News World

A Basic Energy company and the leading power generation firm in the DR, EGE Haina has just placed US$30 million in corporate bonds on the Dominican Stock Exchange in order to finance an increase in working capital. Superintendent of Stocks, Haivanjoe NG Cortinas said that Fitch Ratings Dominicana rated the placement BBB (dom). The bonds are attractive to large and small investors as they are available as corporate bonds worth US$1,000 each, with expiry terms of 12, 18, 24 or 36 months. The yield is determined at the launching. Interest payments will be made monthly on a 365-day base to the holder of the bonds through the Centralized Deposit of Stocks (Cevaldom). The placement was made by BHD Valores Puesto de Bolsa, S.A.
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EGE Haina is a mixed Dominican government and private consortium. Haina Investment Company LTD has 50% of the shares and the Fondo Patrimonial de Empresas Reformadas [...]

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A commitment made by the chief of police, Major General Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin, who stated that he would prosecute 42 cops from the Bonao and Puerto Plata detachments who were accused of taking money from drug dealers, is apparently in limbo because although three months have gone by since the first case was uncovered and 20 days have elapsed since the detection of the second, people are still waiting for the accused to be sent to court. Both cases are only waiting for the high-ranking commissions, one headed by Assistant Prosecutor General Bolivar Sanchez and the other by the director of Police Internal Affairs, General Manuel Castro Castillo, to hand in their reports.
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After the mess in Bonao exploded, the Chief of the National Police replaced Colonel Antonio Cepeda Urena and appointed Colonel Miguel Andres Suriel in his place.
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In the Puerto Plata case, it was reported [...]

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The Weather Office (Onamet) is predicting unseasonably cool temperatures and some light rains for the next couple of days. Yesterday the whole nation felt an unusual chill (about 24C at noontime) and winds that were not normal for this time of the year. The cooler temperatures come in the wake of major snowstorms along the Eastern Seaboard of the US.
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Weather forecasters say that while some rains might fall in the northeast, east, southeast and the central mountains, the cool snap is for the most part enjoyed by Dominicans. Onamet said that the chance of rains will diminish over the next 24 hours, but cool winds and temperatures would continue to prevail. The frontal system that brought the rains has now passed over the DR and is located over Puerto Rico. Last evening’s six o’clock bulletin from Onamet said that the weather would improve across the whole country.

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The Organizing Commission of the Summit on National Unity in the Face of the World Economic Crisis has asked all the public institutions involved in the fulfillment of the agreements reached during the first phase to begin the process of applying the agreed measures that were announced by President Leonel Fernandez.
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In a press release from the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, the commission also reported that it would meet with the members of the Economic, Social and Institutional Council this week to work out the timeline for the second phase of the Summit. The commission is coordinated by Economy Minister Temistocles Montas and includes Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado, businessman Antonio Isa Conde and sociologist Jose del Castillo. There is also a Follow-up Commission that includes the coordinators of the seven phase one working groups. The commission said that it sent all the public institutions involved in complying [...]

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The hot topics of Presidential re-election, judicial questions, elections and questions about Dominican nationality will be deferred until the latter part of the debates on the Constitution reform proposals. This was decided by the commission that is studying the rules and regulations for the debates during the Revisory Assembly. According to El Caribe, Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez said that this decision was needed in order to speed up discussions on the changes to the Constitution. Pared Perez made the announcement after a working session of the commission held in the Senate library. He said that there were many suggested changes that would not provoke a lot of debate and that these could be dealt with fairly swiftly, allowing more time for the weighty questions that will involve a lot of discussion. Listin Diario reports that the public can watch the debates on television. Julio Cesar Valentin, the leader of [...]

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Fernando Capellan of Grupo M, the leading apparel manufacturer of the country, is staying on as president of the Dominican Free Zones Association. He says that he will use his new term to lobby for changes in labor legislation to make it more flexible in keeping with these challenging times. It is impossible to implement policies to keep and create new jobs with the present employee social benefits required of employers today, which are often double those of our Central American competitors, he said during the General Assembly where he was re-elected. He says the country needs a new legal structure for the free zones that complies with international labor agreements, but also with the new trade schemes.
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He said Adozona would continue to work closely with the Dominican Republic Industries Association (AIRD), the Agribusiness Council (JAD) and the Exporters Association (ADOEXPO) to improve competitiveness of manufacturers. The focus [...]

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The DR’s external public debt has increased by US$485 million, a 6.6% increase compared to September 2007, reports Diario Libre. The country’s total debt now stands at US$7.85 billion, according to reports filed by the Central Bank in the National Congress. Debt from multilateral organizations contracted, as well as bilateral funding agreements, accounting for 74.7% of the debt while debt with private financial entities totals 25.3%. Of this 25.3%, the greatest proportion corresponds to documented debts in Sovereign Bonds and Brady Bonds. According to this report, the evolution of the public sector foreign debt during the period January - September 2008 shows that for disbursements, the Dominican public sector received US$326.9 million more than in the same period in 2007, reaching US$1.12 billion for that period. This increase is due to two financial arrangements: One is Petrocaribe with Venezuela that increased substantially as a result of the high oil prices, [...]

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Although only in Spanish, the National Competitiveness Council’s Competitiveness watchdog website is one of the best sources for keeping a grasp on how the Dominican Republic is faring compared to the rest of the world. The website is constantly updated with new national and international reports on economic and business indicators, and local initiatives. The site has sections on clusters activities, the business climate, new legislation affecting business, the local business agenda and the international financial crisis.
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For instance, by accessing the website you find that the World Economic Forum has just released its Travel Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 with an overview on how the industry has fared through years of terrorism, high fuel prices and the current recession.
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Deputy director of the National Competitiveness Council Maria Victoria Abreu says that the site design was recently enhanced and that it is constantly updated to share information on [...]

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Security issues led the Dominican Republic to have a lower acceptance by tourists, according to a report by the World Economic Forum on Tourism 2008-2009. According to El Caribe, the report is called Competitiveness in Travel and Tourism 2009, and the DR is ranked at number 67 of the 133 countries evaluated on 14 points and where safety is considered to be the most important factor. The drop in perception was four places down on the 2007 report. On the question of protection for foreigners, the country dropped to position 101. In 2008 at least 91 foreigners were victims of different types of assaults, including 18 deaths, according to data from the National Police Criminal Investigations Department.
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When it came to ground transport, another aspect that was evaluated, in the year 2008, 27 tourists lost their lives, most on the highway between Veron and Higuey in La Altagracia province. [...]

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The Chamber of Deputies has announced a 15% pay raise for staff earning less than RD$30,000 per month. Chamber president Julio Cesar Valentin said that when the Executive Branch increased public employees’ salaries last year, staff at the Chamber of Deputies did not benefit. The minimum wage at the Chamber is RD$10,000. Valentin said that the proper handling of the Chamber of Deputies’ budget had resulted in sufficient funds to cover the pay increase. Valentin added that before the President ordered the salary increase for state workers, the legislature’s lower chamber had already provided its staffers with 10-15% wage increases and in some cases even more. Plus, they were also awarded what is now called the 14th salary to be used to pay for children’s school supplies in July and August.

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