EL COMERCIO - 12 Apr. 2008

 http://tinyurl.com/4q98d4

IMF foresees Improvement in Ecuadorian Economy

Washington, AP

Ecuador, that in 2007 had the worse index of regional growth, has been the victim of a mixture of natural and human factors and should soon begin to recover economically, said a senior official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday.  But, Anoop Singh, director of the office for Latin America and the Caribbean, took note that like other countries Ecuador requires more investment, and must work internally to attract it.

Ecuador closed 2007 with barely 1.9% growth, the lowest in almost two decades.   As a producer of petroleum, one hoped that it would have had better returns:   After all, as recently as 2004, with 8%, it had been one of the regional leaders with greater growth.

Speaking in a press conference at the reunion of governors of the IMF and World Bank, Singh declined to indicate directly if the nationalistic policies of president Rafael Correa would have had something to do with the present Ecuadorian situation. "In Ecuador we have a scenario with three phenomena: a drop in crude oil production, a drop in agricultural production, and natural causes" he stated.   

He indicated that the institutional projections signaled a progressive Ecuadorian recovery beginning this year, in which the index would reach 2.9%  and arrive at 4.1% in 2009 and 4.4% in 2013.   "Like in any other country, investments are important to Ecuador" he said.  "That is the lesson that the asian markets have given us."  He explained that investments are of "critical importance" for the producers of primary resources due to the nature of the work that also requires a technological component.

translation: ebear