During the official 79th anniversary celebration of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), Governor Héctor Valdez Albizu unveiled a series of upbeat macroeconomic indicators that paint a picture of resilient, broad-based growth for the Caribbean nation in 2026. The latest official data confirms that the national economy recorded a 5.6% year-on-year expansion in September alone, pushing cumulative growth for the first nine months of 2026 to a solid 4.6%. Full-year projections point to a 4.5% total GDP expansion by the end of December, outpacing many regional peers.
Albizu also highlighted encouraging progress on price stability: headline year-on-year inflation, which hit a recent peak of 5.67% in June, has since cooled to 5.12%, and the central bank forecasts it will fall squarely within its pre-defined target band during the final quarter of 2026.
Foreign exchange earnings across all key streams have surged through the first three quarters: total goods exports hit roughly $13.2 billion USD, tourism revenue reached $9.7 billion USD, remittances sent home by Dominican diaspora members topped $9.4 billion USD, and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows clocked in at approximately $4.5 billion USD. Full-year 2026 projections show total foreign exchange earnings will climb to nearly $50.7 billion USD, with remittances expected to hit $12.6 billion, goods exports surpass $17.2 billion, tourism revenue reach $12.2 billion, and FDI rise to $5.3 billion. Notably, the projected full-year FDI volume is large enough to cover nearly four times the country’s current account deficit, which is estimated to land at just 1% of GDP for 2026.
A key long-term policy milestone also announced during the anniversary event is the steady, six-year downward trend of the BCRD’s quasi-fiscal deficit, which has dropped from 1.4% of GDP in 2020 to just 0.5% of GDP in 2025 – the lowest level recorded since the devastating 2003 national financial crisis.
Growth has been distributed across multiple high-value sectors rather than concentrated in a single industry. The main contributors to cumulative January-September growth include construction (0.2 percentage points), mining and quarrying (0.2 percentage points), domestic manufacturing (3.4 percentage points), free trade zone operations (2.8 percentage points), and the broader services sector, which contributed 4.6 percentage points to total growth. Standout sub-sectors within services include financial services (7.8% year-on-year growth), the hospitality segment of hotels, bars and restaurants (5.6% growth), and other community and professional services (5.4% growth).
Labor market metrics also show marked improvement as of the second quarter of 2026. Data from the National Continuous Labor Force Survey shows total employment rose by 2.9% year-on-year, adding roughly 147,000 new formal and informal jobs to reach a total employed workforce of 271,005. The national informal employment rate now sits at 53.8%, a figure below the median for all countries in the Americas region, while the open unemployment rate fell to 5.3% for the April-June 2026 period – well under the country’s long-term historical average of 6.0%.
分类： business
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Strong economic growth of 5.6% in September
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GDP What is driving the growth of the Dominican economy in 2026?
Delivering remarks at the 79th anniversary celebration of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, Governor Héctor Valdez Albizu released official economic data that far outpaces many regional peers’ performance for the first nine months of 2026. Official metrics show that the national economy recorded a 5.6% year-on-year expansion in September 2026 alone, bringing the cumulative real gross domestic product growth for the January to September period to 4.6%.
This robust performance is driven by a mixed but largely positive landscape across the country’s core productive sectors, paired with record-breaking inflows of foreign revenue. Leading sector gains for the first three quarters are spearheaded by the construction industry, which notched an 8.2% year-to-date growth rate, followed closely by the financial services sector that expanded 7.8% over the same period. Other high-performing segments include the hotel, bar and restaurant industry, which grew 5.6%, mining and quarrying at 5.2%, local manufacturing at 3.4%, and free trade zone operations that posted a 2.8% expansion. Officials acknowledged that performance remains uneven across different productive activities, with capital-heavy construction and consumer-facing financial services outpacing more traditional industrial segments.
