Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup. This week, the Hilton Panama opens its doors to the public. Wildlife and nature preservation is monitoring the Canal. Panama climbs the Global Innovation Index, and we take a look at high-tech in the city. Here’s the latest.
Panama leads region in Global Innovation Index
In a recent study, known as the Global Innovation Index, Panama was the only country in Central America to be ranked with positive growth on a list that measures science, technology, and business innovation. On a global scale, Panama ranked 52nd, moving up a whopping 34 places in just one year.
According to information published by Revista Summa web portal, Panama snatched the lead in innovation from Costa Rica. The rest of the countries in the region, showed significant drops in the rankings. Costa Rica fell 18 positions and went from place 39 to 57 the previous year, the country had been first innovation in Latin America to move in front of Chile as a regional leader, and was placed among the three countries that climbed more steps. This time the country ranks fourth in Latin America under Barbados, Chile and Panama.
Source: GoGetIt Panama
Hilton Opens its Doors in Panama
Panama’s tourism is booming, and as a result, major hotel chains are coming to the city and beaches to enjoy the spoils. The latest major hotel brand to hit Panama City is Hilton. The new Hilton hotel tower is right on the waterfront on Ave. Balboa, and has restaurants, executive apartments, and a casino. It will be one of the city’s top hotel destinations, especially on Avenida Balboa, where many of the towering skyscrapers are residential-only.
The newly built Hilton Panama hotel has 347 rooms and 23,000 sq ft of flexible meeting space with natural daylight. For large events, the hotel’s ballroom can accommodate up to 800 guests with panoramic views of Panama Bay. The 16-story property, which forms part of a 70-story mixed-use complex with offices, shopping and entertainment, is located a 20-minute drive from Tocumen International Airport.
Source: CIT Magazine
Programs Protect Plants and Animals Along Path of the Panama Canal Expansion
While constructing anything as massive and man-made as the Panama Canal, it’s important to be careful of your carbon footprint. Panama, as you know, is one of the most bio diverse countries in the world. Luckily, there is a big initiative to preserve the flora and fauna along the Canal route, and many efforts are being made to make sure the natural surroundings remain relatively unharmed.
Thousands of seedlings also have been planted in communities around Panama to take the place of trees that were felled to make way for bigger locks on both the Atlantic and Pacific, new access channels and other improvements as the canal updates to allow bigger post-Panamax ships to make the crossing.
Now the Panama Canal Authority, coordinating with the National Environmental Authority, is working with several animal rescue contractors to move howler, squirrel and titi monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, snakes — venomous and not, amphibians, and more to new habitats where they can thrive. As of June, more than 5,800 creatures had been rescued.
Source: The Miami Herald
Tech-Friendly Panama: How high-tech culture and business fares on the Isthmus
Along with growth in tourism, logistics businesses, and banking, Panama has recently seen a sharp growth in the tech industry. And quietly, it’s becoming a regional leader for high-tech jobs, startups, investment capitalists, and entrepreneurs. In our latest blog post, we take a look at the business of high tech, and the culture that supports it here in Panama City and elsewhere in the country.
In the business world, Panama is very well known for a few things: shipping, banking, tourism, and real estate. But these days, it’s the tech industry that’s catching the attention of many investors and entrepreneurs. Businesses can operate with low overhead, access to high-speed Internet, and a booming consumer market that loves electronics. Over the past few years the city, and country, have developed a tech-friendly culture that shows signs of becoming a big contributor to the local economy, and regional industry. Here’s why.
Having a consumer culture that supports new technology is great, but having a logistics hub in need of streamlining is even better. Panama is all about moving. Moving money, moving cargo, moving people. All of which can be enhanced for efficiency with high-tech solutions. Companies like ABB (Swiss), who specializes in robotics and automation technology, as well as Dell (US), and Ericsson (Sweden), have all made sizeable investments into regional offices in Panama, with many smaller startups coming at a rapid pace.
Read more about Tech businesses in Panama
