Januari 2008: Nieuwsflits Panama
From Handelswijzer Midden-Amerika van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Ambassade te Costa Rica
Embassy visit to Panama 14-16 January 2008
The new Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economic Affairs of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Costa Rica, Carel Richter visited several institutions, organisations and Dutch businessmen in Panama. One of the institutions visited was AUPSA where he met with Director Gilberto Real to discuss the temporary import ban of Dutch onions and potatoes. AUPSA is willing to work with the authorities in finding a feasible solution regarding onions and potatoes. Courtesy meetings with Dutch businessmen took place with KLM, SMIT, MAERSK and BOSKALIS. Furthermore a meeting took place with Luis Ramirez Edwards, Consul General of Panama in the Netherlands establishing a stronger partnership aiming at serving the business community in Panama and the Netherlands better.
Royal Boskalis wins Colon harbour expansion contract
(Source: Coastal and Inland Marine Services)
Coastal and Inland Marine Services, a 100% subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, has won a major contract for the extension of the container port of Colon, Panama, located at the Atlantic mouth of the Panama Canal. The contract is worth approximately Usd $ 30 million. The project will be implemented for Colon Container Terminal (CCT), a member of the Evergreen Marine Corp. of Taiwan. The work includes the construction of additional port area, a retaining rock dike and a link structure to the existing berths.
SMIT Harbour Towage Panama wins Panama Canal service contract
(Source: ACP)
Smit has been awarded a contract by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to provide assistance to ships in approaching the walls of the outer locks of the Panama Canal. Smit has been very active in Panama assisting vessels, calling the ports of Balboa and Cristobal and container terminals MIT, Evergreen and Panama Ports Company. Currently SMIT has employed 8 harbour tugs in Panama.
Fugro N.V. performs geophysical survey in Panama
Dutch Fugro has been awarded several contracts in Panama recently where it will perform geophysical surveys by collecting and interpreting data related to the earth’s surface and soils and rocks beneath (remote sensing). The project will offer advice to mining company Bellhaven Copper & Gold, Inc. regarding ground geophysical survey at the Los Hatillos Concession located in Panama's Veraguas Gold Belt. Fugro Airborne Surveys data will be used to assist in further establishing priorities for drill locations. Fugro was also awarded a contract to carry out geophysical and geotechnical surveys in the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal. They will collect the necessary data for several international dredging companies that want to participate in upcoming tenders for Panama Canal expansion.
KLM to begin service in March
KLM, the Dutch airline, next March 30 will begin offering three times per week non-stop flights between Panama City and Amsterdam. Direct air services between Europe and Panama have grown in popularity as flights that connect through the US seem more time consuming. Miami seems to be less popular air hub for people travelling within Latin American or Caribbean destinations.
Spanish FERSA will invest 700 milion euros wind farms
(Source: CNN Money.com)
Fersa Energias Renovables SA will invest 700 mln euro to construct two windmill farms in Panama with a total capacity of 400 megawatts. Fersa is negotiating with GE Energy, Gamesa, among others to import wind turbines for the project and to set up frameworks for future agreements, with 1,650 megawatts of total installed capacity targeted by 2011. Possible business opportunities for Dutch suppliers of wind turbines and financial institutions. Panama Bay cleanup project 15% done (Source: La Prensa)
Work on the project to clean up the Bay of Panama will not require the street to be ripped apart and is reported to be on schedule. According Juan Antonio Ducruet, Director of the National Institute of Aqueducts and Sewage Systems (Idaan) tunnelling machines (TBM) will be used to dig 7.5 kilometres of tunnels under the existing street. To date the project has advanced approximately 15%, and is expected to be completed in approximately 36 months. Definite business opportunities for Dutch water and sanitation companies are present as suppliers for the sanitation treatment plants that will have to be build in the near future. European Investment Bank (EIB) provides $ 40 million for Panama Bay clean up. (Source: La Prensa)
Last December a contract to help finance the project to clean up the Bay of Panama for $40 million dollars was signed by the Minister of Economy and Finance Héctor Alexander and the representative of the European Investment Bank, Jean Biancarel. The funds will be used for the "eastern interceptor" and the collectors that will be in Las Lajas and Balboa Avenue. The collectors in Las Lajas and Balboa Avenue were included in the bid as part of the "Cinta Costera" project. A report from the Ministry of Health (Minsa) says that the contract guarantees the financing of the beginning of the project which is being administered by the MINSA. The total cost is calculated at about $284 million dollars.
