Ecuador Says Economy in Best Ever Shape

Financing much needed oil, hydro electric and road infrastructure projects in Ecuador is not a problem, as the sovereign enjoys what finance minister Fausto Ortiz de la Cadena calls the best financial position in its history. Ecuador has received an additional $3bn in oil revenues and reduced debt payments by $1.2bn since the star of 2007, Ortiz tells LatinFinance. The county has also accumulated $2bn in international reserves and $1bn for potential investment in social security. Combined, the Andean nation has a comfortable cushion. “To face the crisis and improve its infrastructure, now Ecuador has close to $8bn [in extra reserves]. That never happened in the past,” Ortiz states. Additional savings of $50m could come as a result of the reduction in Libor, over which much of the country’s debt is priced. The minister adds that dollarization will remain in place, since devaluation of the US currency makes exports more competitive.