Dominican Republic's inflation remains the highest in the region; the government will subsidize RD$2,194.2 million monthly to avoid a 26.6% increase in residential electricity rates; a Pfizer contract amendment forces the government to pay an additional US$3.9 million; the US lowers its COVID travel advisory for the Dominican Republic; BHD León supports ecotourism; markets cry out over rising prices; what has been the biggest informal US dollar business?; Leonardo Cositorto used a "virtual disguise" to evade authorities; a port and logistics training center will open; a joint investigation targets Inabie for "fraudulent maneuvers"; oil broke the $100 per barrel barrier again yesterday
Dominican Republic's inflation remains the highest in the region
The post-pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine have unleashed a global inflationary wave that has not spared the countries of the CARD region: Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. As of February of this year, according to a report by the Central American Monetary Council, the Dominican Republic had the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 9%, surpassing Nicaragua (7.8%), El Salvador (6.7%), Honduras (6.4%), Costa Rica (4.9%), Guatemala (3.0%), and Panama, which had the lowest rate at 2.7%.
The government will subsidize RD$2,194.2 million per month to avoid a 26.6% adjustment to residential electricity rates
The Superintendency of Electricity (SIE) increased the electricity rate for residential customers by 10.4%. However, given international fuel prices, the increase should have been 26.6%, the agency explained. To avoid reaching that percentage, the government will allocate an additional 510.7 million pesos each month on top of the electricity rate subsidy it would have provided between April and June. Calculations indicated that the subsidy to customers of electricity distribution companies (EDEs) would have been 1,683.5 million pesos per month for the current quarter, but it will now average 2,194.2 million pesos per month.
Pfizer contract amendment forces the government to pay an additional US$3.9 million
In the second amendment to the contract signed with Pfizer, the Dominican government agreed to pay three dollars more per dose of the 1,296,000 vaccines that the U.S. pharmaceutical company is to deliver to the country. The original contract, signed on May 5, 2021, stipulated 8,700,120 doses of the vaccine for a total of $104,401,440, at a price of $12 per dose. The second amendment to the contract, signed with Pfizer on March 15, 2022, establishes that the unit price of the pediatric doses, for children aged 5 to 11, will be $15.
US reduces Covid travel alert for Dominican Republic
The U.S. State Department lowered its COVID-19 travel advisory for the Dominican Republic from 3 to 2 on Monday. The country is experiencing low levels of the disease and has gone 11 consecutive days without any deaths from the virus.
BHD León supports ecotourism
Banco BHD León announced a US$56.8 million loan to Grupo Crespi García for the renovation of its Natura Park Beach Eco Resort & Spa, an ecotourism project located in Cabeza de Toro, Punta Cana. This financing is part of the bank's corporate and business program supporting the country's economic development by promoting tourism projects.
A cry of outrage in markets over rising prices
A tour of several markets and small grocery stores in Greater Santo Domingo allowed for close observation and easy confirmation that the increase in the price of various agricultural products has led to a decrease in food purchases. Prices in stores show very little variation among these products. For example, a pound of passion fruit is priced at 170 pesos, red beans at 75 pesos, and black beans at 50 pesos.
What has been the informal US$ gravedigger business?
For younger generations it's harder to understand, but for older ones, it wasn't: currency unification has been the gravedigger of the informal dollar market. The thriving informal business of buying and selling dollars, which thrived on exchange controls, began its decline with currency unification and subsequent reforms to the financial system. Some exchange houses were forced to regulate their operations to survive, and many others disappeared, while the entry of banks into the business initiated a sustained process of growth in their market share.
Leonardo Cositorto used a “virtual disguise” to escape the authorities
Argentine fugitive Leonardo Cositorto, accused by Argentine authorities of fraud and racketeering, remained in constant communication with his associates and followers, with whom he allegedly maintained the structure of Generación Zoe, the company he led. This was key to Interpol locating him with the cooperation of the Dominican Republic, where he was arrested on Monday. According to the Argentine newspaper Clarín, "Leonardo Cositorto was unable to stop talking to his followers and those who maintained the Generación Zoe structure, which is still active, despite the case that began in February, in which he is accused of repeated fraud and racketeering.".
They will open a training center for port and logistics
With the aim of supporting the strategy that seeks to turn the country into a regional logistics hub, the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom) and the shipping company Frederic Schad signed an agreement that seeks to create the National Institute of Port and Logistics Training.
Joint investigation targets Inabie for "fraudulent maneuvers"
An investigation by the Anti-Fraud Unit of the Comptroller General of the Republic and the General Directorate of Public Procurement (DGCP) reveals that "anomalies" were found at the National Institute of Student Welfare (Inabie) committed by the administrative staff and the Purchasing Committee of the entity that depends on the Ministry of Education, during the acquisition of the school lunch that began last year.
Oil broke the $100 per barrel barrier again yesterday
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose 4% to $103.28 a barrel, breaking the psychological barrier of $100 again, after last week's sharp drop in which black gold lost more than 12% of its value.
Sources: Listin Diario, DiarioLibre, El Día, Hoy, El Caribe
