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View Full Version : DR is No. 1 in foreign investment in the Caribbean



NewsWhore
05-04-2012, 05:40 PM
A report presented on Wednesday, 2 May by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in the Chilean capital Santiago, reveals that foreign investors feel the Dominican market is one of the better places to invest in Latin America.

According to the report, Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2011, the Dominican Republic has consolidated itself as the leader of the Caribbean region with regard to direct foreign investment (FDI) during 2011, with a total of US$2.37 billion, which equal to 53.3% in the Caribbean.

In the DR-CAFTA countries, the DR's US$2.37 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) was second only to Panama (US$2.8billion). Reports are that in Central America, FDI increased by 36% compared to 2010, with Costa Rica (US$2.1 billion) and Honduras (US$1.01 billion) also standing out. Barrick Gold investment in the Dominican Republic accounted for the bulk of investment for 2011.

In the report, the DR is listed in fifth place with regard to economic development in Latin America with a 5.9% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the last few years.

In general terms, ECLAC says that Latin America and the Caribbean received US$153.44 billion in FDI in 2011 that represents 10% of the world flow.

The amount is historic and could be exceeded this year. Latin America was the region that recorded the highest percentage increase in FDI inflows.

According to the analysis, the main recipients of direct foreign investment in the region in 2011 were Brazil (US$66.66bn), Mexico (US$19.440bn), Chile (US$17.29bn), Colombia (US$13.23bn), Peru (US$7.65bn), Argentina (US$7.24bn), Venezuela (US$5.30bn) and Uruguay (US$2.52bn).

ECLAC is currently conducting a study on FDI in the Caribbean to provide more details on foreign direct investment in the region.

FDI inflows to the Dominican Republic were US$1.08bn (2006), US$1.66bn (2007), US$2,87bn (2008), US$2.16bn (2009), US$1.89bn (2010) and US$2.37bn (2011).

The report states: "FDI inflows to the Dominican Republic jumped by 25% in 2011, to US$ 2.371 billion, boosted above all by the mining sector, which received 40% of the total, followed by electric power and commerce. Investment in tourism and real estate rose slightly over 2010 but was still far short of the levels seen at the end of 2007. The largest investors in the Dominican Republic were the United States, Canada and Spain, in that order."

The executive secretary of ECLAC, Alicia Barcena forecast that despite the prevailing uncertainty in global financial markets, Latin American and Caribbean economies attracted significant FDI in 2011 and would again in 2012. But ECLAC also highlights the downside of FDI: the growing repatriation of profits by transnational corporations investing in the region to their countries of origin. The fact is a reminder that FDI is not a unidirectional flow of resources.

ECLAC says that "the developmental impact of FDI for the region will come in the form of potential knowledge transfers, the capacity to develop new industries and integration in global value chains."

ECLAC recommends that "against this backdrop of abundant capital and good economic performance, the priority should be to make strides towards production transformation that extends the high productivity of certain sectors out to the rest of the economy. The countries of the region need to view FDI as support for developing those sectors that they regard as strategic."

www.cepal.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/2/46572/P46572.xml&xsl=/ddpe/tpl-i/p9f.xsl&base=/ddpe/tpl/top-bottom.xsl (http://www.cepal.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/2/46572/P46572.xml&xsl=/ddpe/tpl-i/p9f.xsl&base=/ddpe/tpl/top-bottom.xsl)

www.cepal.org/publicaciones/xml/2/46572/2012-182-LIEI-WEB.pdf (http://www.cepal.org/publicaciones/xml/2/46572/2012-182-LIEI-WEB.pdf)

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