The first thing we should clarify is that the Bolsa de Valores in DR is 100% fixed income. We don't have any stocks listed yet. That will come in the future.
In past years, the market used to be 100% commercial paper and as Pichardo mentioned here, not very liquid. However, that is not the case anymore. To give you some perspective, the total volume traded in 2006 was RD$1.6 billion. We closed 2007 with a volume of RD$15.4 billion (more than 800% increase). So far in 2008 in the first 4 months of the year, we have traded over RD$10.2 billion (more than 500% compared to the same period last year). There are 13 different companies with a range of products. The curve extends to 10 years. Of the 13 companies, only two have commercial paper. The others go to 3, 5, 8 and 10 years. There is trading almost every day in the secondary market. We have a platform that allows you to trade any product in real time (even though at the moment it is only fixed income).
You should be able to find financial statements on all the puestos de bolsas as well as the issuers in our website
BOLSA DE VALORES DE LA REPUBLICA DOMINICANA and also in the SIV's website (the regulators),
Superintendencia de Valores de la República Dominicana
In the case of Banco Popular, Banco Leon, Banco Nacional de la Vivienda, Banco Adopem, Banco Ademi, BHD Valores and others, you also have available the rating agencies report (Feller Rate and Fitch Dominicana) which is public information.
I would not say the market here is semi-functional. These companies (such as Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana--Presidente Beer and Banco Popular) are issuing bonds and they have been able to place the issue with no problems at all. We see more trading everyday.
For those of you wondering what they need to do to invest in the Bolsa here, you need to go to a Puesto de Bolsa (PB) that is approved by the SIV (our SEC equivalent and these 12 PB are listed in our website) and open an account with them.
Hope this e-mail clarifies some of the confusion.