By Kathyria Caicedo for Telemetro Reporta - Every day one hears mention that different locations in Panama are being used for the production of television programs and to shoot film footage. According to a report released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, this industry spent more than $5 million dollars in Panama in just the months of July and August 2009. During this period there were five different foreign production companies working in Panama, which translates into an investment of more than $5.6 million dollars. One of the last visits was of the "No reservations" television show with Anthony Buerdain, a renowned chef at the global level. This program is broadcast on the Travel Channel.   

By Kathyria Caicedo for Telemetro Reporta - As part of an expansion plan by Hewlett-Packard in Latin America, the company has decided to establish a Global Services Center in Panama. The objective of this center will be to optimize applications and technological infrastructure, as well as to manage client information. This initiative comes from an agreement between Hewlett-Packard and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Panama - and as part of the agreement the company has committed to paying for 65 Master's degree level scholarships in the area of Science and Technology. This center, which will cost an estimated $72 million dollars, will also create about 1,000 new permanent jobs in the first five years of operation.   Click Here To Read The Full Article (130 words)

By María De Gracia for the Panama America - So far fifteen multinational companies have take advantage of Law Number 41 of August 2007, which provides incentives for international companies to establish their regional headquarters in Panama. The primary benefits received are a total exoneration of income taxes, the possibility of negotiating a fiscal scheme for tributary planning, the exoneration of taxes for services provided to other companies abroad, as well as labor and immigration benefits. The law is known as the "Special Regimen for the Establishment and Operation of Headquarters of Multinational Companies (SEM)." It offers incentives to multinational and transnational companies who offer services or realize business activities for the mother company to other businesses from a base of operations in Panama. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (611 words)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - My friend Jerin Tate wrote and sent via email a gag article on April 1st, intended as an April Fool's day joke, talking about how Disney was going to come to Panama and spend millions of dollars to build a huge park here (here's a link to the original article that ran on April 1st.) Jerin sent me his article via email, and I ran it (as a gag) and included the link at the end of the article which instead of giving you "more information" actually took you to the page on Wikipedia about the history and tradition of April Fool's. Jerin was slick enough in his crafting of this gag article to use a tinyurl.com re-write of the link to the information on Wikipedia, because the actual link to that page is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools'_Day, and if that had been included in the article, even the dumbest rock in the box would have figured it out. Many people bought this gag hook, line, and sinker, and I was still getting phone calls and emails several days later. It was both funny and effective particularly because this rumor about Disney coming to Panama has been running around for literally decades. Then over the weekend El Siglo ran a full-paged article about "Disnelandia" coming to Panama, which appeared in their newspaper yesterday, Sunday 5 April 2009, on page 22. The truly hilarious part of all this is that they quoted Jerin's bogus "article" basically word for word, and even included the "facts" about how much money was going to be spent, etc., as well as quoting the bogus "government sources." I guess they never got around to clicking the link at the end of the article. Oh well, live and learn (gotcha - wink). So much for checking your sources, eh? Anyway, happy April Fool's day everyone, even if it's a few days late. As usual, comments are welcomed.

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

By EDITH CASTILLO DUARTE for La Prensa - Panama has issues that have to be resolved before the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Panama will be debated before the US Congress. This, according to the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, Charles Rangel, who said through a press release "there are pending questions that must be addressed and actions that must be adopted by Panama before the Congress will consider the Free Trade Agreement," and among these he mentioned specific actions, that Panama must respond to the International Labor Organization and to tax regulations in the banking sector. These issues, says Rangel, have been discussed with the Panamanian Government and Panama's ambassador in Washington, Federico Humbert. (more) (See Comments)   Click Here To Read The Full Article (970 words)

By Rodrigo Campos, Associated Press Writer Ciudad de Panama—Panama officials confirmed today that the government of Panama has issued The Walt Disney Company the required permits to begin construction on a $658 million theme park near the Pacific Coast. The first phase of the project, which will be named Disneylandia, is set to be completed in November 2012 and will include a theme park, hotels, airport, and production studio. Located on the Pan-American Highway near the entrance to the resort town of Coronado, the 350 acre park is expected to significantly increase the number of tourists entering the Central American country annually. Disney officials cited many reasons for choosing Panama as the new location of Disney, including a dollarized economy, strong democratic government, and the need to give Latin American residents who find it difficult to get an American Visa the opportunity to visit the home of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Disney purchased the land in 2001, and plans to purchase more land in the future for expansion. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (172 words)

TeleGeography.com - According to reports from various South American news sources, including Mexico’s El Economista, Claro Panama, a subsidiary of Carlos Slim-owned America Movil, has launched commercial wireless services. The news comes despite reports last month that the cellco would delay its launch to April 2009 amid delays in the installation of its network infrastructure. America Movil however has yet to officially announce the launch. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Claro Panama will become the fourth mobile network operator in the country on launch, having been awarded a licence in May 2008 alongside Digicel; both operators paid USD86 million for their concessions.   

