By Al Edwards, Business Co-ordinator THE MINISTRY of Finance and Planning last night moved to allay fears in the wake of advisories to the international financial community not to take up Jamaican debt instruments and concerns about the country's possibly defaulting on its debt payments. "The Government has been closely monitoring the international capital markets for Jamaican bonds and the recent fall in prices alongside negative comments about the country's overall debt and balance of payments positions," the Ministry said. "In our view, these concerns are grossly exaggerated and our debt position, though high, is quite manageable." CAUTION ON INSTRUMENTS On Wednesday, Bear Sterns, the U.S. credit agency, advised caution on Jamaican instruments. "Even at the current repriced levels, we still cannot recommend Jamaican bonds until we see more clarity on the prospects for turning around the public finances," it said. "While we have to wait until April 17 to see the revenue side of the budget, it seems almost certain that significant tax increases will be needed to reduce the deficit by at least two per cent of GDP, which the Government has said it wants to do." The report went on to note that Jamaica is at best resilient and remains unbowed. SLIPPING INTO CRISIS "Yet Jamaica has surprised us in the past with its ability to muddle through - from a public policy and economic perspective," the report read. Yesterday, too, Credit Sights, an independent research house, released a critical report on Jamaica. "Jamaica is quietly slipping into a debt and liquidity crisis; we continue to recommend no exposure. Last week's debt auction was a disappointment, and Jamaica has few other options. We doubt that new IMF (International Monetary Fund) funds will be forthcoming without a debt restructuring," the report read. A local analyst said last night that Credit Sights was not generally regarded as one of the more reputable agencies. "The report was fairly one-dimensional and made a number of dubious statements and, therefore, has been largely discounted by knowledgeable Jamaican portfolio managers," he said. The Finance Ministry noted, too, that Jamaica has had worse fiscal deficits and debt-to-GDP ratios and had never defaulted on any of its debt obligations. "Servicing of the debt is guaranteed by the Constitution," the Ministry added.