News

Isthmian Update

Some of the news in Panama

Mexicana opens new Panama route
Mexicana Airlines, has initiated a new weekly flight from México City to Panamá. "This service reinforces the presence of the company in the region and its plans to continue to expand in Central and South America", said spokesperson Adolfo Crespo.

The flights will leave from México City every Tuesday, using a European plane with a capacity of 120 passengers, and will return the following day.

Mexicana de Aviacion belongs to Groupo Posadas and has 28% of the Mexican market.

Council supports theme park
The Provincial Council of Panama has approved supporting the development in San Carlos of a theme park for the exhibition and investigation of marine life, proposed by Ocean Embassy Panama.

Representatives of the province have asked the government Authority of Aquatic Resources of Panama (ARAP) to give permission for the operation for an educational, tourist, and recreational center.

Minimum wage for review?
The president of the opposition Panameñista Party, Juan Carlos Varela, recommended the revision of the Panamanian Labor Code to promote work that dignifies people. He says it is fundamental to re-evaluate the minimum wage at a national level.

Food Fair in Canada
Panama participated for the first time in the fruit and vegetable fair of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA), in Montreal, Canada. The activity is a spearhead for a number of producers and agricultural exporters seeking to expand their markets of fresh and processed products.

Checking the guarantee
Before the spending of hundreds thousands of dollars to purchase new voting equipment for, for the deputies in the National Assembly, the opposition wants to see the contract of guarantee for the company that provided the previous system that doesn’t work.

Car registration costs increase
Registration for car owners now costs more. Instead of US $5.00 for the registration of a vehicle, it will be 10 percent of the cost of the vehicle. If the value is less than $10,000 registration will be $10. That means that the smallest registration fee will be at least doubled.

Community projects boost
Inhabitants of the eight small towns of the district of Santa Isabel in the Province of Colon, agreed to carry out 25 community projects with an investment of US$1,300,000, after public consultation in Palenque on the Program of Common Development for Public Infrastructure (PRODEC).

Pieces of history stolen
The original documents registering two major Panamanian historical events, “The Watermelon Slice Incident (1856)”, and the “Judgment of Victoriano Lorenzo (1903)”, have been stolen from the National Archives. Director, Florencio Muñoz, said that the documents are worth at least US$50,000 on the black market.

Monitoring vessel safety
Vessels setting sail to different islands of the country without complying with the norms of navigability and safety could face fines of up to $10,000 said Fernando Solórzano, director of the merchant marine. He recommended that passengers take vessels only to authorized, ports such as the port of Coquira, Panamá and Flamenco Island.

Development for Arraijan
A delegation of Spanish businessmen from Valencia met with the Second Vice-president of Panama and adminstrator of the Panama Maritime Authority, Ruben Arosemena, to present a project for tourist development in the district of Arraiján on the seafront. The group headed by Miguel Salas and Carlos Llamos, is carrying out the formalities for obtaining permission to proceed.

Businesses head to Miami Fair
Twelve Small Panamanian businesses producing honey, spices, beverages, nuts and fruit will participate in the Latin American Fair (Fis Pal) in Miami from May 31.

Decentralisation moving forward
A significant advance has been in made in the governmental efforts to decentralize the municipalities of Panama province, according to the office of the Program of Municipal Development and Support of Decentralization.

Canal development means "gold"
During his stop in Madrid, as part of his European tour, the Panamanian Foreign Minister, Samuel Lewis Navarro, told the newspaper El Pais, that "the enlargement of the Canal is going to be gold for development". "In Panama a lot of time has been lost and that has caused us to live in a country that faces two realities.... that of a modern and prosperous country, and that of 40 percent of the population living in poverty".

Tampa Trade Mission

A group of 23 business men and women from Tampa, Florida, will be in town on May 22 to develop business contacts. They will host a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at the El Panamá Hotel to which all Amcham members are invited.

There is no cost for this networking breakfast, which is given courtesy of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the members of the Trade Mission. Additional Information is on www.panamcham.com under Events. For reservations contact Maite at Amcham, 301-3881 or amcham@panamcham.com

London’s “Financial Times” to highlight Panama

One of the world’s most prestigious financial publications, The “Financial Times” of London, will be publishing a special report on Panama on Tuesday July 4.

It is only the third FT report devoted exclusively to Panama in the last decade and comes at a pivotal moment in the country’s history, and will likely spur further investment and interest in retirement possibilities.

The newspaper has a worldwide daily circulation of 450,000, in 140 countries.

Thirty percent of its circulation is in great Britain, and a similar percentage in Europe and the Americas. Asia accounts for eight percent.

The circulation translates into a readership of 1.4 million.

Combined with its web site (www.ft.com), 6.4 million people are reached every day.

The editorial articles in the special report will remain on the website for 12 months after publication.

New Delta flight to Panama

Delta Airlines will introduce an additional Panama-Atlanta flight in June, says Miguel López regional director of sales.

Delta announced that their increase in sales during the first quarter of the year, was around 20 percent while in Latin America, the company recorded a growth in its routs of 40 percent.

The airline also announced new improvements in passenger facilities.

On selected flights they will be providing all-leather seats, digital on-demand entertainment, tastier snack options and signature cocktails.

They will also introduce completely lie-flat seats on their new Boeing 777 aircraft.

Canadians eye prospects to settle in Penonomé

Another area of Panama is starting to benefit from the building boom. Recently 75 Canadians interested in escaping the frigid Canadian winters during their retirment years, visited Midpoint Villas and Marina, a new development project three kilometers from the center of Penonomé.

The site will include 100 homes ranging from $175,000 to $200,000 on a golf course with a shopping area at the entrance. The first 30 homes are expected to be ready in October. Two apartment towers will be finished in 2008.

The social area for the development, which has been environmentally assessed, has been planted with a variety of fruit trees.

Canadian retirees have, in the past, tended to favour Chiriquí. Their presence in Penonomé, is expected to provide a big boost for the local economy, and increase property values.

Focus Publications (Int.), S.A.