Velasco likens Chilean economy to "a table with four legs"

SANTIAGO.- The Minister of Finance, Andrés Velasco, likened Chile's current economic situation to "a table with four legs", while speaking in front of approximately one hundred business leaders and executives at CasaPiedra.

According to Radio Cooperativa, the minister said he is very pleased with the situation that has emerged thanks to an anti-cyclical policy, the solid nature of the financial system, as well as cuts in the interest rate and dollar value made by the Central Bank.

"In comparable times, other countries have lacked legs and the table tipped over", stated Velasco, while applauding the distribution of credit to innovators and small businesses.

Velasco also mentioned that a drop in economic activity in the final trimester of 2008, according to de-seasonalized data, could be turning around with the slight increase it registered in January.

"In January of this year, there was a slight relative increase when compared to the closing figure of last year, which suggests that these last three months, which have been tough for Chile and tough for the World, in 2008 may have begun to bounce back with the January figure", he explained.

Velasco claimed, however, that further economic data is still needed to determine a pattern with regards to the economy's performance.