Why Panama?

Panama is located on the center of the Western Hemisphere, between the following coordinate: 7º12’07" and 9º38’46" North Latitude and 77º09’24" and 83º03’07" West Longitude.
It limits with the Caribbean Sea to the North, with the Republic of Colombia to the East, with the Pacific Ocean to the south and the Republic of Costa Rica to the West.
Panama is a link between Central America and South America, being formed by an 80km wide isthmus at its narrowest point.
Land Size, Population and Density: 75,517 Km2; 2,839,177 inhabitants, 81 inhabitants per square mile.
The Capital City is Panama. We have 10 provinces and 5 indigenous regions.
The official language is Spanish, however many Panamanians speak English.
Panama´s climate is humid tropical and is fairly steady all year. The average temperature is 30 Cº.

**Panama is one of the most developed countries in Latin America on a structural level and the most developed country in Central America. **
Panama possesses first world infrastructure with large skyscrapers, high speed internet, the second largest free trade zone in the world, a banking sector with 90 banks, hotels and first class restaurants and the best stores in Latin America. The road infrastructure, healthcare, telecommunications and service to companies are first class.

**Panama; considered one of the countries with the highest safety rating in Latin America for living as well as for tourists. **
This is one of the many reasons why so many foreigners have decided to relocate to Panama and why many companies and transnational enterprises have selected Panama as their Hub or regional operations center.
The quality of life is unsurpassed in comparison to other countries in Central America and Latin America.

**Panama; Unparalleled Geographic Position**
Panama is located in the Center of the Americas. It is considered an international Hub. And has the greatest and most important airline in Latin America that offers direct flights to all of America and many places in Europe.
Panama is close to everything, another reason to consider establishing management, control and administration centers for small and medium companies as well as large multinational enterprises.

**Panama; the official currency is the Dollar**
The United States Dollar is the legal currency in Panama, there is no need for currency Exchange. All of the bank and investment accounts are in dollars as well.

**Panama; Constant Economic Growth**
Over the last 10 years, Panama has been one of the highest growing economies in Latin America and around the world. The average yearly growth was of 7.2 percent between the years of 2001 and 2013, more than double in comparison to the average of the region. The Panamanian economy grew by 6.1 percent in 2014, dropping slightly to 5.8 and 4.8 percents for the years of 2015 and 2016, respectively. For 2017 and 2018 the forecast is maintained at 5.4 percent, the highest of all of Latin America.
Looking to the medium future, there are good reasons to expect that Panama´s growth will remain as one of the highest in Latin America. With the project for the construction of the second line of the Metro and the additional traffic generated by the Canal expansion, the public investment is also expected to remain high.

**Panama has fiscal incentives for retirees, tourism, real estate and others. **

**Panama; Key point for World Trade**
By being a country with a very important coastal strip between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Panama is one of the few countries in the world which are ideal to develop a network of national ports not only dedicated to the management of containerized cargo, but a plethora of types of cargo for the local as well as international markets.
The following are some of the most important ports: Manzanillo International Terminal, Colon Container Terminal, Cristobal, Balboa, PSA Panama International Terminal.

**Panama; Colon Free Trade Zone**
Located a few kilometers from the Panama Canal, the Free Trade Zone of Colon was created by the Law Decree No. 18 of 1948. It is considered as the first free trade zone of the Western Hemisphere and the second largest of the world allowing the development of import and export, manufacturing, re-export, sales, commercialization and distribution amongst many other options and activities that are carried out in this international free trade zone.
The privileged location and their access to four ports of great importance in the Caribbean and one in the Pacific, allows those who carry out their business from Colon to access not only the American continent but also Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia expanding to more than 1,200 hectares of tax free terrains over the last 60 years. The products with the highest volume of import to this area are clothing garments perfumes, textiles, gold, jewelry, liquors and cigarettes generating great benefits for the national economy while the imports to the Free Zone of Colon originate mainly from China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Italy, United Kingdom, Malaysia and Germany.
The Free Trade Zone of Colon allows companies to save Money avoiding a great deal of fiscal obligations related to their commercial activities without forsaking large facilities and rights offered by this customs area. The fiscal benefits provided by the Free Trade Zone of Colon are Multiple:

• Tax exemption on imported products destined for re-exportation.
• Import and export tariffs or duties are not paid.
• Services that effect foreign countries are not charged taxes.
• Taxes are not charged for profits obtained abroad. The municipal taxes are not applicable for companies that operate in the Free Zone.
• There are no taxes on capital investment.
• Low costs in renting land and buildings.

**Panama; Free Zones**
The Free Zones in Panama are regulated under Law 32 of April 5th 2011 that seeks to offer fiscal, migratory and labor benefits that make setting up their companies within it attractive, this is mainly focused on companies that deal in foreign trade activities.

**The Panama Canal**
One of the greatest engineering feats of our time. It establishes a point of connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, for ships to safely and quickly pass through.
Currently the Panama Canal is indispensable for the development of world trade. Countries such as United States, Japan and Chile are users of the Panama Canal.
It is administered by the ACP, which is a legal entity of Panamanian Autonomy, since 1999 when the Canal was transferred to be run by Panamanians.
Currently the canal represents an important engine that drives the economy of the country, generating 1/
Currently the Canal represents an important engine that drives 1/3 of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.