SAN DIEGO, CA -- 03/06/09 -- PriceSmart, Inc. today announced that for the month of February 2009 net sales increased 9.4% to $90.0 million from $82.3 million in February a year earlier. There was one less day in February 2009 than in February 2008. For the six months ended February 28, 2009, net sales increased 17.5% to $626.8 million from $533.4 million for the six-months ended February 29, 2008. There were 25 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of February 2009 and 2008. For the five weeks ended March 1, 2009, comparable warehouse sales for the warehouse clubs open at least 12 full months increased 12.4% compared to the same five-week period last year. For the twenty-six week period ended March 1, 2009, comparable warehouse sales increased 14.4% compared to the comparable twenty-six week period a year ago. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (80 words)

Jon Ward for The Washington Times - President Obama's signing of the stimulus bill this week removes one of Democrats' longstanding objections to passage of long-sought-after free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, but party leaders said that they are not necessarily any closer to holding a vote on the deals. A little-noticed portion of the $787 billion stimulus adds service workers to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), which provides unemployment insurance, job retraining and health care subsidies to workers who lose jobs to foreign competition. It had previously covered only the manufacturing sector. "This is a major breakthrough," said Howard Rosen, a longtime trade specialist at the Washington-based Peterson Institute who helped draft the legislation. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (600 words)

telegeography.com - According to Panamanian news source La Estrella, new licensee Claro Panama, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mexican telecoms giant America Movil, has delayed its commercial launch until April 2009. According to the Luis Chamorro, spokesman for the country’s regulator Autoridad Nacional de los Servicios Publicos (ASEP), the delay comes following problems encountered by the operator in completing the installation of base stations needed for its network. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, Claro was awarded a licence in May 2008, paying USD86 million for its concession. Under the terms of its licence it was originally required to launch services and agree interconnection fees with other operators within four months of the award, but this was subsequently extended to the end of the year. Digicel, which was awarded the other licence made available in May 2008 launched commercially in December as planned.   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Panama's Executive Cabinet, led by President Martin Torrijos, authorized an extension on a Memorandum of Understanding to the companies Qatar Petroleum International and Occidental Midstream Projects (a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum) to allow them more time to continue their studies related to the potential establishment of a refinery in Puerto Armuelles in Panama's Chiriquí province. Rafael Mezquita, the Minister of the Presidency and Secretary General of the Executive Cabinet, explained this decision will allow the companies to continue to study the feasibility of the project until 31 December 2009. The cabinet also approved other important projects. (more)

   Click Here To Read The Full Article (237 words)

By SHELMAR VÁSQUEZ SWEEN for La Prensa - The "Administrative Tribunal of Public Contracts" of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) will investigate the events that caused the Ground Transit and Transportation Authority (ATTT) to remove the Chinese company Higer Bus Company Limited from the public bidding process to provide the first 420 buses for the Transmóvil project. In the document, already was admitted by the Court, the legal representative of the Asian company sustains a legal technicality that supposedly invalidates the resolution of disqualification emitted by the ATTT. In order for their proposal to have been "rejected out of hand," according to Higer's legal representative, this should have been included in the resolution issued on the day of the bid, 29 January 2009, as a proposal that was not presented. But anyway their bid was opened, the contents of their bid was read, and they were included in the resolution. Could it be that the Director of the ATTT (Heraclio Batista) does not know this? the legal representative asked. What's more, Higer also asked the entity to establish who will be responsible to compensate them for damages "if" the Public Ministry determines the letter guaranteeing a bond they presented at the bid in the name of Interoceánica de Seguros is indeed genuine. (See Comments)   Click Here To Read The Full Article (360 words)

By GILBETO PÉREZ for El Siglo - The Embassy and executive are preparing the ground. The ambassador from Korea in Panama, Gwang Keun Kim, met recently with local authorities to explore the possibilities of signing a Free Trade Agreement between Panama and Korea. Korea is the 12th largest foreign investor in Panama.   Click Here To Read The Full Article (58 words)

