Hoy newspaper?s economic section reports that US$1.362 billion was repatriated last year. According to Mario Mendez, the paper?s economic editor, this means that there was a US$1.052 billion negative flow of hard currency. Mendez writes that there was only US$309.9 million in direct foreign investment in 2003 and a total of US$1.362 billion was sent out of the country. The Central Bank reported that while direct investment was at a low of US$309 million, the earnings sent out of the country reached represented an all-time high. According to Mendez, the fall in direct foreign investment was due to the deteriorating image of the Dominican Republic in international markets, as well as the problems encountered by some of the foreign companies, in particular those in the electric sector. Economists in the field are worried by the situation because, they say, a significant part of foreign investment is related not to exports, but to goods and services for internal consumption, thus exerting even further pressure upon the exchange rate. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hoy newspaper?s economic section reports that US$1.362 billion was repatriated last year. According to Mario Mendez, the paper?s economic editor, this means that there was a US$1.052 billion negative flow of hard currency. Mendez writes that there was only US$309.9 million in direct foreign investment in 2003 and a total of US$1.362 billion was sent … <\/p>\n