PANAMA - Report 18 Jan 2022

The contract between Minera Panamá, S.A., owner and operator of the largest copper mine in the country, was renegotiated yesterday, after more than four months of discussions between an ad-hoc commission appointed by the Cortizo administration and representatives of the company. The proposal acce...

PANAMA - Report 29 Dec 2021

On December 17, INEC published the GDP results for the third quarter of 2021: a 25.5% growth rate compared to Q3 2020 (reporting nominal activity of US$16,167 million). During Q2, the real growth rate was 40.0%, following a decrease of 8.4% in Q1. Value added in Q3 was US$10,338 million or 14% ab...

PANAMA - Report 26 Nov 2021

The Monthly Economic Activity Index (IMAE) grew 18% in September compared with the same month of 2020, according to a preliminary (and revisable) information from INEC. Mining, construction (especially public works), retail, the Colon Free Zone, telecommunications, seaports, Panama Canal tolls, p...

PANAMA - In Brief 10 Nov 2021

Eight months after Ricardo Martinelli concluded his term as President of Panama on June 30, 2015, Panama Attorney General sent the Supreme Court five accusations against him for presumed wiretapping of political enemies, families, and friends. The Attorney argued the President was using sophistic...

PANAMA - Report 29 Oct 2021

We discuss four issues in this report: (1) the importance of copper mining, now and in the short term, for the country’s real activity, the balance of payments and government revenues, as compared with the importance of the Panama Canal (ACP); (2) the negative implications of the inclusion of Pan...

PANAMA - Report 01 Oct 2021

The 40.4 percent growth in Q2 (10.0 percent in the first semester) may not be enough to achieve the double-digit performance for the year that some analysts predict. The rebound will face a labor market characterized by increasing unemployment and informality. Only a handful of sectors will reach...

PANAMA - Report 31 Aug 2021

IMAE for the second quarter showed an increase of 27%: April grew 21.3% year over year; May registered a 34.2% increase, and June, a 24.9% increase. This result is the consequence of a revision of the previously published IMAE figures: for April, growth was revised from 12.1% to 21.3%, and in May...

PANAMA - Report 29 Jul 2021

The total number of vaccines already shipped to the country is 3 million (for a population of 4.3 million inhabitants) and will reach 9.3 million before the end of the year (7.1 million Pfizer, 1.1 million Astra Zeneca, and 1.1 million the Covax system). This new environment may help the health a...

PANAMA - Report 29 Jun 2021

Economic policy analyses must consider the political forces behind the technical decisions. This fact is relevant in the adjudication of large infrastructure projects, where money and power mingle. Roads, metro rails, and similar large public projects are notable cases. We examine two seminal iss...

PANAMA - Report 01 Jun 2021

The IMF projects 12% real growth for the year, based on three factors: the vaccination rollout, the private investment recovery, and the "rebound effect" after a 17.9 percent drop in economic activity in 2020. Rating agencies and other international analysts are also projecting double-digit growt...

PANAMA - Report 30 Apr 2021

So far this year the IMAE is showing a decrease of 9.73% for February and 12.2% during the first two months of the year. We must take this information cum granus salis because, during the first quarter of 2021, most commercial activities were shut down because of the pandemic. In contrast, in 202...

PANAMA - Report 25 Mar 2021

We discuss five policy issues that may influence the economic performance of the country in 2021: whether or not the newly published results of 2020 will affect our 4.9% projection for the year, the effects of the most recent downgrade of the sovereign debt, the political economy of the dialogue ...

PANAMA - Report 01 Mar 2021

February´s IMF country report analyzes the Panamanian economy in the context of the approval of the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) of US$ 2.7 BB. The IMF usually is bullish concerning Panama, and the document follows that pattern, describing its macroeconomic trajectory and its growth pot...

PANAMA - In Brief 11 Feb 2021

As the result of the February 3 downgrade of Panama's Sovereign risk by Fitch Ratings from BBB to BBB-, the agency downgraded yesterday five important Panamanian banks - including the state-owned Banco Nacional de Panama (BNP). Banco General, the largest private bank in the country, dropped two n...

PANAMA - Forecast 01 Feb 2021

We calculate a decrease in real economic activity of 18% for 2020. According to our estimations, construction (public and private) and related industries, retail trade, tourism, the Colon Free Zone, international transportation, banking, and energy production accounted for most of the recession. ...