DR could buy back Petrocaribe debt with bonds Although a curious silence surrounds this news, it turns out that there is still no definite agreement with Venezuela. Investment bank Goldman Sachs purchase of the Dominican debt owed to Venezuela appears to be part of a triangle whose third vertex is the Dominican Republic. According to The Wall Street Journal, Venezuelan officials have spoken to Dominican officials and to the Goldman Sachs Group, with a view to implementing a financial formula that will bring some relief to Venezuelas fragile finances. According to reports in the US media, which just identifies as the source people familiar with the matter, Goldman Sachs will take over the debt that the Dominican Republic owes to Venezuela, at a great discount, in order to then sell it to the Dominican Republic, which would pay for it with the funds that it would obtain by issuing more sovereign bonds. Nevertheless, in contrast with the report in El Nuevo Herald on Monday 1 December 2014, the source at the WSJ said that the parties have not yet reached an agreement, so that it was not imminent. While these versions were circulating in US newspapers, the authorities in the Dominican Republic have remained silent. On Tuesday 2 December, after Diario Libre requested a statement from Minister of Hacienda Simon Lizardo, a request it reiterated on Wednesday 3 December, the only known reaction from the official is that he has not been informed. The Venezuelan Embassy in the Dominican Republic is also keeping quiet, as it did not answer Diario Libres request for clarification either.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 22:30:59 +0000