Deputy Hernan Delgado claims that international investors are looking towards the East of Panama. Delgado, presented at the start of the legislative period a project and explain its benefits.

Tourism and hotel consortiums from Spain, America, Dominican Republic and Venezuela have expressed interest in investing in the area between the Bayano River mouth and the province of Darien, product of the development and promotion  measurements for tourism development in the region proposed by the initiative of Deputy Hernan Delgado.

Congressman Delgado announced that he has already held talks with representatives of U.S. companies making major investments in the area of Chiman, Buena Ventura, Brujas and Gonzalo Vasquez, who are confident that Bill No. 16 will turn into law of the Republic, to enable the development of infrastructure, including roads and bridges, to take advantage of the potential which exists in the  beaches of the sector.

He said the economic boost tourism will baste the momentum that is occurring in the Gulf of Panama, in a single kernel that will allow development to combat poverty, hunger, poverty and basic needs faced by people of the region. 

”So health care institutions, housing, public works and others are a bit worried about the future of Panamanians who live in an almost virgin land,” he added.

He said the bill would integrate indigenous areas of the Kuna Tribe of Madugandí,  Embera Alto Bayano, of Rondo and of Hato to national development, which have a high cultural and scenic potential still untapped. 

The initiative was discussed with various national sectors, including the Tourism Authority of Panama and the National Environmental Authority and was approved on first debate by the Trade Commission of the National Assembly, chaired by the deputy Alcibiades Vasquez Velasquez.

The first diamond bourse in Latin America will be in Panama.

$ 7 billion annually traded in the market for diamonds and precious jewels in Latin America, according to PDE

If safety in buildings is mentioned, it could be that Panama has already begun the tendering process for one of the safest buildings in this country and perhaps throughout Latin America, we are talking about the tower that will host the diamond bourse of Panama, through the Panama Diamond Exchange (PDE), to be built with the most rigorous safety standards that are implemented in countries like Israel and the U.S.

Surveillance camera will record 24 hours, 365 days a year, every inch of the building and a novel security vault, which will be opened by remote control from London – to specific times schedules to deposit and withdraw precious stones – will be part infrastructure of about 45 levels and up to 300 offices, which is predicted to be completed in 2011 and is located in Costa del Este, adjacent to the southern corridor, 10 minutes from Tocumen International Airport and 5 minutes from Panama City.

The area is suitable said the CEO of PDE, Haviv Aviad, since it allows easy access for traders and visitors to the PDE building, which costs $ 250 million to build and will include a hotel and a shopping center, which is considered an “anchor project” within a land area of 88,000 square meters. As the CEO mentions, you see this as a major commercial district in the future.

It is estimated that implementation of the building complex would generate 3.000 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect and involve the relocation of a thousand families to Panama, projections estimated from the activity generated by past experiences of other diamond bourses, like the last in Dubai.

The Diamond Exchange has to be located in a free zone exempt from payment of fees or introduction  taxes and be near Tocumen Airport for safety, as Panama Diamond Exchange,  welcomed the decree on 13 February 2008.

Panama Diamond Exchange will build its own tower of 45 levels which will cost approximately $ 250 million and will host  300 businesses and diamond jewelries.

Why Panama?

Three factors enabled Panama to be chosen to be the first Latin American Diamond Exchange, according Haviv Aviad: its considerable strategic geographical location, the currency circulating in this country (the dollar) and financial system stability.

Jewelry of the Continent

In Latin America there are approximately 15,000 jewelries according to PDE projected estimates. We could recruit 80% of them, which would generate transactions in Panama in the range of $ 5.000 million annually, with an estimated 20 % yearly growth.

Somewhere in the world more than 8,000 vessels are flying the Panamanian flag. To put this into perspective consider that the second largest merchant fleet in the world (Liberia) claims roughly 2,000 vessels.

There are a lot of reasons why so many yacht and ship owners would come so far to register their boats. For starters, offshore income derived by a vessel registered in Panama is exempt from taxes. There is no minimum tonnage requirement for registration here and Panama’s corporate secrecy laws can provide absolute privacy for a vessel’s owners.

There is another big plus for yacht owners when they purchase a boat in Panama for $200,000 or more. Transactions of this kind may qualify the buyer for a “Person of Means” visa. This can make coming and going from Panama easier while opening the door to dual citizenship.

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of registering a vessel in Panama, you should begin your research by developing a strong relationship with a local attorney. You will find that there are many third party resources to help you select the best one for your needs. These groups provide unbiased reviews of providers in Panama’s professional community speeding you to a successful pairing.

