Washington on the margins of the October 2-3
Bank/Fund meetings could well be important for deciding the
Fund's strategy for a revised program (i.e., how strong a
program, how front-loaded, what pre-conditions).
HERTELL