Valdez Albizu expressed his confidence that the Dominican Republic will continue to progressively achieve new growth and macroeconomic stability objectives.
The governor of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), Héctor Valdez Albizu, received a visit from a board of directors of the company Ambev Dominicana for the implementation of an investment plan.
The commission was headed by Luis Alvarez, executive vice-president, who gave a presentation on its planning process for the coming years.
This process will include, according to the executives, the investment in a new renewable energy generating matrix and the creation of an agricultural system whose corn production will supply the cereal’s own needs, with the possibility of serving in the future as a source of generation of this raw material for other productive segments of the Dominican Republic.
Regarding the investment in energy production, Ambev Dominicana pointed out that it is a solar energy park in the area of the province of María Trinidad Sánchez, with a capacity of 50 Megas, whose production would supply a large part of the needs of its consumption matrix.
They also indicated to the governor that Ambev Dominicana currently imports 30 thousand tons of corn for the production of its beer, so its new strategic plan will consist of harvesting this raw material in our country for its production, thus bringing benefits to the country and, at the same time, disassociating itself from the price fluctuations that currently occur in international markets.
They also pointed out that their investment plan includes the creation of a glass cluster for the manufacture of containers, which will include a recycling plant that will contribute to a better maintenance of the environment in our country.
Similarly, they highlighted the certainty that the Dominican Republic currently offers for foreign direct investment, considering elements such as legal certainty, macroeconomic stability and exchange rate, as well as the social climate and economic prospects for the future.
For his part, Valdez Albizu thanked Ambev Dominicana for the trust placed in our country, made possible through this complete and diverse investment plan, anticipating that the Dominican Republic has shown a high degree of resilience after the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of fuel prices, the rise in freight rates and the external inflationary impact caused by the war in Ukraine and its direct consequences.
Albizu indicated that the inter-annual inflation is at 8.80%, with the accumulated inflation for the year at 5.70%, highlighting that the variation of the CPI in August was 0.21% with respect to July 2022, the lowest monthly inflation in the last 27 months. In this sense, the gradual convergence of inflation towards its target range of 4% to 1% is expected to continue in the coming months.
He considered it important to highlight that the performance of tourism has been remarkable, following the arrival of 4.9 million non-residents in January-August 2022, for a year-on-year increase of 66.9%. During the first eight months of the year, tourism has generated some US$5,759.2 million.
It is projected that some 7.2 million tourists will be received by the end of 2022 and that some US$8.4 billion will be generated by this concept.
Regarding the labor market, the favorable economic performance has contributed to a recovery in employment to pre-pandemic levels, which are around 4.7 million employed. Thus, the open unemployment rate has decreased from 8.0% in the first quarter of 2021 to 5.2% in the second quarter of 2022.
Valdez Albizu expressed his confidence that the Dominican Republic will continue to progressively achieve new growth and macroeconomic stability objectives, relying on an active monetary policy and the successful policy carried out by the President of the Republic, Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona.
Also present for Ambev were Ana María Martínez, director of corporate affairs, and Jochy Pérez, manager of government affairs.
The governor was accompanied by vice-governor Clarissa de la Rocha de Torres, manager Ervin Novas, and Joel González, director of the monetary programming department.
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