For more information on banking and tax strategies, estate management, employment, forming a Panamanian foundation or corporation, real estate, trade policy, local economics, vessel registration, obtaining legal counsel, or any other topic related to doing business in Panama… click here

Much of the fun associated with the purchase of a new home arises from the opportunity to begin again with a blank slate. You suddenly have another opportunity to paint your vision of a dream home with new furnishing, textiles, paint colors, and fixtures. So where will you find all of this in the middle of Central America? The answer is easy. You can find the same mix of home center products common to stores like Home Depot at any one of a number of home stores in convenient, modern, Panama.

It is not surprising that new retirees often express concern about their ability to access the goods and materials needed to build their new life offshore. Many nations in the region suffer from an absence of the conveniences that Ex-Pats from the U.S., Canada, and Europe have come to take for granted. This is not the case in Panama.

Many have likened Panama City to Miami. This is an apt comparison as almost anything you can find in Miami, you can also find in Panama City. The urban convenience of Panama City has reached several of Panama’s smaller cities and towns as well. Boquete, one of Panama’s most popular retirement regions, enjoys a full compliment of modern shopping as well as a world class medical center. If you can’t find something in your suburban or rural setting, not to worry—Panama is about the size of Florida. Panama City is an easy drive from just about anywhere.

One of the more significant things to remember is that the financial benefits associated with your move to Panama will help you find more money fto fund your new projects. If you plan the purchase of your retirement home correctly, you can escape the payment of property taxes for as much as 20 years. Calculate this savings against the taxes you paid back home and you’ll feel comfortable spending a few extra dollars to upgrade your new kitchen, or maybe invest in a Jacuzzi tub in the master bath.

 

The financial benefits of life in Panama are well known. For starters, you will not pay taxes on income you earn outside of the country. This means that the money you earn from social security, pensions, investments, and business conducted offshore is not subject to local taxes. Panamanian law also allows you to invest and bank in absolute secrecy while providing the mechanisms required to create one of the best estate management strategies on earth.

So Mr. Trump, now that you understand a little of the issues causing anxiety, stress, frustration and anger to local and foreign residents in Panama City, and the costs of letting the frazzle factor continue; perhaps you can offer some innovative answers from your knowledge of the interdependent nature of civilization.

Would you contact all the builders and developers who are profiting in Panama and engender their interest in making moves toward improving the chances of continuing the profitability picture in Panama, as a group?  If you chose to influence their participation in a plan to encourage significant changes in the Panama City infrastructure and quality of life…how many would decline the opportunity to meet with you???  And who in the Panamanian government would chose to ignore the recommendations of those who are funding his children’s education in Europe?

Maybe, as a group, you could even help Panama to envision a new immigration management plan! The way things are now…your new residents will have to show up every thirty days to stand in line for hours, with hundreds of people for a new card.

Instead, perhaps those foreign residents could be offered an annually renewable card with billing once a year, if they are not lawbreakers. Software solutions are available, the paradigm can be altered and the frazzle meter no longer has to be so much a part of the human experience…in Panama City.

Who’s going to make a good priority list of what needs to be done? Who’s going to innovate and gather all the forces for good, create the fixes and manage their implementation and re-evaluation?  Can you help?  It will look good and be good!

“The greater the anxiety humans feel, ironically, the more impaired is their brain’s cognitive efficiency.  In this zone of mental misery, the physical space to take in new information literally shrinks; and as life preoccupies us by anxiety or anger, our mental agility literally sputters to a squeaky halt.”

“Frazzle is word defined as a neural state in which emotional upsurges hamper the workings of the brain center.”  Allegedly, while frazzled we cannot concentrate or think clearly. And the premise is that the effects on thinking and performance caused by being mildly upset – frazzled – are initiated by the hassles of everyday life. For your amusement, check out the Science Magazine issue 280 (1998) pp. 1711-1713. Ann Arnsten’s article “The Biology of Being Frazzled” was groundbreaking ten years ago.

Hmm…so if we reduce the amount of frazzle experienced during the day, does that improve the quality of life?  It seems to be true. Arnsten says, “The biology of anxiety tosses people out of the sweet zone of brain performance, the basic neurobiology of frazzle causes people to go into the body’s default emergency plan for crisis”.  Remove the negative stimuli and thereby remove the frazzle effect.

