"Another relevant sector for FDI has been el inmobiliario, whose development is linked to the country's tourism development, especially after recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.".
SANTO DOMINGO.-The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported yesterday that preliminary figures for the first half of 2024 show that foreign direct investment (FDI) reached US$2,374.3 million, increasing 0.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.
A statement from the entity highlights that tourism and real estate are among the three sectors with the highest investment during this period: tourism represents 27.8%, while investment in real estate reached 15.5% during the first months of the year.
The Central Bank of Peru (BCR) notes that these flows demonstrate the confidence of foreign investors in the Dominican Republic as a destination for their investments, a country that since 2022 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 regulatory body maintains.
The sectoral distribution shows that more than half of FDI inflows went to the tourism and energy sectors. It is important to highlight the growth of the energy sector, which increased its share of FDI from 7.5% in the first half of 2019 to 25.5% in the first six months of 2024, primarily due to Dominican government incentives for renewable energy.
"Another relevant sector for FDI has been el inmobiliario, whose development is linked to the country's tourism development, especially after recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.".
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 US$6.8 billion in the first half of 2024, increasing by 2.3% over the same period in 2023.
Among exports, gold saw a notable 10% increase, driven by improved production and record-high prices for the precious metal in international markets. Of total exports, those from free trade zones reached approximately US$4.2 billion, a 6.6% year-on-year increase, suggesting the sector will close the year with record export figures.
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.
It is worth noting that foreign exchange earnings generated from FDI, remittances, tourism, and exports of goods and other services totaled approximately US$21.9 billion in January-June 2024, representing an increase of US$1.327 billion compared to the same period in 2023, which contributes to the relative stability of the exchange rate. All indications are that by year-end, the country will receive approximately US$43 billion in foreign exchange earnings.
The Central Bank reaffirms its commitment to monitoring the current economic environment and will continue taking the necessary measures to counteract the impact of the challenging international landscape on the Dominican economy, in order to guarantee price and exchange rate stability.
