Wednesday 17 December
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Panama’s
Economy, Strong and Healthy
FMLN Front-runner in El
Salvador
Venezuelan President
Defends Regional Fund
Cuba Officially Joins
Rio Group
Brazil, France To Sign
Agreement On Defense,
Nuclear Energy
|
Panama’s Economy, Strong
and Healthy
The free trade spirit
permeates Panama
according to the latest
edition of Forbes
magazine, the country is
booming, because it
operates the world’s
second-largest free
trade zone after Hong
Kong and its overall
economic growth rate
matches that of China.
According to Forbes,
Panama has posted 23
consecutive quarters of
economic growth, growing
gross domestic product
by 11.5 per cent in
2007, which is double
the pace of the rest of
Latin America and well
ahead of the United
States.
The magazine thinks that
three things explain the
continuous positive
outlook for Panama.
First, the Panamanian
construction sector is
in hyper-growth mode.
U.S. retirees are
attracted by the lower
cost of living, a
dollarized economy,
English-speaking people
and proximity to the
U.S.
Second, the canal
widening construction
project is boosting the
Panamanian economy,
because it is the
largest infrastructure
project in Latin America
with a tag price of
us$5.2 billion.
The project is already
pumping money into the
local service-based
economy, which should
easily reach the 7-8
percent growth according
to the International
Monetary Fund growth
projections for next
year.
Third, income generated
by the Colon Free Zone
representing almost 8
percent of the entire
economy is another
potential contributor
for growth. Another
interesting fact that
could be part of the
equation is that if the
U.S. ratifies the
U.S.-Panama Free Trade
Agreement, tariffs on 80
percent of the
industrial and consumer
goods imported from the
U.S. should be
eliminated and will make
it easier for
U.S.companies like
Caterpillar to compete
for much-needed earth
moving equipment sales.
Forbes advises land-lock
investors in
U.S.-exchange stocks to
invest in companies such
as the cement
manufacturer and
distributor Cemex that
has a market stock value
of us$5.9 billion and
the appetite for cement
in Latin America has
been growing and
financial institutions
such as Bladex, that
does not have toxic debt
problems. |
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