Panama, an attractive destination for global investment

In recent years, Panama has been a country where investors in industries worldwide have put their focus on. The expansion of the Panama Canal, a new and modern public transport system, new infrastructure projects in the road network, among others, present an investment opportunity in the coming years.

Recently, the country was included in the Doing Business 2013 Report, a study conducted annually by the World Bank. This publication aims to measure the cost and effects that are happening in 183 countries where regulations were implemented in 2010; and, as report; it is highly supported and consulted internationally by academics, governments, development experts, and the business community. As a country, Panama increased their score on the issue of the opening of companies, where it reduced the time to register a business, from 8 to 7 days. Compared to last year, Panama also improved in the cost category, where the price of starting a business was reduced to 8.8% of income per capita versus 9.9% in the past year.

This qualification, together with other strategic points, makes Panama a perfect place for investment in the area of Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, the Panamanian economy is, according to the World Economic Forum, the most competitive in Central America, growing at a 7% rate annually. In addition, Panama is the best country in the region connected through the Panama Canal and the Colon Free Zone, which, added to the ports, make it a point strategic logistics.

In 2007, to facilitate trade in the country, the Multinational Corporations Act was implemented, obtaining a tax advantage over other countries in the region. “I was inspired by what was Singapore’s main objectives were: to create jobs and provide skills to the country,” said Dr. Eduardo Morgan Jr., attorney, author of legal texts, and sponsor of this initiative. This law helps international companies that choose to move to Panama to not pay taxes on activities abroad, do not pay social charges for their expatriates and they are exempt from income tax.

These advantages make Panama one of the strongest countries in the region to invest, considering it as a strategic point in Latin America.

In recent years, Panama has been a country where investors in industries worldwide have put their focus on. The expansion of the Panama Canal, a new and modern public transport system, new infrastructure projects in the road network, among others, present an investment opportunity in the coming years.

Recently, the country was included in the Doing Business 2013 Report, a study conducted annually by the World Bank. This publication aims to measure the cost and effects that are happening in 183 countries where regulations were implemented in 2010; and, as report; it is highly supported and consulted internationally by academics, governments, development experts, and the business community. As a country, Panama increased their score on the issue of the opening of companies, where it reduced the time to register a business, from 8 to 7 days. Compared to last year, Panama also improved in the cost category, where the price of starting a business was reduced to 8.8% of income per capita versus 9.9% in the past year.

This qualification, together with other strategic points, makes Panama a perfect place for investment in the area of Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, the Panamanian economy is, according to the World Economic Forum, the most competitive in Central America, growing at a 7% rate annually. In addition, Panama is the best country in the region connected through the Panama Canal and the Colon Free Zone, which, added to the ports, make it a point strategic logistics.

In 2007, to facilitate trade in the country, the Multinational Corporations Act was implemented, obtaining a tax advantage over other countries in the region. “I was inspired by what was Singapore’s main objectives were: to create jobs and provide skills to the country,” said Dr. Eduardo Morgan Jr., attorney, author of legal texts, and sponsor of this initiative. This law helps international companies that choose to move to Panama to not pay taxes on activities abroad, do not pay social charges for their expatriates and they are exempt from income tax.

These advantages make Panama one of the strongest countries in the region to invest, considering it as a strategic point in Latin America.