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THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
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Like most Italian companies steered by family leadership, Mauro Caslini and family (second generation)
have acquired technical knowledge and expertise by representing and working for large shipyards between
Europe and Asia, making IB Nautica Group one of the most up-to-date and sophisticated nautical companies
in the Caribbean, leaving traditions behind and ushering in an innovative luxury nautical culture.
In October 2005, Colaiacovo and family members fromGubbio, Italy, in partnership with the Vicini family
and other Dominican entrepreneurs, undertook the initiative of developing the Domicem plant, contributing
capital flow and the technical-operational experience of the Colacem structures, coordinated from the central
office in Gubbio.
With added value in different goods and services, they have contributed to the growth of the Dominican
GDP, as well as generated cash flows and savings in foreign currency. Domicem is present in other Caribbean
countries—for example, at its terminal in Montego Bay (Jamaica), managed by the subsidiary company Buying
House Cement Ltd., and at Citadelle United S.A., which operates in Lafiteau, about 20 kilometers north of
Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The acquisition of experience and technical knowledge and expertise provides great benefits for the Do-
minican staff, which is entirely local at the plant located in Sabana Grande de Palenque and the administrative
offices in Santo Domingo.
ACEA Dominicana, with 170 Dominican employees, is another company funded and managed by Ital-
ian capital and entrepreneurs; this company benefits Dominican society through the transfer of technology
and operational knowledge. It is 100% owned by the ACEA Group, which has been operating in the country
since 2003, under a management contract for commercial services for CAASD (Santo Domingo Water and
Sewer Utility Corporation), and since 2013 for CORAABO (Boca Chica Water Utility and Sewer System
Corporation).
The management areas are Santo Domingo Este, Santo Domingo Norte, and the municipality of Boca
Chica, providing services to 2,000,000 inhabitants. Commercial management includes the installation and
reading of meters, billing, drafting, and updating of the user registry.
Due to the continuity and quality of the services it offers, the Dominican Republic was chosen in 2017
by ACEA as the headquarters of its international holding company, which consolidates the various interna-
tionally based companies of the group. It is one of the few international companies that uses the Dominican
Republic as a platform.
The participation of foreign direct investment (FDI) by Italian entrepreneurs has been increasing over the
years, accounting for US$171.5 million from September 2010 to September 2019. In addition to the flow of
FDI, the country has benefited from Italy’s foreign policy, governed by the regulations of the European Union.
Italy is part of the Schengen Area, along with 26 other European countries.
Italy also benefits from the free trade agreements it has signed with the countries of the European Free
Trade Association, countries of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP), or the Lomé Convention, and the
Generalized System of Preferences of the European Union.
As a result, Dominican exports to Italy have increased during the first two decades of the twenty-first
century, most notably such products as cacao beans, green coffee beans, tobacco, handmade cigars, shoes,
dried coconuts, medical devices, finished leather for footwear, and rum, among others. Imports from Italy
have also been growing, represented by a wide variety of goods, including pharmaceuticals, machinery, and
automobiles.