LOW TAX COUNTRIES
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Gibraltar
Hong Kong
Isle of Man
Jersey & Guernsey
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Mauritius
Panama
Singapore
St.kitts & Nevis
Switzerland
Turks & Caicos
Vanuatu
Index of Articles
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PANAMA
About Panama
Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia. With US backing,
Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone).
The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of the century. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the subsequent decades.
With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire
Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were transferred to Panama by the end of 1999. In October 2006, Panamanians approved an ambitious plan to expand the Canal. The project, which is to begin in 2007 and could double the Canal's capacity, is expected to be completed in 2014-15
Panama's economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in the Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-03; growth picked up in 2004 and 2005 led by export-oriented services and a construction boom stimulated by tax incentives. The government has implemented tax reforms, as well as social security reforms, and backs regional trade agreements and development of tourism. Unemployment remains high
| Panama |
|
| Capital |
Panama City
8°58′N 79°32′W |
| Official languages |
Spanish |
| Area |
75,517 km² (118th)
29,157 sq mi |
| Population
|
3,232,000 (133rd) |
| GDP (PPP)
|
$23.495 billion (105th) |
| per capita
|
$7,283 (83rd) |
| Currency |
Balboa (PAB) and US Dollar (USD) |
| Time zone |
(UTC-5) |
| Dialling code |
+507 |
PANAMA ECONOMY
Panama's economy is service-based, heavily weighted toward banking, commerce, and tourism, due to its key geographic location. The handover of the canal and military installations by the US has given rise to new construction projects. The Martín Torrijos administration has undertaken controversial structural reforms, such as a fiscal reform and a very difficult Social Security Reform. Furthermore, a Referendum regarding the building of a third set of locks for
the Panama Canal was approved overwhelmingly (though with low voter turnout) on 22 October 2006. The official estimate of the building of the third set of locks is US$5.25 Billion.
The Panamanian currency is the balboa, fixed at parity with the United States dollar.
Fastest Growing GDP Rate in Latin America
No other country had export and import levels as high as Panama. Its exports of 64 percent of GDP were much higher than the number two in that category, the Dominican Republic (48 percent), while its imports of 61 percent were much higher than Honduras at 51 percent.
Globalism
The high levels of Panamanian trade are in large part due to the Colon Free Trade Zone, the largest free trade zone in the Western Hemisphere. Last year the zone accounted for 92 percent of
Panama's exports and 65 percent of its imports, according to an analysis of figures from the Colon zone management and estimates of Panama's trade by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Panama also did well in tourism receipts and foreign direct investment as a percent of GDP (the fourth-highest in Latin America in both categories) and Internet penetration (eight-highest rate in Latin America).
Inflation
Panama, long a bastion of low inflation, will get the honor of having the region's lowest inflation in 2007, according to the IMF. The rate is predicted at 2.3 percent, compared to 2.8 percent estimated for 2006.
Real Estate
Panama City has seen a race between two rival projects aimed at becoming the tallest building in Latin America. The 104-story residential and hotel building, Ice Tower, is slated to be completed in 2010.
Spain-based d Olloqui Group is constructing a 93-floor building, Palacio de la Bahía, located on the Bay of Panama. It is expected to be finished in 2009. The two projects were originally smaller, but subsequently started adding floors to obtain status at the tallest building in the region.
Grupo Mall, another Spanish developer, is building a multitower center of apartments, hotel and commercial mall. The project is scheduled for partial completion in 2009
The real estate boom isn't limited to Panama City, as there are also developments in different parts of the country.
Apart from the existing demand, future developments will also be helped by such factors as the planned expansion of the Panama Canal, a possible refinery by U.S. oil giant Oxy and a new container port near the Pacific entrance of the canal
~ Books About Panama ~
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