Family Run Enterprises

Who then owns the enterprises such as Sicoprobath(the local bus line)dont know the correct spelling.

Helado Bon?, Tropigas,Caribe Tours and others. Are these all family run enterprises? Does this mean that entreprenuers dont stand a chance, foreign or local?

Bon, yes--they own DR1!!!!
Caribe Tours, yes
Gas Caribe and Tropigas yes & yes

And Sicoprobath (whatever) looks like a sindicate of drivers or choferes that run on a given route.

Of course there is opportunity!. There is a lot of space to do things here, you just have to know what youcan do and where to do it...

An interesting story is Antonio Cruz. this uneducated man has one of the hugest fortunes in the DR. He owns and runs over 600 betting parlors in the whole country. His CODETEL bill for data transmission is about RD$5,000,000 a month!!! Nobody knew him 5 or 6 years ago. Another one is Fernando Capellan, perhaps the largest industrial employer in the DR. 15 years ago he was an unknown..it is amazing what you can do with a contract and some honest labor...And there are many, many more...
HB

Sichoprola is a volarora transport syndicate, mostly old beat-up cars and minibuses without insurance and safety rules.These people are a bunch of tigueres and low lifes of the kind that want to drive legitimate businesses like Caribe Tour out of business. Now the government of Hipolito Mejia, at the hands of a priest turned politician Father Rosario, who is the head of the OTT(transport authority) wants to destroy Caribe Tours. It seems the government is practicing communist tactics against capitalist enterprises who are doing an axcellent job of giving decent transportation. If you read recent news you will note that Caribe Tours is being harrassed by the government and Father Rosario has given the green light to syndicate hands to attack buses belonging to Caribe Tours, just because they offer competitive service at a good price, while the syndicates want to continue to monopolize and hijack passengers. A Caribe tour bus from the Nagua route was hijacked yesterday by these goons and the police and the government did nothing. This is outrageous, and everyone in this board should contact their embassies to protest agaisnt this attack on free enterprise. Your countrymen may be next. I would also refrain from using syndicated transportation, specially in the North area and Nagua to support free enterprise.

Since when are betting parlors "legitimate" businesses? For all I know these guys are all politically tied brutes who know how to wheel and deal with corrupt political figures. The last thing they are getting away with, with help from corrupted City Hall officials is installing slot machines under the guise of video games in colmadones all over the city's poor neighborhoods, thus corrupting our youth. If this is your idea of entrepeneurs, then drug lords are entrepeneurs too.
TW

Hey, they are legal! Pay tens of K$ in taxes!!

Go figure. When they tried to cut back on the lottery from daily to twice a week hte screems were heard for miles around!!
That got it reversed..
Between Tamboril and Santiago there are over 60 betting places...

FYI

HB

That's what I figuered it was but i hadn't

seen this news. They have always tried to monopolize the traffic, wherever they operate. Like on the docks, of from La Romana or in the area around Barahona. They eventually go away-either bought off or killed off, who cares really...

They are a menace to society, that is for sure..

HB

Re: Hey, they are legal! Pay tens of K$ in taxes!!

They pay tens of thousands in taxes ususally ten times as much does not get reported and many use the business as fronts for other very nasty enterprises. Even the Government's lottery is as big a scam, where the prizes have been sold to the best bidder.
TW

Won't that have a little

influence on the choice tourists make when choosing a vacation destination?
Subsequently, using the domino theory... won't the lack of tourists have an impact on the economy there?
Just wondering.

Look at the Vicini's They own half of the sugar cane factories and properties in the DR. Half of the Zona Colonial. Metal Dom the largest steel producing factory in the Caribbean. Plus much more.
The Garcia family own The Ferreteria Americana, INCA and much more.
Also all the Rum families, Brugal, Barcelo and Bermudez are powerful families.
The Rainieries -They own most of the eastern DR and the Punta Cana airport.
Then you've got the bank owning families. Figueroa, De Caro, Grullon-Banco Popular and of course the Pelleranos, Tricom and Bancredito. De Moya. This country is run by families. Dominicans keep their wealth within their families.

It seems that Italian and Spanish decent families have done best in this country. Any opinions

Wasnt Oscar De La Renta's dad some kind of insurance mogul? What did he do and what insurance company was it? Just curious.