By Arkansas Business Staff - Safe Foods Corp. of North Little Rock said Wednesday that its Cecure antimicrobial technology will be used in Panama. "We are pleased to see the further adoption of this proven food safety intervention in markets beyond the U.S.," Curtis Coleman, Safe Foods' president and CEO, said in a news release. The product has recently been deployed for use South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Canada. Coleman said the product has been used in the U.S. poultry industry to provide control against Salmonella, E. coli and other food-borne pathogens. Coleman also said studies are underway exploring the use of Cecure for treating the surface of certain tropical fruits to control bacteria and molds. Safe Foods’ food safety interventions are used in more than 20 U.S. food processing companies and in meat and poultry processing companies in Canada, South Africa, the Middle East and Central America.    

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I just confirmed what I had previously suspected regarding the area of Isla Colon in Bocas del Toro described by La Prensa as "environmentally fragile." I'll say. There's no black water sewage pipe to service the houses bordering that area. Right now the residents living along the shore of Saigon Bay take a crap and "plop" - floaters straight into the ocean. I wonder how the tropical fish swimming playfully amongst the "environmentally fragile" coral and reefs feel about that action. Well, it's probably good fertilizer for the plankton or whatever, and it probably makes for some interesting test results for the nearby research Smithsonian research facility, but it sure as hell isn't the "untouched by human hands" idyllic tropical paradise portrayed by La Prensa this morning. (more, I ain't done yet...)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (504 words)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - According to a lawyer who is working with the company proposing to build the Harbor of the Americas on Isla Colon in Bocas del Toro, they were forced to cancel the public meeting scheduled for Monday because two of the primary engineers involved in the planning who were supposed to be in attendance could not obtain transportation from Changuinola to Isla Colon. I don't know the specifics, but apparently whatever they had set up fell through and they were basically stranded. Since these two guys were the primary technical people behind the plan, their presence was critical and necessary, and since they could not be there the company made the decision to cancel the hearing and to reschedule for a future date. No word yet as to when that next public hearing will be held. Most importantly, the meeting was not called off simply because La Prensa starting writing about the project, contrary to what they might have you believe.

Copyright 2008 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.   

By RAFAEL E. BERROCAL R. for La Prensa - A public hearing that looked to obtain citizen endorsement for the construction of a megamarina for 435 boats in the Bay of Saigón on Isla Colon was suspended yesterday as soon as this newspaper (La Prensa) warned of the problem. According to the environmentalists, the project called Harbor of America will affect a zone that is environmentally fragile, and would be located in the middle of a protected zone and on coral reefs that have already been identified. The National Authority of the Environment (ANAM) said yesterday the company never coordinated with its regional offices in Bocas del Toro to hold this public forum, but they did not enter in detail on the environmental impact the project would have in this zone. In contrast, the Administrator of the Maritime Authority of Panama (AMP) Fernando Solórzano, said he has asked for more information on the controversial project, and that he would not grant a definitive concession him to this company until all environmental evaluations are complete. Solórzano said the Harbor of America only has a preliminary authorization, which does not allow the company to construct anything in the area until the revision of the case is complete. He also said foreign economic interests backing this mega marina are pressuring for approval, but said approval will not be forthcoming until "all circumstances are evaluated." (more) (Comments Follow)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (2,204 words)

By Steven Bodzin and Jordan Burke (Bloomberg) -- Tesoro Corp., the largest refiner in the U.S. West, entered a seven-year agreement allowing it to ship crude oil from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean through a pipeline owned by Petroterminal de Panama. The deal for 107,000 barrels a day of pipeline capacity and storage-tank space will let the company move Atlantic oil to its five Pacific Rim refineries accessible by tanker, San Antonio- based Tesoro said today in a statement. The conduit will be ready in the third quarter of 2009, the company said. Petroterminal will build terminals on both sides of the Isthmus of Panama and Tesoro will use their pipeline and storage to blend and ship different crude-oil grades. The terminals will open in the first quarter of 2010, Tesoro said. Companies are seeking ways to ship oil produced in the Atlantic Basin, which includes West Africa and Brazil, to the Pacific markets, where Chinese and Indian demand drive up prices. BP Plc secured 65,000 barrels a day of pipeline capacity from Petroterminal de Panama on May 27. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed and Sarah Simpson, a Tesoro spokeswoman, didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment. Tesoro rose 39 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $9.59 as of 9:31 a.m. in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Before today, the stock had dropped 81 percent this year.   Click Here To Read The Full Article (106 words)

