2007 – Page 292

Members of the business sector, together with manufacturers and government officials will meet in Santiago today to discuss how to restore competitiveness to the industrial sector, which has taken some serious hits recently. Just last Friday it was announced that the huge Interamericana Products company was closing its factories in Santiago and La Vega, leaving …

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In the face of a government request to increase salaries, the business community has submitted a proposal to increase salaries by 5% this year, but only for minimum wage earners. The labor representative called the offer “pyrrhic”, but he probably did not know the meaning of the word. Rafael Abreu, the labor representative at the …

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Almudena Mazarrasa, the Spanish ambassador to the Dominican Republic, called the investment scenario “worrisome” and with problems in the areas of “judicial guarantees, public safety and corruption.” The diplomat said that contracts are often not fulfilled, and that some foreign investors have expressed doubts about the lack of surety in observing some laws. Mazarrasa spoke …

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According to preliminary reports, the government’s commercial banking institution the Banco de Reservas was able to sell RD$3.35 billion during its recent annual mortgage fair. Low interest rates were one of the main attractions leading to the sale of 1,590 housing units at the five sales sites across the country. Apartments, single-family dwellings and villas …

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Donald J. Trump has chosen Cap Cana in the Punta Cana area for his next luxury resort development. Announced yesterday in New York, “Trump at Cap Cana” will involve the building of a golf course and golf villas, the sale of golf lots, estate lots, a beach club, a condo hotel and residences with Caribbean …

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The Fanjul Group, owners of Casa de Campo and the La Romana Free Zone as well as the La Romana sugar mill, have acquired Tate and Lyle Canada Ltd., Canada’s largest sugar refiner. According to El Caribe, the deal went like this: American Sugar Refining, Inc. (widely known as Domino) has agreed to acquire Tate …

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Tomatoes are an important crop for tens of thousands of people in the Dominican Republic. According to Hoy newspaper, this successful crop is in danger of being eliminated by a flood of cheap tomatoes from huge California agro-business plantations when the country enters the DR-CAFTA agreement. The elimination of tariffs would allow the Californian tomatoes …

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Community leaders, church representatives and housewives have joined forces to warn about the serious situation in the southwestern provincial capital of Bani. The city is without potable water, and people are paying as much as RD$1,000 per month to purchase water for their homes. According to Listin Diario, most of the blame for this situation …

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President Leonel Fernandez has described Foreign Minister of India, Anand Sharma’s visit to the Dominican Republic as historic. Yesterday Sharma met with Fernandez for over an hour and they discussed ways in which relations between the two nations could be increased, not only diplomatically but also to benefit commerce and education, generic medicine manufacturing, energy, …

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President Leonel Fernandez made an unusual visit to the San Isidro Air Base. Press reports on the visit, on the occasion of the 59th anniversary of the Air Force, say that the Air Force is contemplating the purchase of a fleet of 8 to 10 Brazilian warplanes, with a 100% loan from the Brazilian government. …

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