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Only $600 million in bonds For weeks, the senators have been urging the need for an additional US$150 million in sovereign bond placement money, purportedly to buy back the non-government shares of the electricity distribution companies. Yesterday, the Senators at last gave in to pressures from the Executive Branch and the business community. The original amount requested for the issuance by the President was US$600 million, however, an influential group of senators had been advocating the increase to US$750 million and were successful in having the bill passed for the augmented amount in a first reading in the Senate. On Wednesday, with 21 out of the 26 possible votes, the Senate took back the bill and returned it to its original amount. Three senators from the ruling party (PRD) voted against the modification of the bill and Jose Tomas Perez (PLD) and Jose Hazim Frappier (PRSC) did not vote. The bill now passes on to the Chamber of Deputies. Opposition deputies had openly conditioned their support of the sovereign bonds to the ratification of changes to the electoral law. |
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Time for Christmas shopping President Hipólito Mejía said that tomorrow, Friday, 13 December, the government will begin paying the 13th wage of the year, the so-called Christmas salary. An estimated RD$2 billion will be disbursed, sending people Christmas shopping sprees. |
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Irregular tapping of phones The director of the Fundacion Institucionalidad y Justicia (Finjus), a civic society organization that strives to encourage the correct application of the law, criticized the governmental practice of bugging phones as a means of surveillance. As reported in Hoy newspaper, Carlos Salcedo said that if the government were inclined, it could order the judicial officers (Ministerio Publico) to close down the companies that man the lucrative businesses of tapping into people’s phones. Recently, the telephone companies rejected a government resolution that sought to prohibit the practice of wire-tapping, other than for true security reasons. Reportedly, the government had made plans to install a US$4 million telephone espionage system, which would have been supervised by none other than the controversial Colonel Pedro Julio Goico. Goico is the former security chief for the Presidency and is now being detained for investigations into alleged drug dealing and fraudulent use of a credit card. |
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80 M euros to increase production The European Investment Bank (EIB) will sign a loan agreement valued at more than 80 million euros with Banco Popular, BHD, Baninter and Bancredito on 20 December. Manuel Caceres, Executive Director of the National Office of European Funds for Development, said that the loans are designed to increase productivity. "Whoever is more diligent preparing documents and projects will receive more money and will receive it first," said Caceres. The money will be meted out in two installments of 40 million euros. Companies will have access to long-term loans, for 10-year periods, with the possibility of subsidized interest rates. The loan may be paid in euros or in the local currency (Dominican pesos). Another way the EIB is helping the Dominican economy is by buying equity from Dominican banks. Mr. Whitehouse, EIB Managing Officer for the Caribbean, revealed last Tuesday that they now own 17% of Banco ADEMI, allowing the EIB to give direct help to very small businesses. Whitehouse said that they hope in a few years to have their shares bought by a private Dominican firm. For more information on the European Investment Bank, see http://europa.eu.int/institutions/eib/index_en.htm |
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The peso appreciates Following Friday’s meeting between President Mejía and businessmen from the private sector concerning the devaluation of the peso, the flailing DR currency has since appreciated significantly. It is widely agreed that the downward slump of the peso had a direct correlation to the changes made in the government's monetary policy. Today, however, the exchange rate is at RD$21 to US$1 -- 350 points less than last Friday afternoon. Also, the volume of transactions has increased and the buy & sell spread has been reduced to 50 points from 150 points in some exchange houses and banks. Nevertheless, some commercial banks were buying at RD$18.50 and selling at RD$21.50. |
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Mafia on the border with Haiti Quirilio Virolio, President of the Dominican Consortium of Citrus Growers, denied that there is any type of mafia operating on the Haitian border. Rumors and accusations have been circulating that an illicit operation has formed at the points of departure from the Dominican Republic that is taxing Haitians who wish to import goods purchased from the Dominican Republic to their homeland. Vilorio declared that it is improper to charge “taxes” or “tolls” to people that are taking goods out of the country. If anyone had a right to charge such a fee, it would be the Haitian authorities, he explained. He added that civilians and military personnel alike are committing the abuse and urged the government to investigate. Vilorio said, “The government should encourage all types of exports by the use of agile mechanisms, especially exports to Haiti, which is one of our three leading trading partners. Usually countries subsidize exports, they do not tax them.” |
