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Panama’s economy has always benefited from major infrastructure investments. In 2019, the airport terminal 2, metro line 2, the third bridge over the Panama Canal, the new cruise port and the congress centre will be completed. And a new giant project is just about to start construction.
Photo © Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP)

At the beginning of 2019, several major infrastructure projects will be completed in Panama.

• After the inauguration of the first metro line in Central America in Panama City in 2014,
  Metro Line 2 is now close to completion. This will expand the public transport network and hopefully reduce the city’s major traffic problem a little.
• The modern Terminal 2 of the international airport in Panama City should be opened in the first quarter of 2019. The airport is currently working well beyond its capacity limits and urgently needs the new terminal. With over 80 direct connections, Panama flies directly to far more destinations than any other airport in Central and South America.
• After a construction period of five years, the third bridge over the Panama Canal will be completed at the beginning of 2019. This bridge was built on the side of the Atlantic Ocean and is part of a major infrastructure plan by the government to develop the Caribbean side of Panama (85% of life in Panama is on the Pacific side).

• The cruise terminal in Panama City on the Pacific coast will be completed by mid-2019. Until now, cruise ships could only dock on the Caribbean side of Panama (city of Colon). Now thousands of cruise tourists will be able to arrive or depart directly from Panama City. This will promote tourism in Panama, which is still in its very early stages, and increase the low hotel occupancy rate in the city.
• With the visit of the Pope and the World Youth Day in Panama at the beginning of 2019, the new congress centre, which will be the largest in Central America, will also be opened. The project with construction costs of approx. 200 million USD will bring more trade fairs, companies and tourists to Panama.

Construction of the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal will start in 2019. This bridge will be built in Panama City and will completely change the traffic situation of the city. In addition to cars and pedestrians, this bridge will also bring the new Metro Line 3 across the Panama Canal, connecting the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of the suburbs with Panama City. This billion USD project is divided into the construction of the bridge (Chinese consortium), the metro line and the purchase of the metro trains (Hitachi). Completion is scheduled for 2022.

The infrastructure projects mentioned are good for the economy, create jobs, improve the quality of life and are important elements for the attractiveness of the investment location and the real estate in Panama.

FRAPAN-Invest

Klaus Happ’s company “FRAPAN-Invest” advises investors who want to invest in real estate in Panama. Furthermore, Klaus Happ will be happy to advise you personally on the subject of “Plan B in Panama”.

The real estate market in Panama is internationally one of the most interesting for investments. We would like to be your trusted local partner and assist you with the initial purchase. Additionally, we can take care of your real estate in Panama in a sustainable way.

Profitable, safe and beautiful:
Investments in Panama

The Panama Canal closed the 2018 fiscal year with a historic tonnage record, an increase of 9.5% over the previous year. This significantly exceeded the original forecasts for 2018. The revenues from the Panama Canal and the national currency, the USD, make the big difference between Panama and most other emerging market countries in terms of a country’s economic stability.

The expansion of the Panama Canal, which was completed in 2016, is paying off. The increase was driven in particular by liquid gas tankers (LNG & LPG), container ships, chemical tankers and vehicle transporters. LNG tankers could hardly use the original Panama Canal due to the draught of the ships. The following overview shows the sub-segments in the time before the extension of the canal (Panamax) and currently (Neopanamax).

62.8 percent of the cargo that crosses the canal comes from the United States or is destined for the United States. The main countries using the interoceanic route were: United States, China, Mexico, Chile and Japan. Panama is benefiting from economic growth in the USA. At the same time, however, Panama would also suffer from an intensified trade war between the USA and China.

The income from the Panama Canal is between USD 2 – 2.5 billion annually, which is a stable and high income for a small country like Panama with 4 million inhabitants. The country’s national debt, measured as a percentage of GDP, is around 39%, partly because of the revenues from the Panama Canal. This is low by international standards (EU 81%, USA 108%, Japan 235%).

The booming Panama Canal is an important component of the economy and promotes prosperity and the growing infrastructure in the country. These are important elements for the attractiveness of the investment location and the real estate in Panama.

FRAPAN-Invest

Klaus Happ’s company “FRAPAN-Invest” advises investors who want to invest in real estate in Panama. Furthermore, Klaus Happ will be happy to advise you personally on the subject of “Plan B in Panama”.

