Dominican Republic’s 37% tops region in foreign investment

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago received most of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Caribbean, 37% and 23% respectively of the sub region’s total revenue.

The "Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2015" report released by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) Wednesday says the country’s FDI in 2014 topped US$2.2 billion, an 11% jump.

"Dominican Republic is the largest economy in the Caribbean (after Cuba) and also the largest recipient of FDI. All sectors are open to FDI and there is a strong presence of transnational corporations in most of them, with the partial exception of financial services and agriculture," the ECLAC said.

The report notes that country attracted "a record high" US$3.14 billion in 2012 when the biggest national brewer was sold for US$1.2 billion, the FDI fell however to US$1.99 billion in 2013.

Diversification

ECLAC also stresses that while investments in other Caribbean countries tend to materialize in a particular sector, those of Dominican Republic are more balanced in their distribution among natural resources, manufacturing, tourism and other services.