The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reports that, according to preliminary figures, foreign direct investment (FDI) reached US$3,276.5 million at the close of the first half of 2026, an increase of US$233.4 million (7.7%) compared to the same period of the previous year. The institution highlights that some US$2,194.6 million, approximately two-thirds of the flows for this concept, correspond to new capital contributions from investors. It is worth noting that US$1,604.6 million was received for this concept in the April-June quarter.
The BCRD explains that these flows reflect the resilience of the Dominican Republic in attracting FDI, in an international environment characterized by an uneven recovery of global investment flows accompanied by increasing competition among economies to attract new strategic projects, as noted in the World Investment Report 2026: International investment in a turbulent era, by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In this scenario, the FDI entering the country is supported by solid fundamentals: sustained social peace, economic and political stability, legal certainty, tax incentives, modern infrastructure, advanced telecommunications, and government support for foreign direct investment.
When evaluating the sectoral distribution, the BCRD shows that half of the FDI income was directed to the energy (27.8%) and tourism (20.1%) sectors, which maintain their preponderance. It is worth highlighting the contribution of real estate development (12.4%), also relevant for FDI, especially because its expansion is closely related to the growth of tourism in the country. Another prominent sector was mining, supported by higher production and favorable international prices, representing 12.4% of the total.
The institution points out that, in addition to the increase in FDI flows (7.7%) and remittances (6.7%), the other external sector variables also showed favorable performance during the first half of 2026. In this sense, total exports reached US$8,745.7 million, an increase of 16.6% compared to the same period in 2025. Among these, gold exports stand out, reaching US$1,591.9 million, an additional US$648.8 million (68.8%) compared to the same period of the previous year, driven by improvements in production and the high price levels that the mineral has maintained in international markets.
On the other hand, free zone exports reached the figure of US$4,359.7 million, increasing by 3.2% in January-June year-on-year. Likewise, tourism revenues for the analyzed period totaled US$6,716.0 million, some US$891.2 million (15.3%) above the revenues of the first semester of 2025. This result was mainly due to the increase in visitor arrivals during the period (7.9%), which exceeded 6.5 million.
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The BCRD highlights that, according to these preliminary figures, foreign currency income generated from FDI, remittances, tourism, exports of goods, and other services exceeded US$26.5 billion between January and June 2026, which implies an increase of about US$2.8 billion compared to the same period in 2025, contributing to the relative stability of the exchange rate and the accumulation of international reserves.
Regarding the outlook for FDI during 2026, flows are expected to exceed US$5.3 billion, despite the competition and challenges identified by UNCTAD. The Central Bank will continue to monitor the challenging international landscape and its potential economic impact, reaffirming its commitment to its inflation target and macroeconomic stability.