The Dominican Republic’s strong macroeconomic stability is further reinforced by surging foreign exchange earnings, per the Central Bank’s latest data. Between January and September 2026, total exports surpassed $13.2 billion USD, while tourism revenue hit $9.7 billion USD, a figure that signals a full sustained recovery for the country’s iconic travel and hospitality sector. Remittances sent home by Dominican citizens living abroad exceeded $9.4 billion USD over the nine-month period, and foreign direct investment inflows reached roughly $4.5 billion USD. The country’s international reserve buffer also climbed past $15.2 billion USD, a sum sufficient to cover 5.4 months of import costs, a key marker of macroeconomic resilience against global market volatility.
Supporting the broader positive growth trajectory, the country is seeing gradual cooling of inflation and steady improvements in labor market conditions. Year-on-year headline inflation has fallen steadily from a peak of 5.67% recorded in June 2026 to 5.12% by the end of September, and Central Bank analysts project the rate will fall back within the official target range of 4.0% plus or minus 1.0% during the final quarter of 2026. By the second quarter of the year, total national employment had reached 5,271,005 workers, representing a 2.9% year-on-year increase that translates to roughly 147,000 new jobs created over the preceding 12 months. The open unemployment rate now sits at 5.3%, while the national monetary poverty rate has fallen to 13.75%.
Looking ahead to the full 2026 calendar year, the Central Bank has revised its official growth projection to approximately 4.5% for the full 12 months, with total foreign exchange earnings forecast to hit roughly $50.7 billion USD. Analysts note that while the country’s economic trajectory remains strongly positive, cross-referencing these figures with updated regional economic forecasts will be necessary to benchmark the Dominican Republic’s performance relative to other Latin American and Caribbean economies. For additional Dominican economic updates, readers can access more coverage via DominicanScope. -
The Colonial City already attracts 14% of the tourists who arrive in the Dominican Republic each month
During a public ceremony marking the official handover of two newly refurbished streets in the Dominican Republic’s historic Colonial City, Tourism Minister David Collado shared updated performance metrics for the fast-growing heritage destination, revealing that the site now draws 14% of all international and domestic tourists entering the country each month. Collado outlined that the market share has nearly doubled in a steady upward trajectory, rising from an initial baseline of 7% before climbing incrementally to 8% and hitting the current 14% average, marking exponential visitor growth that outpaces many other tourism zones across the Caribbean nation. The minister also confirmed that the government is actively rolling out targeted cruise tourism infrastructure projects tailored to the Colonial City, with upcoming upgrades set to redefine the destination’s appeal for cruise line passengers and position it as a standalone high-value stop rather than a secondary day-trip location. Collado reaffirmed a firm December deadline for the full completion of all public rehabilitation works across the designated Colonial Zone, a project funded through a combined budget of RD$500 million in domestic public allocations and a US$90 million concessional loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Acknowledging that large-scale construction activity has caused occasional short-term disruptions for local residents and small business operators in the area, Collado noted that project teams implemented phased scheduling and public outreach measures to minimize inconvenience as much as possible. Citing official progress data reported by local outlet El Hoy, the Ministry of Tourism (Mitur) has already disbursed RD$468 million to finish key milestone upgrades across the historic district: the recently restored Gate of Mercy, the RD$100 million full refurbishment of the iconic Alcázar de Colón landmark, facade repairs for 12 local churches, and a full aesthetic and structural renovation of the National Pantheon. Additional public realm investments totaling over RD$250 million have gone toward upgrading sidewalks, curbs, and street paving to improve accessibility and the overall pedestrian experience for visitors and local community members alike. The ongoing upgrades also extend to underserved marginalized neighborhoods adjacent to the historic core, ensuring the economic benefits of the booming heritage tourism sector are distributed more broadly across the surrounding area.
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Economy : The digital shift full of promise… and risk
Against the backdrop of global economic digitization, Haiti has embarked on a deliberate, state-supported shift to modernize its financial ecosystem, a movement steered directly by the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) that has already delivered tangible gains for underserved populations. Over recent years, targeted upgrades to national payment infrastructure and the explosive uptake of mobile financial services have broken down long-standing barriers to formal financial access, bringing millions of unbanked Haitian citizens into the formal economic system for the first time and reshaping day-to-day commercial and personal transaction norms across the country.
