November 2014 - Guzmán Ariza | The Dominican Republic Law Firm

Fitch Raises Risk Rating for DR

International risk assessment firm Fitch Ratings raised the Dominican Republic’s rating to B+ from B, saying that the country has proved itself able to recover even in difficult economic times and has a diversified structure based on a competitive business climate and medium term investments.

Fitch predicts that real economic growth in the Dominican Republic will be 6.2% in 2014 and 5% in 2015-2016. The global financing rating agency also highlights that the 2015 budget will show a reduction in the deficit of 2.4% for the first time since 2007.

[November 2014]

Fabio Guzmán Ariza Elected to the Dominican Academy of Letters

The Dominican Academy of Letters (Academia Dominicana de la Lengua) announced on November 18 the election of our name partner, Fabio J. Guzmán Ariza, as its newest numerary member (académico de número). Mr. Guzmán Ariza will fill the seat left vacant by the death of academician Mariano Lebrón Saviñón.

A prolific author in the fields of the law and language, Mr. Guzmán Ariza was a member of the team of linguists which prepared The Dictionary of Dominican Spanish (2013). He is also the author of The Language of the Dominican Constitution (2012), and of the only translation into English of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic (2011).

The Dominican Academy of Letters was founded in 1927, modeled after the Spanish Royal Academy (1713) and other existing language academies in Spanish-speaking countries, as the highest authority on language issues in the Dominican Republic. The most prominent members of the Academy are known as académicos de número, and are elected for life by other academicians from scholars in the arts and sciences, Each academician holds a seat labeled with a letter from the Spanish alphabet; Mr. Guzmán Ariza will occupy seat E.

[November 2014]

Fabio Guzmán Saladín Chosen as Arbitrator of the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce

The board of directors of the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce (CCSD) elected Fabio Guzmán Saladín, partner of the firm, as arbitrator of the Center of Alternative Dispute Resolution of the organization. The official list of arbitrators was revealed the past 18^th of September during the induction ceremony which is celebrated annually on the premises of the chamber.

After evaluating the solicitors’ profiles, this institution selected professionals that, besides accomplishing the conditions required, are recognized in the business market and have high sense of ethics.

The ceremony was moderated by Manuel Lama, president of the board of directors of the CCSD.

[September 2014]

Club Med Launches New Plans for Expansion and Investment

The multinational tourist company Club Med announced the construction of 70 new villas at its current location in Punta Cana, besides a resort in another locale of the Dominican Republic whose location will be announced shortly, according to their executives that visited last Friday President Danilo Medina at the National Palace.

Marilyne Mesiano and Gregory Lenter, executives of Club Med, and their lawyers, Fabio J. Guzmán Ariza and Fabio J. Guzmán Saladin of Guzmán Ariza law firm, met with Danilo Medina to inform that starting in January of next year the company will also begin a strategic alliance with the company that runs the Cirque du Soleil in order to build an infrastructure in Punta Cana that will permit the permanent presentation of the most famous circus in the world. The total investment will have a cost of approximately US $125 million.

Club Med was the multinational tourism company which thought up the concept of the all – inclusive resort, as well as the first to install themselves in the east region of the country in 1981. From the start of its operations it has generated thousands of jobs in the Dominican Republic. This hotel chain features a 98% occupancy each month in the 550 rooms that it has available at the present time.

[November 2015]

Tourist Arrivals Increase 10% in Jan.-Sept. 2014

Central Bank governor Hector Valdez Albizu said recently tourist arrivals increased 10% from January to September 2014 compared to the same period last year. In September, Central Bank statistics show a 13.3% increase. The buoyant tourism industry is behind the 7% Gross Domestic Product growth the country has experienced over the first nine months of the year.

[October 2014]

Guzmán Ariza at International Living Conference

Guzmán Ariza partners, Alfredo A. Guzmán and César Calderón, recently attended International Living’s “Fast Track Your Retirement Overseas Conference 2014”, held in Las Vegas.

In his presentation “Purchasing Real Estate and Obtaining Residency in the Dominican Republic”, Mr. Guzmán provided a step-by-step summary of the real estate purchase process, including such aspects as: the due diligence involved, the peculiarities of the applicable law, transfer, property and inheritance taxes payable, title insurance and tax exemptions available, as well as recommendations on how to structure the acquisition and holding of property. The presentation also summarized the residency/citizenship programs available and their derived benefits and tax exemptions.

Chambers ranks Guzmán Ariza in Real Estate & Tourism

Chambers and Partners Latin America 2015 ranked Guzmán Ariza law firm in Real Estate and Tourism, and Dr. Christoph Sieger, partner of the firm, was recognized as a recommended attorney in the area. The guide highlighted that Christoph Sieger “is not a soft lawyer, he will make it happen – he’s a bloodhound and my go-to guy.”

Dr. Sieger is the resident partner at the Punta Cana offices and specializes in international tax and real estate investments.

Guzmán Ariza law firm has extensive experience in all areas of the real estate business, working with corporate clients, financing and developing real estate projects such as malls, subdivisions, hotels and resorts, and representing individuals in purchasing or renting vacation properties in the Dominican Republic.

[September 2014]

Guzmán Ariza Partner Speaks at the Hispanic Bar Association

Dr. Christoph Sieger, partner at Guzmán Ariza, was invited by the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, the Haitian American Lawyers Association of New Jersey and the Haitian American Lawyers Association of New York in connection to talk about the status of the descendants of Haitian illegal immigrants in the Dominican Republic after the recent ruling of the Dominican Constitutional Court.

In the conference, Dr. Sieger focused on the legal and practical aspects of illegal immigration in the Dominican Republic and on the efforts of the Dominican government seeking to mitigate the effects of the adverse ruling by the Constitutional Court.

[September 2014]

Legal 500 Ranks Guzmán Ariza as a Top Tier Firm

The Legal 500 Latin America 2014 survey has ranked Guzmán Ariza as a Top Tier Firm in real estate and tourism in the Dominican Republic, and has chosen name partner Fabio Guzmán Ariza as a “Leading Lawyer” in the field. The firm also received recommendations in Corporate and Finance, and Dispute Resolution.

Ten Guzmán Ariza lawyers have also been recommended in The Legal 500 Latin America editorial: In corporate and finance, Fabio Guzmán Ariza, Christoph Sieger, Alberto Reyes, Alfredo Guzmán and Fabio Guzmán. In dispute resolution, Fabio Guzmán Ariza, Rhadaisis Espinal, Julio Brea Guzmán, Cesar Calderón and Johanna de Láncer. In real estate and tourism, Fabio Guzmán Ariza, Julio Brea Guzmán, Christoph Sieger, César Calderón and Anabel Rizik.

[September 2014]

GDP up 7.2% in First Half of 2014

According to the latest report by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, the Dominican economy grew 7.2% in the first half of the year.