Dear Forbes Editors: As one of the leading sources of business news in the world, we believe that Forbes should

be compelled to offer well substantiated information. We were therefore appalled to read The Worlds Worst Economies on Forbes.com, which for the second consecutive year presents unfounded, insufficient, and mostly out of context information on Nicaragua. Based exclusively on statistics from independent and trustworthy international institutions, we can easily provide your magazine with information that can help you better understand and portray our country in future references. We hope youll offer us the opportunity to share our side of the story. Over the past four years Nicaragua has demonstrated healthy economic tendencies, even in the midst of the international economic crisis. The country achieved a GDP growth of 4.5 percent in 2010, the highest in the Central America region. During 2007-2010, our average annual growth rates for foreign direct investment (FDI), exports (including free zones) and tourist arrivals, were 21.4 percent, 16.6 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively. Furthermore, FDI projections for 2011 surpass the US$1 billion mark, establishing a new record for the country. The growth in investment flows has allowed Nicaragua to register the highest index of FDI as a percentage of GDP for the third consecutive year, reaching 7.9 percent in 2010, well above the regional average of 4 percent. Even while we recognize that our country is still one of the poorest in this hemisphere, these figures clearly show were also one of the most dynamic. Strangely enough the article mentions the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a source of its negative description of Nicaragua. Yet, in April 2011 the Executive Board of the IMF completed the sixth review of Nicaragua's economic performance under the three-year Extended Credit Facility program (ECF) and approved its extension through December 2011, evidencing the countrys sustained macroeconomic and fiscal stability. Mr. Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Board Chair, stated at that time recent progress in the implementation of key structural reforms is encouraging. The approval of a new central bank charter, the strengthening of the electricity law, the publication of a study on pension reform options, and the adoption of a new procurement law are important advances. Moreover, allegations that Nicaragua actively discourages foreign investment could not be further from the truth. Through institutions such as PRONicaragua, the governments official investment promotion agency, ranked 11th best national investment promotion agency in the world by the World Bank, the Government sends a clear message that it recognizes the positive impact of FDI and encourages the establishment of more projects in the country. More so, the Government has continuously worked with the private sector in order to implement policy measures that facilitate the development of FDI projects and trade, through the creation of the Presidential Delegation for Investment Promotion and Facilitation of Foreign Trade, working with the World Banks Doing Business team to design policy reforms; the creation of several public-private commissions that identify financing options for investment projects; the signing of the only multiannual Tripartite Agreement (Government Private and Labor sectors) on Labor Conditions in the hemisphere; and the opening of the One-Stop Shop for the Free Zone Sector. It is due to these efforts that, according to the 2011 Doing Business Report, the country holds first place in Central America in indicators such as starting a business and investor protection. What about poverty in Nicaragua? According to the International Foundation for the Global Economic Challenges (FIDEG, for its acronym in Spanish) 2011 Household Survey to Measure Poverty, study funded by the World Bank, in 2010 poverty in the rural areas of Nicaragua was reduced by 5 percentage points, while extreme poverty decreased by 2.3 percentage points. Even more so, Gero Vaagt, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Nicaragua, declared in 2010 that Nicaragua is among the top three countries in Latin America with significant advances in achieving Millennium Development Goal 1, which calls to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. With this letter we urge Forbes to evaluate their editorial process and conduct a more efficient factchecking mechanism that ensures publishing objective and trustworthy articles, which its readers have come to expect. The effect an article of this magnitude can have on developing countries is overwhelming and difficult to overcome, and therefore we deem it only fair that it be as impartial and substantiated as possible. We truly believe that this should be the goal of professional journalism, and what Forbes should represent.

Sincerely,

Javier Chamorro Rubiales Executive Director PRONicaragua