The Abinader government aims for investment grade by 2028, and Fitch upgraded the sovereign to BB on 2026-11-03. Public investment goes mostly to transport such as roads and the metro, while power-sector losses and subsidies weigh on the budget.
What a Korean company can do now
Government · leader
President Luis Abinader (head of state and government, second term ending 2028-08-16)
Key national agenda
- Investment grade by 2028 and fiscal consolidation
- Long-term goals for 2036: double GDP, create 1.7 million jobs, end extreme poverty
- More transport infrastructure investment (roads, metro)
- Cutting electricity distribution losses and the subsidy burden
- Migration enforcement and counter-narcotics cooperation with the US
Government programmes
Santo Domingo Metro Line 2C (Los Alcarrizos-Luperón)RD$3.51bn spent Jan-Sep 2026
The largest single government investment in January-September 2026, with RD$3.51bn spent. (single source)
Enriquillo-Pedernales road reconstructionRD$2.53bn spent Jan-Sep 2026
Reconstruction of a road serving the southwest tourism development area, with RD$2.53bn spent in January-September 2026. (single source)
Government public investment, Jan-Sep 2026RD$67.4bn (spent)
RD$67.4bn in total, up 16.7% year on year. Transport took 59% (RD$39.8bn): RD$34.7bn for roads and RD$4.4bn for rail. (single source)
Puerto Rico power link and rare earths plansNot disclosed
The energy minister was due to present rare-earth development and a power interconnection with Puerto Rico in Washington in late September 2026. (single source)
Business opportunities
Smart metering and distribution automation to cut losses
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Urban rail systems and operations consulting
Metro Line 2C is the top government investment, and rail spending reached RD$4.4bn.
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Tax and public finance digital solutions
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Korean support schemes
- KOTRA Santo Domingo Trade Office · KOTRA — Market intelligence, buyer matching and export consultation for the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean.
- KOICA training and development cooperation programmes · KOICA — Training for officials and development cooperation; project-level amounts for the Dominican Republic were not confirmed in this review.
- SBC Export Voucher · Korea SMEs and Startups Agency — Support for export marketing costs such as trade fairs, certification and translation.
Official notices
Presidency of the Dominican Republic
- 2026-11-06 Premium gasoline and optimum diesel raised RD$4; regular fuels frozen
- 2026-11-05 President Abinader met the EIB president in Madrid at the Ibero-American Summit to discuss investment
- 2026-11-05 Government says subsidies will continue to protect vulnerable households
- 2026-08-16 Víctor Bisonó appointed foreign minister
Disaster · conflict · epidemic
Stable 2026-11-07
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Earth & space
Credit rating · FX
S&P BB / Moody's unconfirmed / Fitch BB (stable, upgraded from BB- on 2026-11-03) · K-SURE Unconfirmed · DOP
Sanctions
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No country-wide UN, US, EU, UK or Korean sanctions programme applies.
Sources
- Diario Libre - Fitch eleva calificación de RD a BB
- Diario Libre - Transporte concentró casi RD$60 de cada RD$100 invertido
- Americas Quarterly - Dominican Republic: A 2026 Snapshot
- The Rio Times - Dominican Republic politics key players 2026
- Banco Central de la República Dominicana
- Diario Libre - Abinader se reúne con presidenta del BEI