Yet this rapid, transformative progress carries underrecognized, high-stakes vulnerabilities. The surge in unregulated early-stage electronic payments has exposed a largely underprepared user base to a growing suite of cyber threats, ranging from targeted phishing scams and unauthorized identity theft to large-scale personal data breaches and coordinated financial fraud. Compounding these risks is Haiti’s currently low national baseline of digital literacy, which leaves millions of users ill-equipped to spot suspicious activity or protect their personal credentials, creating systemic fragility that could undermine the entire digitization effort. For the BRH, safeguarding end users has evolved from a secondary technical task to the foundational pillar of the country’s long-term economic growth agenda, as global financial governance bodies including the World Bank, Bank for International Settlements, and OECD have repeatedly emphasized that successful digital financial transitions depend far more on widespread public trust than on technical infrastructure alone.
Industry consensus confirms that technology alone cannot drive sustainable adoption of digital payments: unless Haitian citizens trust both their formal financial institutions and the security of the digital tools they offer, uptake will stagnate, erasing hard-won gains in financial inclusion and stifling broader fintech innovation. In this framework, Haitian citizens are positioned not as passive end users of financial services, but as core stakeholders whose active, informed participation is critical to the stability and performance of the entire national financial system. Widespread public distrust, by contrast, would stall digital payment adoption, roll back progress on closing the financial access gap, and derail broader national development goals.
Building that secure, trusted ecosystem is framed as a shared responsibility across regulators, service providers, and individual users. Every Haitian consumer is entitled to access transparent, low-cost, secure digital financial services, full protection of their personal data, and clear, accessible dispute resolution processes in the event of fraud or service errors, but individual vigilance remains a critical line of defense: simple, responsible behaviors such as never sharing account passwords and exercising extreme caution with unsolicited text messages or email links can drastically reduce individual exposure to risk. To equip the public with these capabilities, the government has rolled out the National Financial Education Plan (PNEF), a nationwide initiative designed to build universal digital and financial literacy skills for Haitians of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds.
To translate this vision into actionable, enforceable policy, the BRH has deployed a rigorous four-pillar strategic roadmap tailored to Haiti’s unique economic context. First, Circular No. 121 establishes binding, uniform rules for authorization, cybersecurity governance, and operational standards for all licensed payment service providers, traditional banks, and fintech operators, aligning the entire Haitian financial sector with global best practices and embedding formal consumer protection mandates into regulatory requirements. Second, Circular No. 131 sets non-negotiable requirements for fair service terms, full transparency of fee and policy disclosures, strict personal data confidentiality protocols, and mandatory, timely resolution processes for all customer complaints, further strengthening user rights and laying the regulatory groundwork for widespread public trust. Third, the BRH has implemented continuous, proactive day-to-day supervision of all financial sector operators to enforce compliance with prudential standards, rapidly identify and remediate emerging operational gaps, and prevent systemic instability before it escalates. Fourth, the regulator is rolling out sustained, nationwide public awareness campaigns aligned with the PNEF to raise baseline financial and digital literacy across the population, empowering Haitian citizens to make fully informed financial choices and leverage the full benefits of the country’s digital transition without unnecessary exposure to harm.
Taken together, these regulatory and public education measures do far more than align Haiti’s financial sector with international standards: they reflect the BRH’s explicitly human-centered governance vision, which prioritizes building an inclusive, protective modern financial system where digital tools serve the collective public good, place individual Haitian citizens at the core of all policy design, and create the stable foundation needed for long-term, equitable national economic growth and social development. -
Inflatie daalt naar 7,3 procent; groenten en fruit blijven fors duurder
New preliminary data released by Suriname’s General Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday shows the country’s annual inflation rate has slowed to 7.3% in September 2026, down from 8% recorded in August, marking a continued downward trend in monthly price growth across the nation.