Panama's Economy Grew at 9.5% in 2007 - Leads Latin America
(Source: ECLAC)
During 2007, Panama's economy grew at an astounding 9.5% in 2007, making Panama the fasting growing economy of all Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the chart below showing the annual percentage growth of the Panamanian GDP, economic turnaround started in 2002, further strengthened in 2003, and then "booming" in 2004 (start of the real estate boom). Due to high foreign direct investment this strong pattern of grown will probably continue for the foreseeable future. Economist predict that for 2008 – growth might exceed 10%. Adding the continued drop of unemployment and controlling inflation, Panama will place itself again at the economic front row in Latin America;
1998 - 7.3%
1999 - 3.9%
2000 - 2.7%
2001 - 0.6%
2002 - 2.2%
2003 - 4.2%
2004 - 7.5%
2005 - 7.2%
2006 - 8.7%
2007 - 9.5%
New minimum wage to start at Usd $ 300,00 a month
New Panamá minimum wages took effect last December 16th. The beneficiaries are minimum wage earners in government, small and medium businesses, and domestic workers. Government will begin paying a minimum of $300 a month. Small business owners who have gross receipts under USD $150,000 will begin paying at least $310 a month. Medium businesses with gross receipts between USD $150,000 and $2.5 million will pay a minimum of $325. The Chamber of Commerce and Industries estimates that about 172,000 workers will be taking home between $25 and $40 more per month. The raises did not match inflation in the cost of living, nearly 40% of the Panamanian labour force works at minimum wage. According to the government's "canasta basica" measure, basic food staples and cooking gas for a family of four costs $222.36 per month. This does not include housing, transportation, clothing, books and uniforms for children attending school, cleaning and personal hygiene supplies or other necessary expenses.
Bus fuel subsidy extended
(Source: PanamaNews)
In order to avoid a bus fare increase creating an inflationary ripple through the national economy, the government of Panama has decreed a $2 million fuel subsidy for buses in the metro area that encompasses Colon and Panama provinces. The subsidy will last through the first four months of 2008.
PSA Rodman container port contract approved
(Source: PanamaNews)
The Comptroller General has approved a contract between the government and PSA Internacional Terminal SA turning the Rodman piers into a new commercial container port. The National Maritime Service will have to move, and the government will charge nine dollars for each container that's moved by the new port. This new port development could provide business opportunities for Dutch companies in areas such as consulting, dredging, construction and port supplies such as STS en RTG cranes, cargo top-picks and side-picks, terminal tractors, bombcarts, forklifts and container repair.
Panama Canal implements new and improved reservation system
(Source: Maritime Global Net)
In a constant effort to provide the best customer service and increase the capacity of one of the world’s most widely used waterways, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced this month that beginning February 1, 2008, it will implement a new and improved reservation system to increase its current system’s efficiency, availability of slots and to reflect the true value of the Canal’s service to its customers. These adjustments will offer customers more flexibility and will simplify charges. The Panama Canal transit reservation system is a premium optional service that provides added value to those customers that wish to secure a transit for a specific date. The following are the changes that will be implemented:
The ACP will offer two additional booking slots for supers (vessels 91’ beam or over), for reservations made during the first period (365 to 22 days prior to the requested transit date).
- One slot will be offered prior to the opening of the first period and out of the ACP customer ranking system in order to allow any interested customer a daily opportunity for a booking slot.
- The auctioned slot will continue to be offered in addition to the above-mentioned slots for a total of 27 slots per day.
- Up to three slots will be available to vessels under 300’ in length and without transit restrictions, on a daily basis.
- Booking fees will be fixed. The new system will simplify how ships are charged for booking a transit through the Canal by establishing a fixed fee based on the vessel´s size or dimensions.
- Passenger vessels will be allowed to book a transit between 547 and 366 days before the transit date. This special period was established upon requests from the passenger cruise industry.
- Changes were made to the late arrival fees. Vessels booked for transit that fail to arrive before their required arrival time have the option of transiting on the day of their booking. The amount of the fee to be paid will be determined by the vessel’s actual arrival time. This new option benefits the customer since, this used to be a flat fee of 200 percent of the booking fee.
- Reservations secured prior to the implementation date of the changes will be honored at the rate that is in effect at the time the reservation is made.
The above changes are geared to address customer requests and fulfill their needs for increased availability of slots. Booked vessels (those ships holding reservations) account for more than 60 percent of oceangoing transits. Use of the booking system, even though optional, is an increasing trend at the Canal – usage of the system increased almost 2 percent in fiscal year 2007 to 95 percent.
