President Laurentino Cortizo sanctioned the law that creates the National Authority for the Attraction of Investments and Promotion of Exports of Panama, an institution whose objective is to attract foreign investment to the country.
The law establishes the legal framework for the Investment Attraction and Export Promotion Agency (ProPanama) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be elevated to an Authority, to give it greater sustainability and to execute, in a strategic and channeled manner, the different public-private efforts to attract investments and support the promotion of exports, informed the Presidency.
Road maintenance for $258 million, construction of an overpass for $58 million and the development of an energy park for $19 million, are some of the investments included in the 2020 National General Budget project.
Regarding the general amount of public investment included in the Fodes de las Alcaldías, the project discussed in the Assembly contemplates that by 2020 it would reach $1.243 million, an amount that would be 23% higher than that approved for 2019.
The decision of the Legislative Assembly to not endorse the bill that seeks to approve the contract between the government and Minera Panamá, shows the fragility of the contracts between the Panamanian state and companies.
The obstacles to the mining project date back several years, since the legal dispute began in 2009, when the Environmental Impact Center (CIAM) filed an appeal of unconstitutionality against the contract granting a 20-year concession to exploit and commercialize the gold, copper and other mineral resources of Cerro Petaquilla.
During 2018, Guatemala received $1.175 million in FDI, barely 0.5% more than the investment reported in 2017, mainly because of the political and legal uncertainty that ruled the country.
Figures from the Banco de Guatemala (Banguat) report that in the last five years, the country has gained $6,139 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), being 2014 the one that registered the highest year-on-year increase when reporting a 7% rate regarding 2013.
In 2018, nearly 13,000 new jobs were generated in Costa Rica because of investment in 48 new projects in the service, manufacturing and other productive sectors.
The Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives (CINDE) reported that because of new companies arrived in the country together with investments made by companies already installed, 12,961 new jobs were generated in the sectors of services, digital technologies, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and light manufacturing.
Adverse court decisions against companies, social and political conflicts and fiscal issues are some of the factors that are impeding the development of productive projects in Central American countries.
One of the latest court decisions affecting companies with investments in the region was that of Minera Petaquilla, in Panama. The contract that this company had signed with the Panamanian State was declared unconstitutional last week.
Israeli government officials have announced that they plan to invest close to $2 billion in various businesses in the sectors of agriculture, medicine and education.
The investment will be made through the Guatemalan-Israel Fund for Investment and Development in Guatemala, and this seeks to make the Central American country the center of Israeli business in the region.
The procedures required for making investments of over $500,000 outside of Managua can now be made through a single window that includes all entities.
The Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) has announced that the window is already operating in Managua, and will allow companies to make investments in the departments in the interior of the country, centralizing all of their paperwork in one place, without having to manage multiple processes in different institutions.
In the absence of concrete actions by the state, companies in the province of Limón have announced that they will promote economic development in the area using foreign investment.
In order to generate more projects to develop economic activity in the province of Limón, employers in the area are calling for foreign investors who have an affinity with the region.
NanYang Footwear is to invest $3 million in the country to produce footwear and export it to other markets.
From a press release from the Presidency of El Salvador:
The Taiwanese company engaged in the manufacture of footwear NanYang Footwear, in a clear commitment to El Salvador, started operations in the country by establishing and expand its subsidiary in the country under the name of ADI FOOTWEAR SA de CV, with an initial investment of $1.5 million, plus plans to invest an additional $1.5 million and carry out an expansion which will generate more than 1,000 new jobs over the next year.
Investors from China, England, Peru, Brazil, Canada and the USA are waiting for the outcome of the general election before risking investing in mining projects.
Laprensa.hn reports: "The long wait for the country to have a mining law that is in line with the current situation has had an impact on the arrival of new investments, all of which are dependent upon the results of the November general election to define their situation ".
It has been two months since the Investment Summit 2013 was held in Guatemala and two investment projects have materialized totaling $109 million.
These are the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Rio Hondo, Zacapa, capable of generating 32 MW and a mushroom production plant in Salcajá, Quetzaltenango. What is more, during the next three years it is expected that another $225 million will be generated in new projects, making a total of $334 million.
The National Telecommunications Fund plans to develop seven projects in the areas of education, social welfare, health and homes, which will feature, for the first time, internet and telephone services.
According to the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel), there are a total of 477 schools, 78 colleges, 155 Ebais (health centres), 25 Cecis and 70 CEN- CINAI which will be connected with a speed of 4 megabytes.