The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) projects that FDI will exceed US$4.7 billion by the end of this year.
The BCRD reported that, according to preliminary figures for the first half of 2025, foreign direct investment (FDI) reached US$2,892.8 million, representing a 15.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
The monetary policy authority explains that these flows reflect the confidence of foreign investors in the Dominican Republic as a destination for their investments. This also helps to explain why the country has established itself as the leading recipient of foreign direct investment in the region for the third consecutive year, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It adds that this performance is in line with year-end projections, which estimate that FDI will exceed US$4.7 billion.
The BCRD indicates that the sectoral distribution shows that nearly half of FDI inflows were directed toward the tourism and energy sectors. It is important to highlight the growth of the energy sector, which increased its share of total FDI from 7.5% in the first half of 2019 to 25.7% in the first six months of 2025. This growth is mainly attributed to incentives from the Dominican government aimed at promoting renewable energy. This trend was highlighted in UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2025, which noted that the country has strengthened its position as one of the most attractive destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean for FDI in the renewable energy sector.
Another key sector for FDI has been real estate, whose growth is linked to the country’s tourism development, especially following the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The institution also notes that, in addition to the increase in FDI inflows (15.3%) and remittances (11.2%), the Dominican economy achieved total exports of over US\$7.4 billion in the first half of 2025, representing a 10.4% increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Among exports, there was a notable 48.3% increase in gold exports, driven by improvements in production and historically high international prices for the precious metal. Of the total exports, those from free trade zones amounted to approximately US\$4.25 billion, reflecting a 2.3% year-on-year increase—suggesting the sector is on track to close the year with record export figures.
Additionally, the BCRD highlights that tourism revenues between January and June totaled around US\$5.8 billion, about US\$100 million (1.8%) higher than in the same period of 2024. This result was mainly due to an increase in tourist arrivals during the first half of the year, reaching 6.1 million visitors by air and sea combined.
It is also worth noting that foreign exchange earnings from FDI, remittances, tourism, goods exports, and other services totaled approximately US\$23.9 billion between January and June 2025. This has contributed to the relative stability of the exchange rate.
The Central Bank reaffirms its commitment to closely monitoring the current economic environment in order to continue taking the necessary measures to mitigate the impact of the challenging international landscape on the Dominican economy, with the goal of ensuring price stability and exchange rate stability.
Current direct investment from the United States in the Dominican Republic amounts to US$2.103 billion
According to balance of payments statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), as of 2024, U.S. companies had US$329.649 billion in direct investment (DI) in Latin America. Mexico accounts for the largest share, with 48.3% of that investment, followed by Brazil and Chile. Together, these three countries receive 85.2% of the total U.S. capital invested in Latin American companies.
Out of the 17 regional destinations receiving U.S. direct investment, the Dominican Republic ranked 10th in 2024, accounting for 0.6% of the total, which is equivalent to US$2.103 billion, as recorded by the BEA in its balance of payments statistics.
On the other hand, among the top countries receiving the most U.S. capital investment are Singapore, with US$467.591 billion; Ireland, with US$466.848 billion; and Luxembourg, with US$569.566 billion. Each of these economies receives more U.S. investment than the total amount invested by the United States in all of Latin America.
These three countries share several key characteristics, including business-friendly tax systems, strong institutions, and robust protections for property rights and contractual agreements.
The Dominican Republic benefits from a favorable geographic location, which it could leverage to attract greater investment from the United States. However, in order to attract companies that require legal certainty, streamlined bureaucratic processes, lower costs, and a less complex and burdensome tax system, it is essential to improve the overall business environment.
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