A defiant Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa let reporters know that the 49% sale of Refidomsa is a done deal, and there is no changing that. “Be clear. The deal is done, and is irreversible. Don’t fool yourselves. The sale will go through and will be complete shortly,” he said yesterday. The Minister of Hacienda was responding to reports that the sale of Refidomsa to Venezuela would be in violation of the DR-CAFTA trade agreement with the US, and Central American nations. <\/p>\n
Bengoa said that on 10 August a Venezuelan PDVSA mission will arrive to finalize the deal. This would be the third visit of the technicians. He said only pending is a fourth visit, for the closing of the deal. He said this could happen in October or early November. <\/p>\n
As reported in Hoy, Bengoa described those who oppose the sale as “vultures.” He said: “The vultures have sent these people to invent things such as that, so that the state may give the Refinery business to them,” he said. <\/p>\n
Objections to the sale were made abroad by Loretta Sanchez, a US Representative from California and in the DR by Hugo Rivera, a former DR government negotiator for DR-CAFTA. Rivera said the sale of 49% of the Dominican government stock in Refidomsa to PDVSA of Venezuela clashes with the investment chapter of the DR-CAFTA. He said that the agreement requires transparency in government investments and the Clause of Most Favored Nation obliges the government to restrain from offering a privilege to a country that is not a signatory of the agreement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A defiant Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa let reporters know that the 49% sale of Refidomsa is a done deal, and there is no changing that. “Be clear. The deal is done, and is irreversible. Don’t fool yourselves. The sale will go through and will be complete shortly,” he said yesterday. The Minister of Hacienda was … <\/p>\n