The real estate market in Panama is internationally one of the most interesting for investments. We would like to be your trusted local partner and assist you with the initial purchase. Additionally, we can take care of your real estate in Panama in a sustainable way.

Profitable, safe and beautiful:
Investments in Panama

Two years ago, the extension work on the Panama Canal was completed. Since then, the LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) giant tankers have been able to use the canal. Ships exporting natural gas and oil products from the USA are the fastest growing business for the Panama Canal, as annual revenue from passage fees has increased more than 20 times in the last two years.

For US energy companies, this means time and cost savings of over 30% on their way to their largest customers, the Asians and a large additional source of income for Panama.

LNG transports through the Panama Canal increased to six million tonnes last year and this year, according to Jorge Quijano, the canal’s manager, this figure is expected to almost double. In 2015 these were still at zero.

“It is a booming business that will continue to grow” said Mr. Quijano, “because Panama now handles about 45% of US LNG exports and 46% of LNG exports. These ships together account for about 10% of the canal revenue.

The fuel cost savings are one of the benefits of using the Panama Canal, which reduces shipping time from Asia to the US East Coast by more than 10 days compared to using the Suez Canal. “They consume less fuel but pay high tolls in Panama,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Bimco, a global shipping association. “The total cost may be the same, but the transport time saved is very significant.”

Mr. Quijano expects container traffic via the canal to increase by an average of 5% per year over the next few years. The channel also handles about 30% of US grain exports to Asia.

But he also warns of the danger of trade tariffs between the USA, China and Europe.

“We are just one link in the global supply chain (…)” said Mr Quijano. “I am confident that the US and others will approach world trade in a balanced way. World trade is good for everyone. The duties are not good for anyone.”

The booming Panama Canal is an important part of the economy and promotes the country’s prosperity and growing infrastructure. These are important elements for the attractiveness of the investment location and real estate in Panama.

FRAPAN-Invest

Klaus Happ’s company “FRAPAN-Invest” advises investors who want to invest in real estate in Panama. Furthermore, Klaus Happ will be happy to advise you personally on the subject of “Plan B in Panama”.

The real estate market in Panama is internationally one of the most interesting for investments. We would like to be your trusted local partner and assist you with the initial purchase. Additionally, we can take care of your real estate in Panama in a sustainable way.

Profitable, safe and beautiful:
Investments in Panama

About 80% of Panama’s economy is dominated by the service sector and benefits greatly from foreign direct investment. The country continues to develop its economic and political relations in order to bring tourism, capital and companies to Panama. This in turn leads to increased demand for real estate in Panama, both from buyers and tenants.

After Panama established diplomatic relations with China in June last year (Link) and since then has greatly expanded economic relations, Air China has been flying to Panama City twice a week since April 2018. Chinese investors are now arriving directly in Panama (link) due to the first easing of entry requirements for Chinese.

In February, the delegation led by President Varela visited the leader of Dubai. In addition to political and economic representatives, the management of the Dubai sovereign wealth fund were also present at the meeting in Dubai. Key topics were investments from the Arab region in the areas of infrastructure, real estate, trading and energy. Both countries are the logistics and trading centre (Panama as Hub of the Americas) on their respective continents and now want to bundle their geographical and strategic strengths.

In mid-May, the President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, met with British Prime Minister Theresa May. It was the first time in history that a Panamanian head of state met a British Prime Minister. The aim of the talks with Theresa May, other ministers, companies (including British Airways) and British investors was to further strengthen and expand economic, political and tourist relations.

After these summits, the Panama delegation continued its trip to Israel to discuss the same topics with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and economic representatives.

This progress in Panama’s economic and political relations is fundamentally very positive for the real estate market in Panama.

FRAPAN-Invest

Klaus Happ’s company “FRAPAN-Invest” advises investors who want to invest in real estate in Panama. Furthermore, Klaus Happ will be happy to advise you personally on the subject of “Plan B in Panama”.

The real estate market in Panama is internationally one of the most interesting for investments. We would like to be your trusted local partner and assist you with the initial purchase. Additionally, we can take care of your real estate in Panama in a sustainable way.

Profitable, safe and beautiful:
Investments in Panama