Panama Aims to Attract Investment by Building Trust

The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap), Juan Arias Strunz, states that although the Panamanian market has the necessary components to attract foreign investment (special laws, democracy, dollarization, among others), what companies will evaluate is its level of credibility. This is a challenge in which work has been done and efforts must be doubled to boost employability and economic growth. The economic growth projections for Panama for the coming year are stable; the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal) estimates that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase will be 3.8%, while at the local level, a boom of 4% is expected, based on the results of the investment projects that will be executed in the first months. He pointed out that the discussion and agreements reached at the minimum wage table are a good start to invite international companies to invest in Panama because it shows that both sectors (workers and entrepreneurs) can reach consensus, prioritizing the common good over personal ambitions. The challengeQuevedo assured that Panama's great challenge is to project itself abroad without forgetting the internal sector of the economy because it is the largest generator of jobs, but it depends on the capitalization of its competencies abroad. "Our labor crisis is not of jobs, it is of trust; we have to convey the confidence that investing in Panama is good business and that requires clear rules, stability, and coherence," he said. He indicated that although maintaining the investment grade from risk rating agencies is important for the economy, the example of countries like Costa Rica should be taken into account, which, despite not having this rating, attracts millions of dollars a year in foreign investment. "Panama has to teach the world everything we have and can do; in this way we are going to create a lot of employment," he affirmed. However, businessmen and economists warn that these figures will only be achieved by regaining the confidence of investors; therefore, the main objective of the authorities must be to guarantee the safety of their funds. Labor consultant René Quevedo agreed with the businessman that the current unemployment figures are corrected by attracting foreign investment in a clear and safe manner. He reiterated that the degree of confidence offered to the world will depend on the growth of key sectors for the economy such as tourism, where Panama has important advantages compared to the rest of the region, from which the greatest possible benefit and profit must be obtained, implementing attractive plans so that the more than 19 million passengers passing through Tocumen International Airport stay in the country generating income for large and small companies.