The largest amounts in the flow of foreign direct investment under Luis Abinader´s government are being channeled to a great extent into the tourism and real estate sectors, followed by energy, commerce and industry and free zones.
Among the most recent foreign investments, the new Taíno Bay cruise and cargo terminal stands out, inaugurated last Wednesday in Puerto Plata, with an investment of US$80 million dollars in a first stage. The project – which was launched under Danilo Medina´s administration – was a public-private partnership with the Mexican company ITM Group.
On the day, Abinader also attended the reopening of the Senator hotel, a Spanish investment in Maimón, and later in Sosúa spoke with the investors of The Ocean Club, Luxury Collection Resort project, part of the American chain Marriott.
The flow of foreign direct investment totaled about US$2,554.3 million in 2020, down from US$3,021 million in 2019, a pre-pandemic year.
The figures compiled by the Central Bank also indicate that between January-June of this year, that flow totaled US$1,740.9 million.
Where are the investments from?
The USA has been the source of the largest flow of foreign direct investment in the Dominican Republic in the last two years, a trend also recorded in 2018 and 2019.
In 2020 and up to June of this year, the USA provided US$1,564.2 million in investments, accounting for 36.42% of the total.
Second in line is Mexico, with US$572.7 million and 13.33% of total investment flows. In 2019 it was also in second place, although in 2018 it was not among the main investors.
Mauricio Hamui,CEO of the Mexican company ITM Group, reported that the new terminal that opened in Puerto Plata last Wednesday creates more than 1,700 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs.
Spain, a country that has historically invested in the Dominican tourism sector, is the third largest source of foreign investment in Abinader’s government, accounting for 7.01% during the same period. That position was also held in 2019.
Other source countries for foreign investment include Canada, Grand Cayman, UK, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, France, Denmark, Germany, Panama, British Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil.
Source:
Diario Libre