News

Isthmian Update

Some of the news in Panama

Singapore company operation approved
The Civil Aeronautics Authority of Panama (AAC) has authorized Panama Aerospace Engineering Inc. (PAE) of Singapore, to operate in the country as an aeronautic workshop for aircraft maintenance in the region.

Foreign doctors for Panama?
The possibility that foreign doctors could be hired in Panama when national doctors refuse to give their service in areas difficult to access, has not been ruled out by the Minister of Health, Camilo Alleyne. He is analyzing the work of specialists in the country, and the need for them to supply professional services in areas like Colon and La Chorrera.

Transport operators ignore courts
The public transport operators of the interior have warned that they will not respect the decision of the Supreme Court ordering suspension of the increase of fares in the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Coclé, Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas. The operators threatened to stop providing service if the Traffic and Land Transport Authority pursues them for challenging the judicial system.

Wholesale price index climbing
The wholesale price index for products of general consumption reached 138.6 points at the end of March, an increase of 2.5 percent, according to the Comptroller’s Office. The increase was prompted by a higher cost of imported products with 1.6 percent more, and industrial goods, at 3 percent. The price of agricultural products rose 1.1percent and livestock 8.6 percent.

Taxi drivers reconsider
The taxi drivers reconsidered their decision to apply the new zoning charges in the metropolitan area before submitting formally to public consulation as required by the Law of Transparency. The zoning would establish a base price of a trip at US$1,35 for each zone.

Casino betting on the up and up
The growth of betting in casinos and on slot machines goes on. The Comptroller’s Office reveals that bets in this sector reached US$203 million in the first quarter, 12.3 percent more than in 2006.

Ambassadorial priorities
The extradition of Manuel A. Noriega and the participation of French businesses in the enlargement of the Panama Canal and in the modernization of the public transport system are the priorities of the new ambassador of France in Panama, Pierre Henri Guignard. The diplomat said that in the Noriega case, his country is willing to find solutions "that can be accommodated" with Panama and the United States. He will also continue "lobbying" for the light train as an option to articulated buses.

Tourism figures up in 2007
More than 390,000 tourists visited Panama in the first quarter of 2007, an increase of 9.5 percent over the same period last year says the Comptroller’s Office.

Bank fined for Late tax filing
The National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNV) will fine the Banistmo Group and its subsidiaries---now controlled by the English bank HSBC-- for the late presentation of its financial statements for the tax year 2006. The report of the financial results and the annual updating should be presented by March 31, but since then, Banistmo has asked for two extensions that have delayed this obligation. The fine has not yet been set.

Electricity supply in danger
Energy demand is growing at a rate of 6 percent annually, which requires the short-term installation of more electricity generating plants if the country does not want to return to the 80’s and 90’s, when there were blackouts, says the director of the National Authority of Public Utilities (ANSEP), Victor Urrutia.

New homes for the poor
Some 2,972 homes will be financed by the Ministry of Housing through the Consultative Council in the provinces of Panamá, Darién and the Region Emberá, with an investment of over US$7-million. The Minister of Housing, Balbina Herrera, indicated that the houses would benefit poor families living in overcrowded conditions.

Video cameras monitor crime

To help prevent criminal acts, 25 "civic safety" video cameras have been installed in Bella Vista and San Felipe. The cameras cover a distance of approximately 400 meters through 360 degress, producing fixed and clear images.

Subsidy for bus transport
The Cabinet has approved a budget of US$2 million to subsidize bus transport in Panama and Colón. In the meantime, the authorities are an investigating accusations in the media of a supposed fraud in the sale of subsidized fuel to individuals.

Industrial park on hold
A set back has been suffered by the developers of the Industrial Maritime Park, Inc. (PIMSA)---- planning to process and store cement----after the Supreme Court provisionally suspended the resolutions of the Ministry of Housing permitting it to develop an industrial park in the old US Navy Base of Rodman, in the district of Arraiján.

Chinese official faces judgment
Chinese authorities announced that they would pass judgment on a former high ranking official responsible for the authorization of medicines and pharmaceutical products. The announcement comes in the middle of an international scandal over the deaths of hundreds of people poisoned by medicines in Panamá.

Economic growth pattern continues
Income from the Panama Canal and the Colon Free Zone (ZLC) reflected growth in the first quarter of the year of 16.5 percent and 25.3 percent respectively, compared with the same period of 2006, says a report from the Comptroller’s Office.

Canal enlargement contracts coming up
The name of the first company to begin work on the first phase of construction of the Panama Canal enlargement will be known in July says the administrator of the ACP, Alberto Aleman Zubieta. He said that the documentation of the tender for the dry excavation at the Pacific entrance to the Canal, the design of the locks and the relocation of high voltage electricity lines is 75 percent complete.

More Cement capacity
Speculation about the price of cement may soon come to an end. The enlargement of the Bayano plant, has begun and the first phase will be ready in 10 months raising cement production to 1,400,000 tons, doubling its present capacity.

Panamanian coffee comes out tops
The Panamanian "geisha" coffees from the La Esmeralda Plantation, and the organic variety from the Carmen Plantation, again won two international coffee industry competitions. The Panamanian coffee plantations dominated the Cupping Pavilion 2007, the most important industry event.

Tour operators plan for World Fair
Panamanian tour operators will participate in the international World Travel Market Fair in London November 15 to 17, to promote the country as a new destination for European visitors. Almost US$13-million of the new IPAT global campaign budget will be used to attract Europeans, who tend to remain longer and spend more money.