KINGSTON, JAMAICA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/02/08 -- Digicel, the largest telecommunications operator in the Caribbean and recent entrant to the Central American market, today launched operations in Panama -- its third Central American market and 31st market world-wide -- with an investment of US$350 million.Digicel now offers seamless mobile telecommunication services across Central America, with operations to date in El Salvador, Honduras and Panama. According to the Panama Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Panamanian economy is expected to grow 7.5 percent by 2009. With a population of 3.4million, mobile penetration is currently at approximately 71 percent.Having built the most modern nationwide GSM network in the country, Digicelis well positioned to maximize growth by offering service for the first time to many communities in Panama not previously served by incumbent operators. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (521 words)

Telemetro Reporta - The English company London & Regional Properties started today, Thursday, the construction of a real estate project that will transform the former American Air Force Base into an urban, commercial and tourist center. "We are able to attract foreign investment at a time when it has been practically reduced in other countries in the region," said Panamanian President Martin Torrijos in a ceremony marking the start of construction of the project. The general manager of London & Regional Panama, Henry Kardonski, said "Panama Pacific will have a forceful contribution in the growth of the national economy, by providing the infrastructure necessary to be chosen by the most important companies of world." Panama Pacific brings together commercial, residential, touristic, recreational, and logistical operations in a beautiful setting of natural landscapes. The project, that is developed in the area called the Panama Pacific Economic Area, includes the construction of 20,000 houses and apartments, as well as the a million square meters of commercial space over the next 40 years. It is estimated the project will create about 40,000 new jobs. London & Regional Properties (LRP) in association with Colombian businessman Jaime Gilinski will invest about $700 million dollars to develop the Panama Pacific project. The AEPP was created to develop and attract investments to the former American Howard Air Force Base near the Pacific end of the Panama Canal, to the West of Panama City. Howard was one of the bases maintained by the United States for decades on the Isthmus of Panama to protect the Panama Canal. This and ten other military bases were closed and their infrastructure was transferred to Panama on 31 December 1999, in accordance with the Torrijos-Carter treaty of 1977.   Click Here To Read The Full Article (387 words)

The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE - Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), Japan’s largest shipping line in terms of group sales, has decided to dissolve four of its wholly owned vessel-owning subsidiaries in Panama. At a board meeting on Thursday, NYK decided to dissolve Rodman Maritima S.A., Elka Shipholding S.A., Rosa Shiphoding S.A., and Pearl Maritima and Navigation S.A. The decision was made because of an earlier decision to sell the vessels owned by the subsidiaries, the company stated. The company said it will begin procedures for liquidating the subsidiaries after getting approval at the subsidiaries’ respective extraordinary shareholder meetings to be held in a few days. The dissolution of the Panamanian subsidiaries will have only a minimal impact on NYK Line’s overall performance, it added.   

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - (Press Release) Bominflot arrives at the Isthmus! Bominflot is delighted to announce our capability to deliver marine fuels in Panama, with immediate effect. Currently, we are able to offer IF380 cSt, also MDO/MGO on the Balboa side only, utilizing fully Major-approved barges. We expect to be able to extend our service to the Cristobal side shortly, as well as adding other IFO grades. We look forward to receiving your inquiries, and we commit to providing you with our best prices and our unequalled standard of service. Please direct all inquiries for marine fuels in Panama to Robert Lake at Bominflot in Houston, or your local Bominflot office.   

By Marianela Palacios Ramsbott for La Prensa - Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) entering Panama in the first semester of 2008 reached $1.1 billion dollars, representing an increase of 32.8% when compared to the same period of 2007, according to a report published by the General Comptroller of the Republic. The increases are primarily due to investments by banks and utilities of general license operating in the country. Other areas that have attracted great volumes of foreign investment during the past year are construction, the expansions of port facilities, the entrance of new cell telephone companies into the Panamanian market, as well as projects to increase the generation of electricity. And, according to the economic consulting firm Indesa, everything seems to indicate the flow of FDI will continue to grow strongly in the mid term, unless a strong recession in the United States and the global economic deceleration contracts international investments. “In order to expand the installed electrical generation capacity of 993 megawatts, as is predicted, will require an additional investment of $1.2 billion dollars in hydroelectric facilities over the next five years," said Indesa. And “for the period 2010-2011, $2.8 billion dollars or 53% of the total cost of the expansion of the Panama Canal will already have been invested." Between 2005 and 2007, foreign direct investment represented an average of 17.5% of the gross domestic product. But, according to estimations from Indesa, that indicator will jump to 52.3% in 2011. On the other hand, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) anticipated recently that, in spite of the crisis in the United States, foreign direct investment in Latin America will continue growing this year and that Panama will not be the exception of that rule.   Click Here To Read The Full Article (501 words)