When compared month-over-month, average consumer prices rose just 0.1% between August and September, a further weakening of monthly inflation that followed a 0.2% increase in the previous month. While the overall inflation pace has cooled, the data reveals stark disparities in price changes across different consumer goods and service categories, with fresh produce leading the annual price surges.
Year-over-year, fruits and vegetables remain the most impacted category, with average prices jumping 35.7% from September 2025 levels. Behind fresh produce, medical and paramedical services recorded a 16.1% annual price increase, while communication equipment and services saw prices rise by 14.7%. Dairy products including milk, along with eggs, posted a 14.3% annual price gain – the same rate of increase logged for furniture, household goods and home textiles. Out-of-home meals rose 11.4% year-over-year, and fish, seafood and shrimp products increased by 10.6% annually.
Against these widespread hikes, only one product category recorded an annual price decline: sugar and sugar-based products, which were 3.5% cheaper in September 2026 than in the same month a year prior. When looking at month-over-month changes from August to September, more categories saw price drops. The largest monthly decline was 4.3% for miscellaneous food products and non-alcoholic beverages. Fruits and vegetables dipped 1% on average from August levels, and children’s clothing fell 0.4% in price.
At the same time, month-over-month increases were recorded in a number of smaller categories: pet product prices rose 1.8%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco went up 1.3%, and dairy and eggs increased 1% from August.
ABS officials emphasize that easing inflation does not equate to falling overall consumer prices. Even with the slowdown in annual growth, average consumer prices remain 7.3% higher than they were 12 months prior, keeping cost-of-living pressures elevated for households across the country. To produce its inflation estimates, the ABS tracks prices for a fixed basket of 316 different goods and services. Price data is collected from roughly 630 monitoring points spread across seven districts: Paramaribo, Wanica, Nickerie, Coronie, Saramacca, Commewijne and Para, ensuring the dataset reflects nationwide consumer cost trends.
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New Frankfurt Flight Set to Expand Belize’s Global Reach
Scheduled to launch in December 2027, a new direct air route connecting Frankfurt, one of Europe’s busiest transportation and travel hubs, to Belize is poised to transform the small Central American nation’s global connectivity, bringing far-reaching benefits that extend far beyond the country’s core tourism sector. The new service, operated by Discovery Airlines, a subsidiary of German aviation giant Lufthansa, marks the first permanent direct air link between Belize and a major European hub, a milestone years in the making.
Elizabeth Lanzi-Mazzocchini, head of the European Union’s delegation office in Belize, called the new route a historic and transformative development for the country, noting that years of coordinated collaboration between the Belizean government, the Belize Tourism Board (BTB), and other local stakeholders paved the way for Lufthansa’s commitment to the route. Beyond her professional enthusiasm, she shared personal excitement for the connection, which will simplify travel for her own family visits to Europe during the holiday season.
While the direct flight will immediately cut travel time and eliminate connecting stopovers for European visitors heading to Belize’s renowned coastal and rainforest destinations, industry and diplomatic leaders emphasize that its economic and cultural impact will stretch across multiple sectors. Lanzi-Mazzocchini pointed out that the link will not only diversify Belize’s incoming tourist profile by making the country more accessible to travelers from across Europe, but will also streamline business travel, open new pathways for bilateral trade between Belize and EU member states, and strengthen people-to-people cultural exchange. From creative industries to agricultural exports, the new air connection is expected to act as a catalyst for broad-based economic growth, unlocking new opportunities that go far beyond the hospitality sector that forms the backbone of Belize’s current economy.
