As a recognition to the contribution that foreign investment has on the country’s economic growth, social development, the creation of jobs and the promotion of more efficient methods of production, the laws of the Dominican Republic promote foreign investment as provided by Foreign Investment Law 16-95.
 

The current legislation provides substantial incentives to foreign investors, granting these rights and duties similar to those enjoyed by the national investors. This law also liberalized the legal framework for investors and opened all the economic sectors that were previously restricted to foreign investment.
 

According to Law 16-95, investments can now be made in real estate, in the acquisition of financial assets and in the form of capital for companies (existing, new or branches).
 

One of the main attainments of this law is that it allows investors to freely repatriate capital and dividends in freely convertible currency thus eliminating restrictions on this procedure as had been established by the previous law. Investors need only register, for statistical purposes, their investment at the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic within ninety days of having made the investment and will receive a Registration Certificate of investment.
 

Among the economic areas that have benefited from direct foreign investment are mining, the textile industry, communications, electricity, information technology (IT) and the financial sectors. The inflow of foreign investment has risen since 1995 at a yearly average of over US$120 million per year*. The sectors of tourism, Free Export Zones and communications are among the most important ones in terms of investment. In 2000 Canadian Direct Foreign investment was estimated at Cdn$133m, the third largest foreign investor* in the country.