Here’s where ‘experiencing a life of good quality’ plays the rubber and ‘changes in Panama City’ play the road…read on to understand the sources of becoming frazzled in Panama City, and what you as part of a group of developers in Panama might be able to do good – here and now.

Ok…now we’re going to talk about what defines quality of life in Panama City, Panama. You know, it’s one of those topics well-educated people keep trying to tell the rest of us about, like sun spots, global warming…and human interaction engineering.  Hmmm, I may have to re-educate myself to ride on this train of thought.  Want to come along…?

My quality of life today is based on how well I’m living my life – today – in the company of the humans I have interactions with.  Whomever I spend time with affects my state of mind…my personal infrastructure. If I’m around people who are happy and healthy, I will feel more happy and healthy because of interacting with them. So it is to my advantage to improve the state of mind of the people I interact with… if I want to be good.

A city is socially defined by the combination of services, supplies and amenities it offers.  Yet even more important is the mode in which the people deliver the services. Is the person at the cash register happy or miserable?  Is the taxi driver a bundle of nerves or relaxed and at ease? Those experiences we share with others make up our social infrastructure.  All of us who share this intersection of latitude and longitude share the stresses of our environment, here and now.  Not because it’s our choice…but because there is no other choice, no matter what income disparities may exist.

Progress in improving the quality of life in Panama City is learning how to make things better and doing it…because it’s a good thing to do.  In Panama City, there is room to do some good.

According to a well-written opinion in Oct. 2007 edition of ‘The Economist’:

“Panama’s real-estate market is in the midst of an unprecedented explosion. A combination of easy credit, foreign demographic trends and, most importantly, quite a bit of speculative momentum appears to be behind the surge in investments in the luxury residential market. The intense level of enthusiasm is raising questions about the sustainability of demand, the likely strain on infrastructure, and the potential risks to some investors and end users should the market suddenly burst.”

What I find interesting is the relatively small number of fixes it would take to make your project in Panama City, Panama the tropical home in paradise your eventual residential investors are dreaming about.  If the luxury demand is supported and sustained by Panamanians providing world class services, everyone wins.

Surely there is a way to help prep Panama City, Panama to be the new leader in Central America, in updating infrastructure and learning what it takes to become world class in delivering services and supplies.  If in helping to lead more peaceful management of its infrastructure’s unprecedented growth; as a sidebar, it makes Panama a happier and healthier place to live –wouldn’t that be an added benefit? Let’s talk about it, and how doing it…is being good.

The term infrastructure – came to prominence in the U.S., following publication of America in Ruins, which initiated a public-policy discussion of the America’s ‘infrastructure’ crisis, purported to be caused by decades of inadequate investment and poor maintenance of public works.

Public works infrastructure refers to:  urban highways, streets, roads, and bridges; mass transit; airports and airways; water supply and resources; wastewater management; solid-waste treatment and disposal; electric power generation and transmission; telecommunications; and hazardous waste management – according to Wikipedia.

Public works policy discussions are in order in Panama. There are significant issues with the infrastructure in Panama City.  It is not fun to live with these issues in this city.

Before all the new residents move into the new buildings and then have to wait six months for phone service, developers can make a new plan with the utility companies now.   Mass transportation alternatives can be considered and revenue can be earmarked for solutions to stop gridlock of all the streets and honking of all the horns. Initiate noise abatement planning now and by the time your buyers settle into their new homes, maybe the new residents of Panama City won’t have to wear earplugs every night to be able to sleep well in this high decibel town.

Would Panama City just look good then, or would it really be good?  Can you help with the foresight, the relationship management and the operating of the levers of power so that these issues are given the attention they need NOW…?

A study by Prima Panama identified some 107 building projects under construction in 15 neighborhoods in Panama City as of July, 2007 with a total of 10,980 apartments. The total value of these projects is estimated at US $3.17 billion. These projects will be completed and come to market into 2010. Furthermore, since the Prima study was completed 25 more projects have been announced.

Even if all of the projects don’t come to fruition, this constitutes an enormous increase in population in Panama City very quickly. Calculating with the units selling well, will equal roughly 40,000 new residents in Panama City within the next five years or so, based on current predictions.

Although the city’s infrastructure is administrating services for the current population with limited success, the serious issue is that the Panama City’s infrastructure simply isn’t going to be able to manage all the projected additional residents, when the current populace is straining the systems beyond their abilities.  What are you planning to do to help prepare the Panama City infrastructure for your investors? Mmm…is that silence I hear?  But on paper the projections look so good…