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President Simons wil binnen enkele maanden actieplan voor beter ondernemingsklimaat
**October 22** – As the Suriname Business Forum (SBF) marks its 20th anniversary, President Jennifer Simons has announced a collaborative push between the government and the private sector to deliver a concrete action plan within months that will overhaul the country’s investment climate. The initiative centers on three core priorities: cutting red tape to speed up permit approval, expanding access to financing for small and medium enterprises, and creating new growth opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the official opening of SBF’s jubilee year, themed “Sranan Kon’ makandra,” President Simons emphasized that meaningful economic growth depends on creating an environment where local entrepreneurs can invest confidently, and all Surinamese citizens can share in the benefits of that growth. She noted that projected revenue from the country’s emerging oil and gas sector should be leveraged to build a more resilient, diversified economy that does not rely on natural resources alone.
“A nation is not built only by what lies beneath its soil, but by the determination and persistence of its people,” the president stated. According to Suriname’s Communication Service, Simons highlighted longstanding barriers to private sector growth, including bureaucratic bottlenecks, limited access to capital, and difficulties accessing new sales markets. The new action plan is designed to directly address these challenges by strengthening connections between local suppliers and larger domestic and international buyers.
Speaker of the National Assembly Ashwin Adhin echoed the call for cross-sector collaboration, stressing that meaningful progress requires alignment between government, the private sector, labor unions, and academic institutions. Adhin recalled that SBF was established by legislation in 2006 with a clear mandate to support private sector development across the country. “Oil delivers revenue, but whether that revenue creates opportunities for entrepreneurs, new jobs, and knowledge building is a choice we make ourselves,” he said. Adhin called on SBF to use its anniversary year to share on-the-ground insights about business barriers with members of parliament, so that outdated regulations holding back economic growth can be prioritized for legislative reform.
SBF Chair Steven Debipersad emphasized that improving entrepreneurial education and expanding market intelligence are critical to unlocking Suriname’s full economic potential. He added that existing competitive advantages held by Surinamese industries should be further developed to drive broader revenue growth across sectors.
President Simons also highlighted the critical role of workforce development, calling for joint public-private investment in vocational training, quality standards, and work ethic development. These investments are targeted at equipping young Surinamese people with the skills needed to fill available jobs across growing sectors.
Beyond the new action plan, the president outlined ongoing government efforts to modernize Suriname’s investment framework, including the development of special economic zones, digitalization and simplification of government administrative processes, and the formalization of local content requirements. These rules will ensure that Surinamese businesses gain increased opportunities to supply goods and services to larger enterprises, particularly those operating in the oil and gas sector. “We need to move past the planning stage and turn words into immediate action,” Simons reaffirmed.
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CDB brings Caribbean audit leaders together to strengthen governance and institutional accountability
On October 19, 2026, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) brought top audit professionals from across the public and private sectors to its St. Michael, Barbados headquarters for the inaugural Barbados Chief Audit Executives Forum, a landmark initiative designed to elevate internal auditing practices across the Caribbean region.
Organized by CDB’s Internal Audit Division, the gathering drew senior audit leaders from a wide cross-section of institutions, including major financial entities, national regulatory bodies, and private sector enterprises. The core mission of the forum was to facilitate collaborative dialogue around three pressing priorities for regional institutions: aligning local practices with newly updated Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS), addressing rapidly evolving operational risks, and strengthening organizational accountability frameworks to support more effective, transparent governance.
For CDB, this forum is far more than a one-off professional gathering: it is a core component of the institution’s long-term development strategy laid out in its 2026–2035 Strategic Plan. Institutional capacity building stands as a central priority in this 10-year roadmap, which outlines targeted support for stronger governance, robust risk management, improved public sector performance, and enhanced organizational resilience across CDB’s borrowing member countries. The end goal of these investments, CDB leadership notes, is to build regional institutions capable of delivering sustained, inclusive economic and social development that lifts local communities.
Opening the forum, CDB Vice President for Corporate Services Gillian Charles-Gollop emphasized the foundational role of strong institutions in advancing regional progress. “The strength of our region is ultimately reflected in the strength of its institutions. Development is measured not only by what we finance, but by the lasting results institutions deliver for the people they serve,” she told attendees. Charles-Gollop went on to highlight the underrecognized critical role internal auditors play in upholding public and stakeholder confidence: their work delivers the independent assurance and actionable insights organizations need to make informed strategic decisions and continuously improve performance, she explained.
