Dominican Republic: agencies raise the country's economic projections; IMF sees 4.6% growth in 2026

Santo Domingo — Several agencies have raised their economic projections for the Dominican Republic, according to the Dominican press on Monday, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting gross domestic product growth of 4.6% for the country by the end of 2026.

The figure, included in the IMF's World Economic Outlook report, places the country above the estimated average growth for Latin America, of 2.3%, and makes it the second most dynamic economy in Central America, surpassed only by Panama, which holds a projection of 5.0% for this year.

The projection emerged during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, where the Dominican finance minister completed an agenda aimed at strengthening the country's economic positioning and reaffirming the confidence of multilateral organizations and international markets in the Dominican economy.

As part of that agenda, the minister took part in the Ministerial Roundtable chaired by World Bank President Ajay Banga on accelerating implementation for more and better jobs, and held working meetings with Rodrigo Valdés and Juan Toro of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department; with Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); and with Susana Cordeiro, vice president of the World Bank.

He also met with representatives of the United States Department of the Treasury to resume programs to strengthen tax control and oversight systems at the Dominican tax authority (DGII), and with executives from investment banks and credit rating agencies, including Jefferies, Lazard, JP Morgan, S&P Global Ratings, Moody's, Fitch Ratings, Scotiabank, SMBC Nikko Securities America and Citibank, with whom he exchanged views on the country's macroeconomic outlook and fiscal discipline.

The minister also stressed that the current context offers an opportunity to gradually dismantle generalized subsidies, which he described as regressive, and to improve the targeting of subsidies aimed at the most vulnerable groups, without diverting the country from its long-term goals, such as increasing productivity and streamlining permitting processes to prevent a slowdown in private investment in key sectors.

Photo: EYR

Source: De Último Minuto