Panama Investor Blog

Cleaning up Panama's financial reputation-The Economist

2009-11-01T18:06:03-05:00

The Economist weighs in on the OECD issue in a "fair and balanced" way, pointing out the main issues and the argument Panama puts forth in order to maintain its sovereignty. Key excerpt: Mr Martinelli cannot be seen as buckling...

Putting coffee beans into perspective

2009-11-01T18:00:06-05:00

I have always been fascinated by comparing the relative size of things from the infinitesimal to the universe. Here is a most interesting journey you can take in 10 seconds that puts some things into perspective starting with the humble...

Noose to tighten on U.S. citizens with foreign bank accounts

2009-10-31T16:52:38-05:00

The Obama administration is making it clear that they will do everything they can to keep money from the leaving the country and this latest maneuver may just end the ability for U.S. citizens to use offshore bank accounts entirely....

Dirty Diamonds in Panama?

2009-10-31T15:00:23-05:00

Last month I posted several articles from the local press praising the opening of a new diamond center here in Panama. On the surface it looks like another good thing to come to the country, but according to an article...

Credit drives construction

2009-10-31T08:17:48-05:00

Construction continues to grow in Panama mostly due to the increase spending on public housing and infrastructure projects by the state according to La Prensa. La Prensa Domestic credit to private sector amounted to 21 thousand 559 million dollars by...

Cero Punta, the toxic capital of Panama

2009-10-31T08:13:07-05:00

It is unfortunate that one of the most beautiful areas of the country is also one of the most toxic according to this article in La Prensa. " "In Cerro Punta people bathe daily with pesticides, exposing themselves to risk...

Ministry promises "fair" prices for ROP land

2009-10-30T16:27:35-05:00

The battle over ROP land along coastal areas has heated up as many gathered at the ministry yesterday to air their concerns about the new law. Although there are many details involved, the bottom line for the state is money...

Panama education ranked near the bottom in Latin America

2009-10-29T08:56:50-05:00

Panama spends a great deal of its budget on health and education, but unfortunately it does not pay off. This was made acutely aware by a recent study by UNESCO. Panama ranked 8th out of 11 countries evaluated. Who is...

$1000 makes a $100,000 tax bill disappear

2009-10-29T08:40:16-05:00

Such a deal! For those of us who live in Panama, stories such as these come as no surprise and most of the populace just accept it as the way things are. From La Prensa The lack of controls to...

Deposits in Panama banks grow 25% to $15 billion

2009-10-29T08:26:39-05:00

There are several factors working in favor of Panama banks attracting such a significant increase in capital. Much of it is probably a pull out of investments and into cash as the economy continues to worsen. Also Panama has still...

Over 17,000 new business registered in Panama this year, but....

2009-10-27T12:32:49-05:00

Considering the population of the country this seems like a large number of new businesses and it indicates a strong entrepreneurial spirit among the inhabitants. It includes every type of business from the small kiosk to the large conglomerates. As...

Understanding the new Panama property taxes

2009-10-27T11:17:20-05:00

The new Panama tax laws #49 were implemented in September and I have been waiting for someone with a good understanding of Panama Tax law to give me a write up in English. The law firm of ICAZA, Gonzalez-Ruiz &...

Steve Wynn on the U.S. economy

2009-10-27T10:48:40-05:00

This video was sent to me by Sam K. and it is so good I wanted to share it with everyone. Steve Wynn is not happy with the way the current administration in the U.S. is doing things, but instead...

Panama continues to attract lenders

2009-10-27T10:34:47-05:00

It seems Panama does not have a problem in borrowing capital these days. I only hope that she has the ability to pay it back without saddling its inhabitants with a heavy tax burden. If that can be avoided it...

Ministers to hold Law 71 forum on 29th

2009-10-27T00:17:16-05:00

Public service announcement from the U.S. Embassy: Have you had problems with your right of possession, land titling, or CATASTRO? Do you want to influence the process how you buy rights of possession and title land in Panama? Now is...

Tourists spending less time and less money

2009-10-26T22:12:00-05:00

In the previous post I chastised the ATP for increasing the cost of entry into the country by imposing a $10 per person tourist charge. This is on top of a doubling of the airport fee to $40 per person....

Cost of tourist entry to double in January

2009-10-26T19:04:50-05:00

Although we had been told the $5 tourist card was discontinued, we now find that this won't be implemented until January and although the physical card has been eliminated, the cost has gone from $5 to $10. The only good...

Some advice for Doug Casey on building Utopia

2009-10-25T20:21:18-05:00

Doug Casey is a well known investor/economist who's predictions regarding the worlds current and future economy have been both accurate and dire. He has written a number of interesting books and is a regular on MSNBC, Fox and CNN as...

Populism, Corruption concern business execs in Latin America

2009-10-25T08:43:57-05:00

Latin Business Chronicles carries an article about a recent poll by the American Association of the American Chamber of Commerce in Latin America with over 900 business executives. The survey results do not surprise those of us who live and...

What it’s Really Like to Expatriate

2009-10-24T09:54:07-05:00

This is the question asked and answered in an interesting article in Sovereign Society's latest email. I want to post it here because we see so many Americans coming to Panama just as in this example and many are considering...