A central focus of the day’s discussions was the practical work of implementing the new Global Internal Audit Standards, alongside the quality assurance frameworks required to meet evolving global professional expectations. Participants delved into two key mechanisms for driving audit quality: External Quality Assessments and Quality Assurance and Improvement Programmes, both of which are designed to boost the credibility, effectiveness, and value of internal audit functions while supporting ongoing professional improvement.
In a keynote address, Tamara Baugh-Brissett, Head of CDB’s Internal Audit Division, noted that cross-professional collaboration has grown increasingly critical as regional organizations navigate more complex, interconnected operating environments marked by emerging economic, regulatory, and technological risks. Beyond facilitating dialogue, Baugh-Brissett confirmed CDB is exploring tangible, ongoing support for regional audit departments to help them adopt the new standards and build long-term capacity.
“Our ambition extends beyond discussion. We are examining ways to support internal audit departments across the region in strengthening their capabilities, enhancing quality assurance practices and progressing toward conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards. This represents an important opportunity to strengthen governance and institutional effectiveness across the Caribbean,” she said.
One of the forum’s flagship sessions was a panel discussion co-led by the Global Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the IIA Barbados Chapter, which centered on best practices for external quality assessments and internal quality improvement programs. Panellists shared actionable insights on how independent external reviews can boost audit effectiveness, strengthen professional credibility, and embed a culture of continuous improvement. They also offered guidance for aligning practices with the new GIAS and positioning internal audit functions as strategic partners rather than back-office oversight teams within regional organizations.
By the close of the event, attendees had not only shared practical professional experiences and built new cross-sector connections but also mapped out collective approaches to addressing common challenges facing audit teams across the Caribbean. The forum marked a key step forward in CDB’s broader mission to build the strong, accountable institutions that underpin long-term regional prosperity.
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Property Tax services now available on G-Tax
Grenada’s Inland Revenue Division (IRD), operating under the Ministry of Finance, has officially rolled out full property tax functionalities across its newly launched G-Tax digital tax administration system, extending seamless remote tax services to all property holders in Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique. This expansion marks a key milestone in the national government’s multi-phase initiative to modernize the country’s tax collection and management framework, moving away from legacy in-person, paper-reliant processes to deliver a far more user-friendly, time-efficient, and inclusive experience for taxpayers. Property owners with active G-Tax accounts can now access a full suite of property tax-related features at their convenience around the clock: they can review verified details tied to their registered properties, download and print official tax demand notices, check outstanding or paid tax balances in real time, submit secure digital payments, and update their contact and residential information without visiting a physical IRD office. Users who have already set up a G-Tax profile for other tax-related obligations do not need to complete a new registration, as all tax records for a single taxpayer are linked to a unified Tax Identification Number (TIN) to eliminate redundant paperwork. For property owners who have no pre-existing tax accounts on the platform, the IRD is requiring them to complete a free registration via the official government portal at tax.gov.gd, noting that new sign-ups will go through a standard 48-hour verification and activation process before full service access is granted. The IRD has issued a public call for all property stakeholders, including individuals who have recently purchased or inherited new property across the three jurisdictions, to complete their registration promptly to leverage the platform’s benefits, and is urging local employers and organizational leaders to circulate this update among their staff members to maximize public awareness. For taxpayers who encounter technical hurdles or require additional clarifications about the new property tax services, multiple support channels are available: individuals can call the main IRD line at 440-3556, dial the dedicated G-Tax hotline at 421-4247, or visit IRD physical locations during standard working hours for in-person assistance. The Division extended its gratitude to the public for their ongoing collaboration, reaffirming its commitment to delivering equitable, professional, and high-efficiency tax services for all residents. This official notice is issued by the Ministry of Finance, and local media outlet NOW Grenada bears no responsibility for external contributor-submitted content related to the announcement, with a dedicated reporting channel available for users to flag any abusive or inappropriate material.