Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ramon Peralta is heading a Dominican private-public mission that is in China to convince US footwear companies to relocate manufacturing operations to the Dominican Republic. The mission also includes Minister of Industry and Commerce Jose del Castillo and the director of the National Export Free Zone Council Luisa Fernandez. A new National Footwear Commission, with the backing of the two ministers, has been formed to help with logistics, technical issues, staff training and seek investors for the footwear industry. The trip to China to convince major companies to relocate here is a result of the new coordinated private-public sector initiatives.
The delegation is visiting companies in the south of China that are responsible for 70% of the footwear exports to the US, said Aquiles Bermudez, president of the Dominican Association of Export Free Zones who is also on the mission. He said many have shown an interest in relocating their production to the Dominican Republic, while adding that training local operators is a key issue.
“China is becoming a middle-class society and this changes its low-wage based production model,” he said. According to Bermudez, the DR offers good infrastructure, proximity to the US and free trade agreements such as DR-CAFTA,” he said. General Shoes has already announced it will be opening a factory in Santiago where 2,000 new direct jobs will be created, he added.
During the visit to China, the group met with Wolverine in Macau.
Other members of the mission were Santiago Free Zone Corporation president Miguel Lama, Bojos Tanning president Luis Jose Bonilla, Jose Clase and Jose Miguel Clase of D’Clase Shoes and Silvia Cocho and Ebell de Castro of CNZNFE.
http://presidencia.gob.do/comunicados/delegaci%c3%b3n-dominicana-busca-inversores-en-china