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Foreign companies reap high profits According to a report from the Central Bank (www.bancentral.gov.do), the net cash flow of foreign investment showed a deficit of US$334 million for the period of January-September 2002. During these months, the country has received investments of US$658.8 million while foreign companies in the Dominican Republic have removed US$992.8 million in profits related to their diverse operations. Many are of the opinion that foreign investment is a double-edged sword and if not attended to by the government, it will cause serious medium- to long-term economic instability. Others argue that over the past five years the cash flow from foreign investment has been extremely favorable for the Dominican economy and that the data should be analyzed as a whole -- not just by taking into consideration the first nine months of the year. According to studies made on the subject, the extraction of hard currency by foreign investors from the Dominican Republic is relatively one of the world’s highest. This is attributed to the high profitability of companies operating in the country and the tendency of its foreign investments to offer goods and services for the consumption of the internal market. The National Competitiveness Plan prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce focuses on the need to attract foreign investment in areas that generate foreign exchange. |
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US supermarket-chain to buy fresh produce Dominican businessmen Ismael Peña and Eligio Peña, directors of the Super Produce chain of supermarkets in New York, are holding talks with government officials and Dominican producers to establish a commercial relationship that may result in US$150 million per year in exports. The entrepreneurs plan to begin importing during the first months of next year, saying that they are primarily interested in vegetable products, but hope to include meat and fish products once the present export barriers are removed. Super Produce is looking to sign contracts directly with growers whose operations would be overseen periodically by the Ministry of Agriculture. The initial areas of interest (Constanza, Ocoa, Villa Trina and Jarabacoa) would benefit from this relation, because it is where the government is developing the greenhouse project funded by Spanish bank loans. Peña added that they still have to overcome several problems: 1) The Dominican grower must change his exporting habits, by which traditionally the producer is inclined to export only when the price in the local market is depressed or when there exists a production surplus. Any producer who signs a contract should be aware of the priority to fill the orders from the importer. 2) Measures previously taken by the customs authorities produced a lack of interest in the New York market for the local exporters. 3) Mutual confidence must be bolstered so that the producers do not feel that the importers are cheating them and the importers are confident that Dominican producers can be relied on to fill the orders. The involvement of the Ministry of Agriculture seeks to find a solution to these problems. |
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A US$200,000 trip Pilot Rafael de la Cruz, arrested in Fort Lauderdale for trafficking cocaine, revealed during his testimony in a Florida court that he would have received US$200,000 for services rendered that day and admitted that four days prior to his capture, he had successfully completed another mission. According to a report in Diario Libre today, customs agents believe the drugs were loaded at Herrera International Airport in Santo Domingo, as the stop made in Exuma, Bahamas prior to landing in Fort Lauderdale was only 35 minutes in duration. The plane is of special interest as it had been frequently used to transport the advance team of the President, under former security head, Colonel Pedro Julio (Pepe) Goico. Goico is currently being detained for questioning in Santo Domingo. |
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The Pan-Am Games Hoy newspaper publishes today the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) report on advances towards the 2003 Games in Santo Domingo this summer. The report was prepared following the most recent meeting of the Executive Committee held in Mexico this week. The committee set a 30 May deadline for the completion of sports venues and the athletes village, which are currently behind schedule. For details in Spanish of the report, see http://www.hoy.com.do/diciembre2002/12122002/deportes2.htm |
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Toros defeat the Estrellas La Romana squeaked out a 3-2 victory last night with excellent pitching from Alfredo Gonzalez and timely hitting from Lyle Mouton (2 RBI) and Angelo Encarnacion (3 hits). Gonzalez gave up 5 hits over 6 solid innings yielding only one unearned run and striking out 3 before turning the final three innings over to Fernando de la Cruz who earned his 4th save. Encarnacion also threw out three potential base-stealers. |
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Licey has a pulse Licey charged back from a 4-0 deficit scoring 4 times in the 5th to defeat Escogido 11-6 last night at Quisqueya Stadium. Henry Mateo had 3 hits (3b) and an RBI while Cody McKay added 2 hits (2b) and 3 RBI's. Licey remains in 5th place, 3 games behind the Cibao Giants with 10 to play. |
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Lopez has a good day at the office It took until the 6th inning to get the offensive rolling, but a Mendy Lopez homerun ignited a 3 run rally in the sixth and his double in the 7th started the decisive rally to lead Aguilas to a 9-4 victory over the Gigantes of San Francisco de Macoris. When the dust cleared Lopez had 2 doubles and 2 homeruns, his second - a grand slam - gave him 6 RBI's on the night. The Giants loss, coupled with the Tigers victory keeps the final playoff position undecided with 10 games remaining. |
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