Buoyed by expanded connectivity and increasing investment, Panama’s tourism sector has experienced unprecedented growth in the past few years. Today, it is a pillar of economic development, generating more revenues than transit fees from the Panama Canal ($1.92bn) or the Colón Free Trade Zone ($1.9bn). According to the Tourism Authority of Panama, visitor numbers have grown every year since 2002,…
Panama’s dynamic ICT sector has been a key enabler of the country’s high-growth, services-based economy. Strong technical infrastructure coupled with a robust legal regime make for favourable conditions for local and international technology companies. The “Global Information Technology Report 2015”, published by the World Economic Forum, ranked Panama 51st among 143 countries in terms of the…
Panama’s energy and utilities sector could be poised for a comeback. With a vision to turn Panama into an energy hub, the administration of Juan Carlos Varela is looking to strengthen the existing electricity and hydrocarbons market and its infrastructure, using both public and private investment. Multimillion-dollar investments in fossil fuel power generation, network infrastructure and renewables…
Buoyed by a combination of factors, including the country’s prime geographic location, sustained economic growth and the influx of foreign investment in recent years, Panama’s real estate market has seen unprecedented growth since 2006. Today it is a key component of Panama’s economy, amounting to $4.6bn or 12% of GDP in 2014. Though fast growth has led the cost of land to skyrocket, sometimes…
Profiting from stable economic growth, Panama’s retail sector has continued to expand over the past two years. The entry of luxury brands to the local market has diversified the retail landscape while growing demand for retail space has also fuelled the construction boom. The sector’s outlook is promising, with a number of indicators pointing toward continued growth in retail consumption. Between…
Making up 18.5% of Panama’s GDP at a value of $6.6bn in 2014, the transport, storage and communications sector has historically been a pillar of Panama’s growth. The solid performance of the transport and logistics sector, which grew more than 17% annually between 2007 and 2014, is set to continue, driven in large part by planned substantial public investment. According to the Strategic Government…
In global terms Panama ranks as a small but dynamic national market for insurers. According to the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama, general insurers wrote gross premiums of $791m in 2014, 6.2% more than in 2013, while life/health insurers wrote gross premiums of $552m, up 10.8%. Total insurance penetration was 3.07% that same year, with total density at $342 per capita. Though…
Panama’s capital markets are highly internationalised, with the financial stability of a dollarised economy helping attract global firms looking to expand their Latin American footprint. Though the country has already established itself as a regional banking hub, Panama’s non-bank financial sector still has room to grow. While insurance sector assets nearly tripled in the decade to 2013, from $704.2m…
With a dollarised economy, low inflation and relative political stability, Panama remains a highly attractive regional financial centre. Recording strong performance in 2014, the country’s International Banking Centre, which contributes 7.5% to Panama’s GDP and comprises the national banking system and international banks, is well capitalised with total assets of some $111.4bn as of March 2015.…
A pillar of the economy, the Panama Canal’s contribution to the national treasury exceeded $1bn in the 2014 fiscal year, while its direct contribution to GDP reached $2.7bn (6%). The canal saw 325.8m PC/UMS tonnes of cargo pass through the same year, an increase of 2% on 2013, driven primarily by the dry bulk segment, which grew by 20% year-on-year. The Panama Canal Authority estimates its indirect…
