For a country that has just survived the biggest banking crisis in recent Latin American history, it might seem a tad ambitious to launch an offshore financial centre. But that is exactly what is planned for the Dominican Republic. Legislation to establish a regulatory regime for a centre based on a customised site in the south-east of the country is expected to go to congress shortly. If all goes well the centre could be up and running by 2009.

Gaetan Bucher, a Swiss-Dominican private banker developing the project, is in no doubt about what he is taking on. “Talk about taking on a challenge,” he says. He plans to house a complex built at a cost of more than $600m on a 17 sq km greenfield site at Guayacanes on the Caribbean coast. The site is midway between Santo Domingo and the Casa De Campo resort and will include office space, a conference centre, independent power generators and a private landing strip.