Santo Domingo.- A recent report in the British magazine TheBanker called the Dominican Republic "undoubtedly the current economicstar of Latin America in terms of growth."

In its March issue The Banker notes that the country has athriving tourism industry, revitalized mining and supported by a healthybanking sector with strong levels of foreign direct investment to its economy.

The Banker economic editor Silvia Pavoni made thestatements after a meeting in the country with State-owned Reservas Bank administratorEnrique Ramirez and business leaders José Miguel Gonzalez, Fernando Capellan, GustavoCisneros and Reuven Bigio.

Pavoni said Dominican Republic grew 7% in GDP last year, citingthe UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal). "Thatwas the biggest economic growth in Latin America by a good margin, well abovePanama and Bolivia with 5.9%, 4.5%. Inflation remained subdued at just over 2%,while foreign exchange reserves increased by 8%."