Capital spending by firms will probably continue to rise, but not as quickly, on current indications, as it has over the past year. Some decline in dwelling construction activity has occurred, although this looks smaller than earlier thought.
To address this imbalance and to give the newly formed country a good starting position, the Netherlands agreed to pay off 70% of the outstanding public debt. As a consequence, our debt-to-GDP ratio has been reduced to 35%. Given the debt relief, which was coupled with budgetary rules and norms to ensure balanced budgets, the fiscal situation in Curaçao can be characterized as sound.