He noted that another relevant sector for FDI has been el inmobiliario.
SANTO DOMINGO. -The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported that foreign direct investment (FDI) grew by 0.9% in the first half of 2024, reaching 2,374.3 million dollars compared to the 2,352.1 million registered in the same period of the previous year.
Preliminary figures indicate that more than half of the income went to the tourism and energy , highlighting the evolution of the energy sector, which expanded its share of FDI from 7.5% in the first half of 2019 to 25.5% in the first six months of 2024, mainly due to incentives from the Dominican State directed towards renewable energies.
The Central Bank noted that another relevant sector for FDI has been real estate , whose development is linked to the country's tourism development, especially after recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"These flows demonstrate the confidence of foreign investors in the Dominican Republic as a destination for their investments. Since 2022, the country has been the second largest recipient of FDI in the region, behind Mexico, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This result is in line with year-end projections that FDI will exceed US$4.5 billion," the document states.
The institution notes that, in addition to the increase in FDI flows (0.9%) and remittances (4.4%), the Dominican economy also achieved total exports of more than 6.8 billion dollars in the first half of 2024, increasing by 2.3% over the same period in 2023.
Among exports, a 10% increase in gold exports , driven by improved production and record-high prices for the precious metal in international markets. Of total exports, those from free trade zones reached nearly $4.2 billion, a 6.6% year-on-year increase, suggesting the sector will close the year with record export figures, the report states.
The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) also highlights that tourism revenues between January and June totaled approximately US$5.7 billion, some US$700 million (14.1%) higher than the revenues for the same period in 2023. This result was mainly due to the increase in tourist arrivals during the first half of the year, which reached 5.3 million visitors by air and cruise ship.
" Foreign exchange earnings generated from FDI, remittances, tourism , exports of goods and other services totaled approximately $21.9 billion in January-June 2024, which implies an increase of $1.327 billion compared to the same period in 2023, which contributes to the relative stability of the exchange rate," the monetary authority stated.
Everything indicates that by the end of the year the country will receive foreign exchange earnings of around 43 billion dollars, according to calculations by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD).
