Foreign Direct Investment in Panama has increased significantly

Foreign Direct Investment in Panama has changed over the years. About five or six years ago, Panama experienced a great increase in the rates of Foreign Direct Investment. However, this level has gone up and down, but now, according to the latest official report of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), pointed out that the accumulated balance of FDI in Panama by the end of 2016, The $ 4,211.2 million, which, in practice, is equivalent to an increase of 17.8% in relation to the same nine-month period that was recorded in 2015.

Foreign Direct Investment constitutes a net investment inflow to obtain a durable management control (usually 10% or more of the shares giving voting rights) of a company operating in a country other than that of the investor.

Since 2004, Foreign Direct Investment has exceeded 1 billion dollars, a true record for the country. Since then, it has been leading the Central American region in terms of amount of investment and ranks second in per capita foreign investment in Latin America, after Chile.

Foreign Direct Investment in Panama – Gogetit Highlights

• The accumulated balance of Foreign Direct Investment in Panama is $ 4,211 million, which, in practice, is equivalent to an increase of 17.8% compared to the same period of nine months of 2015.

• Foreign Direct Investment in Panama, in the third quarter of 2016, implies an increase of almost 636 million dollars invested during the current year, above what was invested in the first nine months of 2015.

• The 15.2% of this investment consists of the purchase of shares of existing companies and 20.3% refers to investment in another type of capital.

According to Raúl Moreira Rivera, Director of Economic and Social Analysis of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Direct Foreign Investment in Panama, in addition to national investment, generates in the countries an additional dynamism that tends to further boost the pace Of economic activity ‘.

On the other hand, Horacio Estribí, economic adviser to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the growing inflow of resources, has been happening in a sustained way in recent months, despite the last questions of which the country has been subject: “The data Confirm the stability of our economy and the confidence of economic agents in it, “he said.

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It is important to note that the cumulative investment of Foreign Direct Investment of $ 4,121 million during the last three quarters, translates into more than $12 billion of current that flow through all economic sectors with all of their consequent social benefits. This fact also contributes to the momentum of the economic growth that keeps us as leaders in Latin America.

In the medium term, this flow of capital enhances the productive capacity of the country and ensures a solid base of growth, technology transfer and quality jobs.

As these resources are injected into the economy come from abroad, they are converted into foreign currency raised by Panama, which also generate a very important multiplier effect. In fact, according to figures published by the National Institute of Statistics and Census, of this amount invested, 64.5% is made up of reinvested earnings, which demonstrates the confidence of foreign investors in the future positive prospects of the Panamanian economy. Instead of repatriating these benefits from their investment to their parent companies, investors have preferred to reinvest it to continue positioning themselves in the Panamanian economic structure.