IMF Brazil program sees growth resuming, Fischer
Reuters, Friday, November 13, 1998 at 12:12
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - IMF First Deputy Managing
Director Stanley Fischer said on Friday a $41 billion-plus
package for Brazil assumed the country would see a revival in
economic growth in the second quarter of next year.
Speaking after the announcement of the deal, Fischer told a
news conference that the International Monetary Fund's program
also envisaged a slow reduction in Brazilian interest rates.
"We've assumed that interest rates come down quite slowly
during the course of the year," Fischer said. "We believe that
as the program is implemented, interest rates will come down
gradually," he added.
He said the outlook for rates depended on political
developments in Brazil, market perceptions of Brazil's progress
and what occurred on international capital markets.
Turning to other assumptions in the IMF package, Fischer
saw an upturn in Brazil's economy in the first half of 1999.
"Growth will resume around the second quarter," he said.
He also said the package assumed the voluntary
participation of banks. "The approach to the creditors will be
a voluntary one, seeking their participation," he said.
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