Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Panama wants partnership with Dubai International Humanitarian City
On a recent trip to Dubai, Panama’s Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs laid out groundwork for a potential partnership with Dubai’s International Humanitarian City initiative. The goal would be for the UAE to help invest (as Panama will) in a new facility on the expanded Panama Canal that would house UN and other NGOs, in an attempt to create an international humanitarian center.
“The areas in which there are natural connections would be development of ports, the energy sector, tourism, infrastructure and real estate,” she said during a visit to Dubai. “With the Dubai International Humanitarian City, we exchanged possibilities of training capabilities, of protocols, development and other areas where we can collaborate.”
The US$16 million facility, which would be spread over 12,000 square feet in its first and second phases, would house United Nations agencies such as the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot along with Red Cross and Red Crescent, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation. The third phase would cost $8m. The hub would be funded by the Panama government.
Source: The National
Panama: The Next Big Country for Latin American Films?
The local film industry in Panama has been growing for quite some time, and it’s gaining momentum by the minute. Thanks to the Panama International Film Festival (IFF), and a number of critically acclaimed Panamanian films, the country is emerging as a Latin American film powerhouse. Here’s some insight from Indie Wire:
Or will it be Panama, whose Canal has just doubled in size and is a center for international trade to such a degree that China itself is challenging it by tearing up the rain forest of Nicaragua in order to build its own canal?
Panama, with its eye on taking a lead as the internet hub for Latin America, Panama whose Canal creates a Cuba-U.S.-China triangle for trade, Panama whose close history with U.S., its same time zone location with U.S., its direct flights to U.S., its central position for Israeli businesses fleeing the instability of the Mid East, Panama may well come out ahead of Costa Rica. These are the two horses I am putting my money on.
Source: Indie Wire
As Panama Canal expansion nears completion, will East Coast ports benefit?
As the final completion date of the Panama Canal expansion nears, plans are being finalized for global ports to handle the added traffic. They have been for years now. But like most logistic-based businesses, location is everything; and some believe that the East Coast US could be big beneficiaries of this new, massive project.
The Panama Canal Authority anticipates increases in cargo volumes transiting the canal once the expansion is complete, which will presumably shatter the record set last year. The canal handled 340.8 million tons of cargo in 2015, a 4.3 percent increase over 2014. The previous record was set in 2012 when the canal experienced 333.7 million tons. Container ships registered the most total tonnage in 2015, followed by dry bulk, liquid bulk, and car carriers.
“We are very close,” said Jose Quijano, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority, of the expansion’s progress. “An expansion of the Panama Canal has never been done and we feel very good about where we are.”
Source: American Journal of Transportation
Favorable Investment Climate Draws Multinationals to Panama
Panama’s economy is strong on many levels, and one of the biggest is multinational investment. Over the course of the past 10 years, this type of investment has skyrocketed, and for good reason. Here’s a snipped from one of our latest blog posts on why a favorable investment climate is drawing multinationals to Panama.
Why Panama is perfect for multinational investment
Though it’s a small country population wise, Panama has had a great climate for multinational investment for nearly a decade now. Companies that choose to invest in Panama may not be doing so for its immediate market; rather, multinational companies and corporations want to use Panama as a base to explore other markets, and expand presence in the region. Panama gives favorable tax breaks to multinationals that see the Central American country as the ideal location for a home base, as well as providing investment incentives through loans, new property, and logistical locations. Companies like Adidas, Dell, Nintendo, Hewlett Packard, and Samsung already call Panama home, and this list is looking to expand in the near future.
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