Hemisphere HQ for UN in Panama
A building in the City of Knowledge in the old US military base of Clayton will be the new United Nations (UN) headquarters for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Danger warning for Pedregal bridge
More than 50,000 drivers who travel daily over the traffic bridge of Pedregal could be in danger if faults detected by experts of the National System of Civil Protection (SINAPROC) are not corrected. Engineers from the Department of Prevention and Mitigation and independent experts corroborated that the fall of nuts and bolts from the structure could cause accidents.

"Financial Times" will 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.

If 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.

Carnival Cruise Lines to make monthly calls at Colon 2000

Over the next five months. The Carnival Liberty will offer a train tour on the Panama -Colon Railway on each of the calls on the following dates: June 14, July 12, August 9, September 6, October 4.

New signposting will aid tourists

The Posting Sign Program developed by the Panamanian Institute of Tourism (IPAT) began the installation of five tourist signs in the Ancón district, where there will be a total of 33 signs.

The new format includes the IPAT logo, and indicates the direction of important places like the Causeway, the Marcos Gelabert Airport, the National Transportation Terminus, Ancón Hill, the Railroad Station, and the SACA bus station.

IPAT also plans to put signs in other significant tourist areas like the Panamerican Highway, the Panamá-Yaviza stretch in the province of Darién, Panamá - Paso Canoa route in Chiriquí, and the interval between Divisa and Tonosí in the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos.

Other signs will be placed from Gualaca to Chiriquí, including Guabito area; in Bocas del Toro, in the border with Costa Rica and along the Panama-Colón route.

Legendary El Valle hotel gets facelift

Hotel Campestre has become a symbol of El Valle de Antón.

By Gabriel Leonard

Hotel Campestre, perhaps the oldest, continuously operated lodging establishment in El Valle de Antón, is going through a major renovation of its facilities, ranging from the reconstruction of the main entrance area to the strengthening of its foundations.

The purpose, according to Antonio Hincapié, manager of the hotel, is to create a "more functional, and nature-friendly hotel."

The hotel will continue to operate during the re-construction phase, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

The present structure, reminiscent of a quaint, North American hunting lodge, is in fact, a series of additions made over the years with little architectural planning. The construction project plans to make the facility more functional, by establishing a single level in the lobby and main restaurant area, formerly separated by a stairway.

"The re-construction phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2008".

The project also includes the the installation of a water treatment system, solar panels and the enlargement of the hotel’s conference facilities. The cost of the investment is approximately US$1.5 million.

World War II was still raging in Europe when Hotel Campestre was built, in 1945. It was a time in which the large U.S. military personnel and civilians employed by the Panama Canal Company frequently organized weekend trips to Panama’s interior provinces as one of their few distractions on the Isthmus.

Back then, traveling to El Valle de Antón, one of the closest cool-weather areas to Panama City, was an entire day affair, driving along the winding, old National Highway and a tortuous mountain road to El Valle. The hotel was originally built and owned by a family of Chinese origin, and later sold to the Hincapie family.

Hotel Campestre has become a symbol of El Valle de Antón.

The 40-bedroom Hotel Campestre has become a symbol of El Valle, one of the best-known tourist destination in Panama.

The region is known for two world-famous species: the golden frogs and square trees. The trees can be found at the hotel’s backyard.

Other attractions are its handicraft Sunday market, El Nispero zoo, two legendary waterfalls and the beautiful vacation homes of wealthy Panamanians.

In 2000, Hotel Campestre and the Smisthsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) signed an agreement for the conservation of the golden frog, an endengered species which has been severely attacked by a rare fungus in recent years. Last month, the hotel announced the birth of the first golden frogs in captivity in Panama.

"The project also includes the the installation of a water treatment system, solar panels and the enlargement of the hotel’s conference facilities".

Hotel Campestre is a member of the "Coclé, tu mejor destino" ("Coclé, your best destination") cluster, which seeks to transform the province into a single tourist trademark, both in Panama and abroad.

El Valle de Antón is a two-hour drive from Panama City, 126 km west of the capital.

New Century 21 offices in Boquete

Century 21, one of North America's most recognizable real estate franchises, has recently opened a new office in Boquete, province of Chiriquí.

The natural beauty and pleasant weather of Boquete has made it a popular destination for a growing number of European and North American expats who have either retired or purchased "second-home" investments in Panama in recent years.

Boquete's Century 21 office, on Main St. across from Plaza Los Establos Mall, also provides information (in English and Spanish) on available properties in the nearby coastal or mountain areas of Volcán, Cerro Punta, and David.

Century 21 has operates in 40 countries with almost 8,000 centers worldwide. In Panama, the brand is represented by Semusa Realty's offices located in Coronado, Bocas del Toro, Boquete and Panama City.

For more information, call 757-9653 (Boquete) or 202-2121 in Panama City. You can also access the web page www.SemusaRealty.com

Florida tax bite a boost for Panama

High property taxes in Florida are hurting investment, particularly from people planning to buy second homes.

Property taxes on the primary residence are capped for Floridians, but there is no break for a second home. The tax disparity stems from a 1995 law to shield local homeowners from skyrocketing property taxes.

Increases on primary residences are limited to three percent a year.

But with climbing home prices, the tax burden has shifted to second home buyers, or foreigners who don’t have permanent U.S. residency and owners of rental homes.

The fast climbing tax burden has further depressed an already sluggish real estate market.

Recent reports indicate that people who have been investing in the condominium market, hoping to flip apartments and make a financial killing, are walking away in droves.

One home owner who lives in one Miami home, and rents another, paid nearly $8,500 in property tax last year. He claims that since 2001 he has paid more in taxes than he paid for the house in 1975.

All of which is good news for Panama, where new developments are tax free for 20 years.

Focus Publications (Int.), S.A.