Credits from Banco de Reservas to the free zone sector exceeded RD$7,185 million in the third quarter of this year, and the financial entity projects that these financings will increase to RD$9,650 million at the end of 2022.
The data was revealed by the general manager of Banreservas, Samuel Pereyrawho explained that the financing granted increased by RD$5,766 million, which translates into a year-on-year variation of 25.6%, higher than its historical average of 14%.
He explained that, in addition, that institution has a deposit portfolio of that sector above RD$2,700 million, with expectations of increasing above RD$3,920 million, at the end of this year.
“In recent years, Banreservas has granted around 21.3% of the financing that has been allocated to these companies, and our credit portfolio for the sector maintains a very good behavior, with a delinquency rate of 0.10% versus the 0.14% average of the other banks”, he said during the second discussion “Banreservas support for the productive sectors”.
For Pereyra, “these indicators demonstrate the encouraging results of the efforts made and our interest in continuing to support free zones, as an important generator of jobs and their decisive impact on the economic and sustainable development of our nation.”
The meeting, which was held at the Banreservas Club in Santo Domingo, was attended by Victor Bisonó, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes; Daniel Liranzo, Executive Director of the Export Free Zones Council; Luis José Bonilla, president of the Dominican Free Zones Association (ADOZONA); José Ulises Rodríguez, General Director of Proindustria; and Arazaty Féliz, from the Proindustria Financial Department.
Minister Bisonó was in charge of the presentation “Perspective and growth of the free zones in the Dominican Republic”, which provided significant data on the Industrial parks, the companies that comprise them, the number of jobs they generate, the export free zones and its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.
The second discussion of the series “Contributions of Banreservas to the Productive Sectors” dealt with the free zones as the main focus of attraction of foreign investment and the support provided by the financial sector.
Relevance of free zones
As a whole, loans from the financial system to free zones have shown an evident upward trend, with an approximate year-on-year growth of 12.8%. For the closing of June of this year, loans increased by RD$ 20,270 million, which, in relative terms, corresponds to 19.5%.
The Dominican Republic has positioned itself as the sixth nation in Latin America and the Caribbean in this category, through the constant movement of more than 90 weekly vessels and 280 daily flights, according to the National Council of Export Free Zones.
21% of the accumulated investment is due to local investors, while the remaining 79% came from foreign investors (46% of this capital comes from the United States).
Regarding investment by type of activity, 26.8% was allocated to medical and pharmaceutical products; 21.8% to companies dedicated to tobacco and its derivatives and 12.5% to companies in the clothing and textile industry.
The conversation was attended by entrepreneurs from free zones, officials from the economic area and executives from Banreservas.