Effects of shrinking Artic ice
(Source: Panama News)
Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage will become an open shipping lane as soon as sooner than expected, maybe as early as 2020. The passage cuts the distance between Europe and the Far East to just 7,900 nautical miles (14,630 kilometres), from 12,600 nautical miles (23,335 km) through the Panama Canal. This past August the entire Northwest Passage between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans across the top of Alaska melted to the point of navigability for the first time, and it was expected that in October it would start to freeze back up. However, the melting continued late into November, making prior predictions of the speed at which the polar icecap is receding turn unduly conservative in retrospect. Also melting, but still blocked by ice in one spot along the Russian coast, is the Northeast Passage that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the top of Russia and the Scandinavian countries.
Spanish company to invest $1.5 Million on "Bio-Factory"
(Source:Don Winner)
The Spanish company Vitrobio Valencia SL will invest $1.5 million dollars to build the first biotechnology laboratory for the production of advanced plants on 10 hectares of land in Chepo. They will focus on plantains, pineapples, cocoa, and tubers to facilitate seed production programs, distribution and the interchange of germoplasma. In the near future other crops like tomatoes and peppers will be included too. These plants could be planted at any time of the year, allowing scaled production. This process helps to store products for several months without losing their viability. This "bio-factory" has the goal of exporting highly competitive materials to the international market. This new project should provide several business opportunities for Dutch suppliers of seeds, laboratory equipment and agricultural supplies.
Panama and Chile to Start Free Trade
(Source: Prensa Latina)
Panama and Chile will implement a bilateral free trade agreement on March 7, signed by both countries, the Panamanian Foreign Ministry announced last week. That agreement will allow Panama to consolidate its exports to Chilean markets, free of taxes, a direct support to national industry, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Lewis said in a note expressing his satisfaction with the process. "This agreement is part of the government's foreign trade strategy, which seeks to open markets for our products and services," he said. Panama has excellent relations with Chile, and they will be fostered with increased trade with this agreement, in the interest of all consumers. An important window is being opened to Panamanian agricultural and industrial products, such as cacao derivatives, pineapples and seafood. Chile is among the 20 main providers to the Colon Free Area, especially of wines, clothing and pharmaceutical products.
President Torrijos: Panama Trusts in Future
(Source: Prensa Latina)
President Martin Torrijos said Panama is now a different country, and able to look at the recently started year with great confidence in the future. In a New Year message to the country, the president affirmed Panama enjoys more social justice, solidarity, and equity than five years ago, and looks to the future with optimism. “I believe this is a country that is recovering self-reliance”, Torrijos stated, and pointed out the restructuring of public finance, clear management, harmony between social and foreign policy, as well as trade, allowing his prediction that this New Year has begun with great collective self-assurance. Panama, he explained, has signed free trade deals with 50 percent of the countries to which it exports, and with the previous administration, that figure was only at three percent. The president also sustained that in 2008 exports will increase, thus guaranteeing more jobs, better prices, and larger markets for Panamanian products abroad.
Panama’s President Attended Guatemala Inauguration
(Source: Prensa Latina)
Panamanian President Martin Torrijos attended Alvaro Colom's inauguration ceremony in that central American country. Colom won the second presidential electoral round on November 4, as candidate of the social democrat UNE (National Union of Hope), and will rule for four years. Both leaders reviewed the bilateral and regional problems they would face in 2008, including a trade integration agreement between both countries, and incorporation of Panama to the negotiations with the European Union.
Tampa Port Authority hosts Panama Canal program
(Source:bizjournals.com)
The Panama Canal Authority administrator and senior executives of Zim and other shipping lines participated in the Panama Canal Expansion Workshop last week. Hosted by the Tampa Port Authority, the American Association of Port Authorities workshop examined shifting international trade routes, possible development needs at ports and financing opportunities spawned by the expansion.
Panama to Host Caribbean Ministerial Meeting
(Source: Prensa Latina)
More than 15 countries participated in the 13th Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), last week in Panama City. Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela were among the countries that participated in the ordinary ministerial meeting of the largest Caribbean forum. Other participants were regional bodies such as the Caribbean Common Market, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The meeting's agenda included debates on cooperation and development in such areas as trade, sustainable tourism, transportation, and prevention and management of natural disasters. The objective of this association is to boost trade and economic relations. All 28 member states elected Panama as president of the ACS Council of Ministers last year.
