texasshoe previously said:

It is not a matter of not caring or thinking I am above the individuals in the country I am working in. I spent 6 years in Venezuela and am married to a wonderful Venezuelan woman and we have a house in a barrio. #19 Calle las Cruz, Sector Agua Potable, arriba, Pozuelos Puerto la Cruz. Who are you to tell me what I have lived, where I have been. My father in law has a bodega in the street level of his home or a colmado as it is called in the DR. I worked in Haiti and lived in a 12 x 12 foot plywood room constructed inside of a warehouse of the old GTE assembly plant for 6 months, there were plenty of people in PAP who lived better than I did. When in Colombia I lived in an apartment in Bogata. Just as I mentioned in my earlier post you assume that because I am American when I work overseas I live in a 300 square meter place with servants and all that crap and you actually get mad at the idea. Or is it the envy that Cibby spoke about. You guys just dont have a clue. Tell me what I said that was negative about LA countries and or the cultures. Get you butts to the Pueblo Viejo mine site and confirm what I said about it and write back and tell me that I am wrong.

abc200 previously said:

TS, there are very few developing countries the size of DR with locally owned companies with track records of taking part in major mining developments.
http://www.infomine.com/index/pr/PA300910.PDF
Nearly all the work is specialized and requires international expertise, Trust is a matter of track record, management and resources. In some situations countries such as Vietnam insist that such a project should have local partners so this expertise is built up. But the negociating strength of the government to enforce such conditions varies from situation to situation. To some extent countries like Canada do not encourage developing country companies to compete in their markets due to visa restrictions etc. so expertise is difficult to transfer. I guess oil producing countries have gone further down the road of promoting local companies/expertise. But due to capital markets it is often only state enterprises that can operate. Access to working capital at sensible rates, infrastructure etc. is often not available for the private sector.
S.

abc200 previously said:

From my discussions with local busnessmen et.c it would seem that they need to borrow money to finance. This is at 18-25% p.a. with security required. An interenational services organisation can borrow at 5% . Often also they do not need to import specialised equipment - only lease to subsiduary. Food etc is the result of World Wide negociations. Everything must be in place on day 1 or soon after. I think the barriers to entry on this market are high and profitability uncertain. Very often governments insist on 'local content' - not in this case it would seem. From my experience in bidding to multinationals drilling in the North Sea its was very difficult to make headway although we passed competency tests - eg approved suppliers. In the end the UK government listed equipment / services etc. that must be supplied locally. Cooks etc. from Banglasdesh were a lot cheaper.
S.

dreadlocks previously said:

texasshoe, i know where you are coming from. sadly, many people who live in the DR, and who have never travelled, will never understand you. let me give you a simple anecdote to explain what i am saying. yesterday, i sent an email to the Dean of studies in the school of economics at a university in california. i requested help in setting up a small academy, to teach basic economics and inrtoduction to business; these are courses which are sadly lacking here. at 7.09 am, this morning, he had replied to me, with all the information i can use, permission to reprint and distribute excerpts from his textbook, and a promise to help further, on request. contrast that with the department of trade here, to which i sent 5 emails a year ago, and from which i am yet to receive a single reply. people in the developed world take efficiency, punctuality, and a sense of responsibility for granted, and that is why things work properly. people in the third world get around to things when they feel like it, and are not serious about anything. that is why people here complain about foreigners who have companies here, who expect them to show up on time for work. in places like america. punctuality and attention to work are not options.