Guide to Governmental Procurement in Latin America.

Panama, December 18, 2023. The Republic of Panama promotes the participation of foreign companies in its public procurement market and encourages competition to ensure efficiency and quality in the execution of projects and the provision of goods and services.

The legal and regulatory framework for public procurement includes Law 22 of 2006 and its amendments, which establish the procedures and requirements for the participation of national and foreign contractors in bidding processes and awarding of contracts. In addition, Law 93 of 2019 creates the regime of Public-Private Partnerships (or, as they are commonly known, “PPPs”) that seeks to encourage private investment and strengthen the legal framework and Panama’s competitive position in Latin America. This law offers an option to promote the development of large-scale projects without compromising the State’s short-term indebtedness capacity.

With the support of Lloreda Camacho & Co., and the collaboration of leading law firms in the region, Morgan & Morgan contributed to the Panama chapter of the first edition of the Guide to Governmental Procurement in Latin America, an expert analysis of the opportunities and challenges for contracting with public entities in 15 jurisdictions: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

The Panama Chapter was led by Inocencio Galindo, senior partner, and Clarissa Vega, associate, experts from Morgan & Morgan Legal’s Project Development and Public Procurement team.

The publication is available here: Guide to Governmental Procurement in Latin America.