Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Cubans Permitted to Apply for Multiple Entry Visas to Panama
With the thawing of Cuba’s foreign relations with the United States, Panama’s President Varela decided to also be pro-active about Cuban relations, as he visited the country earlier this month. Just one week after Varela’s landmark visit, his government is already pushing for change to open travel and immigration between the two Caribbean nations.
The new method establishes the granting of three-year entry and exit visas at the decision of the Panamanian consul here. This follows the signing of an executive decree by President Juan Carlos Varela. Two officials accredited at the Panamanian embassy in Havana will represent the National Security Council and the National Emigration Service as they will be in charge of analyzing records and applications.
The presidential decision puts down a previous proceeding that established the consideration by the National Security Council of Panama of each Cuban citizen wishing to enter Panama in order to grant a single entry permit in a process that would take several months.
Source: The Jamaica Observer
Panama Canal Bets Loyalty Incentives Will Boost Competitiveness With Suez
Big ships are on their way, and that may mean big benefits, if the Panama Canal Authority has its way. In an effort to compete with the Suez Canal expansion, Panama hopes to attract new panamax and supermax ships by giving them a loyalty-based yearly discount of 14%, or roughly $6.5 million.
The Panama Canal Loyalty Program offers tiered discounts based on cumulative TEU volumes. Category 4, the base rate, covers total annual vessel capacity volumes up to 450,000 TEUs. Increasing levels of discounts will be applied to Category 3 volumes between 450,000 and 1 million TEUs and Category 2 capacity volumes between a million and 1.5 million, and the full 14 percent discount will apply to Category 1 capacity volumes of more than 1.5 million TEUs.
The $5.25 billion construction of the third set of locks is 93 percent completed, Benitez said. In its present configuration, the Panama Canal can accommodate vessels of about 5,000-TEU capacity. The expanded canal will accommodate vessels with capacities up to 13,000 TEUs.
Source: JOC.com
Sydney, Panama City and New York to host WBC qualifiers
Baseball is huge in Panama, both as a youth sport, and as a professional one. And Panamanian baseball has gained lots of attention in recent years for being a burgeoning hot spot for young talent. This is why it’s no surprise that Panama will be one of the host cities for the World Baseball Classic qualifying rounds.
Czech Republic, Mexico, Germany and Nicaragua will compete at Estadio B Air in Mexicali, Mexico, and Colombia, France, Panama and Spain at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City, Panama, with both groups playing from March 17-20.
Brazil, Britain, Israel and Pakistan will play at MCU Park in New York, the home of the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones, from Sept. 22-25 next year. Each group will play a modified double elimination, in which a team that wins its first two games would be eliminated by losing its third.
Source TSN
5 Steps to Open a Bank Account in Panama
If you’re looking to live and invest in Panama, you’ll need to set up a solid relationship with a local financial institution, and the first step is to open a bank account. In our latest blog post, we go over 5 simple steps to open a bank account in Panama. Here’s a sample:
- Pick the right bank. With over 100 different banks operating out of Panama, finding the right one is not only important; it’s a bit of a challenge. Your best bet is to check and see if your current bank operates in Panama first. You can open a bank account in Panama with the same institution, but as a separate entity, which makes it easier to move money between accounts, and expedites the acceptance process. Another tip is to find small, yet reliable banks that offer great interest rates as an incentive to increase business.
Continue reading the 5 steps to opening a bank account in Panama
