Dominican Rep. touts its US$5.5B free trade zones to Taiwan

Santo Domingo.- PresidencyAdministrative minister Jose Ramon Peralta on Wednesday met with Taiwan businessleaders to tout Dominican Republic´s incentives to install or expand free zone industries,whose exports will exceed US$5.5 billion this year.

He noted his country´s strongties with Taiwan and the features that makes the Dominican Republic attractive,including "decades of political and social stability, with a firmcommitment to trade and economic openness. This has resulted, year after year, insustained growth and an increasingly diversified economy."

Peralta noted that DominicanGDP will reach US$67.5 billion and growth of 6.7%, the highest in Latin Americaand the Caribbean.

The official said thecountry´s economic, political and institutional environment explains "whythe Dominican Republic has managed to form the world’s most successful export freezones."

Growth

The figures seem to confirmPeralta´s assertion, since exports from Dominican FTZs will exceed US$5.5billion this year, paced by US$1.4 billion in medical equipment andpharmaceutical products; US$1.3 billion in textiles and garments, US$752.0million in electrical and electronic products; US$719.0 million in tobacco andcigars, and US$482.0 million in footwear.