Latin Business Chronicle - Latin America's and Asia's respective strengths present opportunities for collaboration. BY LIM HNG KIANG - Most people think of Latin America and Asia as two regions separated by culture, language and history. Yet, Asia and Latin America are more connected than we imagine. In recent years, political and economic ties between Latin America and Asia have deepened. Not only have government–to-government links and interactions grown, but companies from both regions have increasingly come to realize the potential for doing business with each other. The growth in total trade flows between Latin America and Asia bear testament to this, having risen to reach US$267.3 billion in 2007, an increase of 24 percent over 2006. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (1,035 words)

Rotorhub.com - Helitech Support Services is pleased to announce the signing of an 11 million dollar contract with Panama National Air Services for the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) of five Bell 212/UH-1N aircraft. “This deal was the culmination of two years of hard work and dedication and we’re happy to finally be working on these aircraft,” Greg Bartlett, Vice President Helitech Support, stated. This contract will see Helitech completing one aircraft every six to eight months for a total contract length of two years. Commenting on the contract Greg Bartlett replied “This is a great contract for Helitech and I know we have the technicians and the resources to complete the contract on time and within budget.” About Helitech Located at the Abbotsford International Airport 45 minutes outside Vancouver British Columbia, Helitech Support Services is an independent helicopter MRO facility with over 20 years of successful history. With a total shop space of 27,000 Square feet, Helitech specializes in both civilian and military helicopter completions including: Structures, Avionics, Components, and Hydraulics. Helitech performs complex customization projects on Bell and Sikorsky commercial aircraft, and extensive structural repairs on military Blackhawks.   Click Here To Read The Full Article (9 words)

SDA Asia - Singapore based CrimsonLogic, together with its Strategic Alliance Partner in Panama, Smart Solutions Marketing (dChain), has been awarded a USD10 million contract to build, operate and maintain an integrated customs management system (ICMS) in Panama. Commenting on this contract win, Leong Peng Kiong, CEO of CrimsonLogic said, “CrimsonLogic has made significant inroads into Panama over the last few years, and this win highlights the solid reputation we have built as a trusted solution provider in trade and logistics in Panama. It is our intention to use Panama as a base to further expand our business to other parts of Central and Latin America.” The win marks CrimsonLogic’s third major success in Panama. (more)    Click Here To Read The Full Article (191 words)

By Eric Montenegro for the Panama America - The company Ocean Embassy has desisted, through a note sent to the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP), its plans to build a dolphin based water park in San Carlos. Reynaldo Pérez Guardia, the administrator of the ARAP, said he does not know if Ocean Embassy decided not to build the dolphin park due to pressure from national and international groups that defend dolphins. However, he indicated other people are interested in completing the project. Perez said that in the area there was a lot of hope that this project would have created new jobs and employment opportunities.   Click Here To Read The Full Article (236 words)

Press Release: United Nations - A new project backed by the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) aims to improve the lives of some 10,000 men and women in rural Panama - the majority of them small farmers, landless labourers, unemployed youth and female heads of household. IFAD is providing a $4.2 million loan towards the six-year, $12.3 million project, under an agreement signed today in Rome by the agency's President Lennart Båge and the Ambassador of Panama to IFAD, Eudoro Jaén Esquivel. The project targets the five poorest districts of Veraguas Province in central Panama and those whose annual income is less than $953. It will focus on promoting new income-generating activities and identifying new national and international markets to sell produce. To help the region's farmers, the project will provide basic inputs and technical assistance to increase productivity, as well as programmes to enhance access to micro-credit and to improve their business skills. The project will feature an innovative "territorial development council," consisting of local government representatives, producers and community groups who will make up the main decision-making body. IFAD has now financed eight rural development and poverty eradication projects in Panama, committing over $80 million.   

(Reuters) — Building maintenance supply company W.W. Grainger Inc. said on Wednesday it was interested in expansion in Central America, in addition to Mexico, Canada and China. The company, which distributes products such as adhesives, hardware, power tools and shelving, also told the Electrical Products Group's annual conference that it will open a branch in Panama this summer. The company said it will increase the number of branches it operates in Mexico and aims to be the first "national player" there. In Canada, Grainger is targeting growth in the eastern part of the country.