The president of the National Council for Private Enterprise, Celso Marranzini, said that the approval of a national stock exchange ought to be "a priority," since it will foster savings and create an infusion of new capital to spur business growth. A bill to create the Santo Domingo Stock Market was presented to congress by the Fernandez administration in September, 1998. Marranzini, who spoke at a seminar titled "Constructing Capital Markets in the DR by means of a Stock Exchange," said that Dominican business currently only has recourse to banks, which typically make only short term loans at double digit rates of interest. A stock market is much more flexible financing medium, offering better conditions for corporations. What’s lacking, he said, is a framework within which to make the operations of Dominican business "transparent."
