Colext/Macondo
Cantina virtual de los COLombianos en el EXTerior
--------------------------------------------------
Guepa Pepa!!! Que viva Pastrana!!!
Nestor Raul
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Copyright 1999 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
BOGOTA, Dec 2 (AFP) - Colombia's worst recession in a century
continued to wreck havoc in the third quarter, with gross domestic
product (GDP) falling 5.3 percent compared to the same period last
year, according to government figures released Thursday.
The economic crisis, along with the 20 percent unemployment,
pushed the government of Andres Pastrana to seek a 2.7 billion
dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund, which is still
considering the proposal.
Problems in Colombian banks -- rocked by nonperforming loans and
high interest rates -- inflation, lower demand and the 30 percent
decline of the Colombian peso for the year period ending in
September have contributed to slow growth over the year.
The latest figures put the Colombian economy on track for a 4.5
percent contraction in 1999, according to the National Association
of Financial Institutes.
But the government maintains the economy will decline by only
3.5 percent.
Among the worst performing sectors in the third quarter,
construction dropped 20.2 percent, industry was off 11 percent and
the financial business slipped 10 percent, according to the
figures.
Meanwhile, the National Federation of Coffee Growers said the
coming coffee harvest in Colombia, which is the second-largest
producer in the world, will be the smallest in 20 years with only
9.3 million 60-kilo (132-pound) bags. The past harvest -- October
1998 to September 1999 -- produced only 10.5 million bags, falling
below expectations of 12.5 million.
Mauricio Cardenas, director of the National Planning Department,
admitted that while the numbers are nothing to celebrate, signs
indicate the economic slump has been curbed and an economic recovery
may be just around the corner.
He added that some sectors already have started to grow,
including transportation which rose one percent after a 3.5 percent
drop in the second quarter.
HOV/sba/rl
--------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with UNSUBSCRIBE COLEXT as the BODY of the message.
Un archivo de colext puede encontrarse en:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
cortesia de Anibal Monsalve Salazar
