Los Angeles Times (Sunday)

FOR EL SALVADOR ACCEPTING BITCOIN HAS BECOME A WISE MOVE.

- President INTEGRAL EL SALVADOR

In 2023, El Salvador will offer better public safety indexes that favor domestic tourism in the different commercial sectors. During the government of President Nayib Bukele, different strategies have been implemente­d to combat crime and reduce the insecurity that is experience­d every day in the Salvadoran territory. According to the firm Forward Keys, specialize­d in sector studies, During the year 2022 El Salvador registered an increase of 45% in the number of tickets compared to the year 2019.

El Salvador is one of the top tourist destinatio­ns for 2023. The travel guide company, Lonely Planet, revealed its 18th annual “Best in Travel” list of favorable destinatio­ns for activities in 2023. The list includes several destinatio­ns in Latin American countries, which have been contemplat­ed by the company, including El Salvador.

Thanks to the decreases in criminalit­y due to the implementa­tion of the Territoria­l Control Plan, favorable conditions have been created for tourists and investors to visit El Salvador safely, which has been reflected in the data obtained at the end of 2022 in this sector, and a greater increase in tourism inflow is expected for the current year 2023. Adopting the Bitcoin has become a wise move, it is helping them to improve their economy, it is reducing the fiscal deficit, the GDP increased, thanks to Bukele’s attempt to reduce corruption. The fact of adopting a currency like bitcoin as legal tender, so far it is going well, it has made Bukele look good inside wallstreet, the economy is doing well, and he can deal with the debt, it is an optimistic message. He has set up a bitcoin embassy in the US...An alternativ­e that protects him from inflation... Send money, remittance­s very interestin­g, with bitcoin, no commission­s. Digitaliza­tion but not yet implemente­d in all stores, needs a process of implementa­tion.

The market was skeptical of Bukele’s idea, but now he has become a star on wall street: the best performing bonds yield 19%, have a lot of risk...Salvador is returning those bonds, and is generating a lot of confidence on wallstreet...(they love his willingnes­s to pay). 20% return on Salvador bonds…

Microfinan­ce in El Salvador has played a very important role in the developmen­t of the country. El Salvador has a very competitiv­e market and has a large number of different organizati­ons that offer financial services to the micro and small business sector in the country. Among the organizati­ons that operate in the industry are private banks, savings and loan companies, savings and loan cooperativ­es, regulated and nonregulat­ed financial institutio­ns, non-government­al organizati­ons (NGOs), and other companies.

According to the study conducted by FELABAN (Latin American Federation of Banks), El Salvador has increased by 281% the number its operation.

We expect to close the year 2023 with a loan portfolio growth of 10.5%, which will allow us to reach a total portfolio of close to US$200 million; we expect to close deposits with US$140 million and total assets of US$250 million. At the end of the year, the number of employees will be approximat­ely 560. The expected growth rate for the loan portfolio is similar to the one we have registered in recent years; we are growing at a good pace, but taking care of the quality of the portfolio.

We all know that the USA is an important commercial partner for the country, on the other hand, a high percentage of the population resides in that country that has emigrated abroad in search of new opportunit­ies and the remittance­s that they send already constitute 25% of the GDP. We have also seen how the birth and strengthen­ing of several MYPES have been supported by resources coming from Salvadoran­s residing in that country.

Another thing we have seen is that

El Salvador is leading the way in cryptocurr­ency adoption, and its success (or failure) could have a huge impact on countries that are considerin­g implementi­ng a digital currency as legal tender. As we look to El Salvador’s future, it is clear that the political environmen­t has played a role in how people talk about their national currency.

Remittance­s make up more than 20% of the country’s GDP, according to the World

Economic Forum. Given the amount of money going into internatio­nal bank transfer fees,

Bitcoin could be an attractive alternativ­e. El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as its national currency primarily to combat poverty and help unbanked citizens. The government hoped to improve economic opportunit­ies for citizens by allowing them to access the digital

 ?? ?? Looking to the future as other countries evaluate crypto. currency through their smartphone­s.
Looking to the future as other countries evaluate crypto. currency through their smartphone­s.
 ?? ?? José Dimas Quintanill­a
José Dimas Quintanill­a

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