GSK has obtained a licensed to operate under the Multinational Enterprises Branch scheme.
Sridhar Venkatesh, vice president and general manager for Central America and the Caribbean, explained to Laestrella.com.pa:"... from our SEM office we will run the site our Pharmaceutical Divisionfor Central America and the Caribbean and the site for our Demand and Substitution hub for Latin America. With this opening, there will now be more than 300 jobs that will be generated in the country. The projected investment for this project over three years is approximately $2 million."
At the close of the first semester 13 new licenses will have been approved giving foreign companies the ability to operate under the Site of Multinational Corporation regime.
The companies that requested permission to set up in the country under the Site of Multinational Corporation (SEM) regime come from the United States, Denmark, Scotland and the Netherlands, among other countries, explained Trade Minister Augusto Arosemena.
The initiative aims to expand the scope of the Law on Multinational Companies to provide the same benefits to industrial companies who export their entire production.
In Panama discussion is taking place of a new law for Branches of Extended Multinational Enterprises (SEMA by its initials in Spanish), an extension of the law on Multinational Corporations known as SEM, in order to attract industrial companies with some similar benefits to those contained in the SEM.
Cities far away from the capital which have free zone regimes, labor and are close to ports, are becoming attractive places for businesses.
The characteristics of the so-called "emerging cities" outside of the greater metropolitan area, are mainly being exploited by multinational companies who want to operate under free zone schemes and near port terminals and areas with good road access.
The government plans to extend the incentives of the law 41 other multinational companies not included in the original text, such as the manufacturing sector.
Nestor Gonzalez, vice minister of Foreign Trade, told Anpanama.com that "... the law currently only provides incentives to companies that set up back office operations, and now they want to expand this and allow industries to set up under this scheme. "
The special tax regime for multinationals which have an established site in Panama remains the main factor, while the low supply of trained personnel has been identified as a serious problem.
In addition to tax incentives offered to companies that set up offices, there are also special areas such as Panama Pacific and the Colon Free Zone, whose special schemes offer other incentives for companies to set up there.
The activities carried out in Panama by multinational companies will be incorporated into the scheme of legal stability for investment.
From a press release issued by the Government of Panama:
The Cabinet Council approved incorporating activities by companies with multinational company licenses into the benefits provided by Act 54 of 1998, known as stability for the legal status of investments.