Legislation to boost Dominican industries in congressional ‘limbo’

Dominican Republic.- Herrera and Santo Domingo Province IndustriesAssociation (AEIH) president Antonio Taveras on Monday said key initiatives topromote small and medium businesses and national exports are in limbo.

He cited the bill that creates the Mutual Guarantee System,designed for SMEs to have access to credit, which has been stalled in Congresssince last year.

"The Monetary Board played its role submitting the billto the Executive Branch for its evaluationin June last year; the president also assumed his, but it quickly ended upCongress, where it has apparently been shelved," the said industrialist.

"In the case of Bandex (export development bank) thereare already regulations, approvals by the Monetary Board, and KPMG audits of thisfinancial institution are available, so we see no good reason for this entity notstart to play its role of financing exports," Taveras said.

He noted that the legislation whose main purpose is tocreate a legal platform for expediency in favor of SMEs of guaranteed access toformal credit, at lower costs and longer terms, in financial intermediaries.

The BANDEX is another initiative which the industrial leadersees as tied up in Congress, which despite having its board appointed just overfour months ago, has het to meet since the Finance Ministry hasn’t convened itsassembly, as the agency’s bylaws stipulate.