ECUADOR STEPS TOWARD US DOLLAR

President Gustavo Noboa of Ecuador has signed a law providing the legal, technical and financial framework for his plan to adopt the US dollar as Ecuador's de facto currency. The law, approved by Congress last week, will allow the country to modernise. He said it would transform the country and give it a new structure. The IMF was expected to make a joint statement of support with the World Bank and Inter American Development Bank for the dollarisation plan. However, multilateral funding will be conditional on the government resolving some outstanding issues, including the role of the central bank and the period allowed for banks to recapitalise themselves.