2005 – Page 200

Two events sponsored by the Ministry of Culture have just opened in Santo Domingo and should be on the agenda of city residents and those visiting Santo Domingo. The 2005 book fair (21 April- 1 May) is being staged at the Plaza de la Cultura and puts culture on the big stage. This year’s fair …

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President Leonel Fernandez and Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso will travel to Rome on Friday to attend the inauguration of German-born Pope Joseph Ratzinger on Sunday. President Fernandez did not attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II. German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI was elected head of the Roman Catholic Church on …

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The Technical Minister of the Presidency Temistocles Montas and the President’s economic advisor Julio Ortega Tous announced yesterday the official government offer to exchange US$1.1 billion in global bonds for a longer dated debt. The offer is open until 4 May 2005. The offer was made in an effort to generate some US$100 million in …

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Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced yesterday that it lowered its long-term foreign currency ratings on the Dominican Republic’s 2006 and 2013 global bonds to ‘D’ from ‘CC’ following the announcement of a bond exchange offer. On 1 February 2005, Standard & Poor’s had lowered its long- and short-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on …

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A study prepared by the intelligence unit of the economic journal The Economist says that in order to raise foreign investments and increase the volume of commerce, the two most important goals of the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), a certain amount of stability “that can only come from a prudent government fiscal policy and a …

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Enrique de Marchena Karluche, the head of the National Hotel & Restaurant Association, says that members see the announced US$5 surcharge on fares to the DR originating abroad as counterproductive and untimely. He said this makes it difficult for airlines and hotels to compete with so many seemingly unending government taxes. Marchena said that the …

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The pharmaceutical industry in the Dominican Republic shrunk over the last two years as a result of the devaluation of the peso against the US dollar, the exchange commission and the price of fuels, according to Luis Adolfo Betances, a member of the association that joins manufacturers, salespersons and factory representatives (ARAPF). The businessman, who …

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Business leader Celso Marranzini argued for some quick government action on the norms that govern the loan portfolios of bank clients. Marranzini wants the Monetary Board and the Superintendent of Banks to loosen up the requirements for getting loans in order to allow access to lower cost financing. He maintained that some flexibility would not …

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The Superintendent of Pensions Persia Alvarez told reporters that the overall deposits in pension funds has reached RD$17.6 billion and that one and a half years after beginning the program, there are already 100 pensioners that are receiving an average of RD$10,000 per month. The official said that the funds of the pension system are …

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The District Attorney for the National District, Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero is questioning the Government Accounting Office (Camara de Cuentas), and wants to see the auditing of the Supreme Court’s new building. The DA requested that the accounting office send it the audit carried out on the construction and equipping of the new Supreme Court …

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