Through the creation of four new state-owned companies, President Ortega seeks to control the exploration and exploitation of oil in Nicaragua, as well as the import, storage, distribution and marketing of gas and fuels.
With the approval of the law initiatives, the government seeks to transfer the control that Alba de Nicaragua S.A. used to have in this market. (Albanisa), which was sanctioned by the U.S. because of its links with Petróleos de Venezuela, and Distribuidora Nicaragüense de Petróleo (DNP), which was also sanctioned by the same country, in this case for benefiting the Ortega family with non-competitive contracts.
Investment in more sophisticated equipment, preparing human capital for knowledge generation and coordinated decision making between government and business, are some of the areas that Panama has to work on in order to continue competing globally.
The country depends largely on the economic activities of the logistics sector, as it contributes about 33% of the Gross Domestic Product. However, the intense competition at a global level has forced Panama to face multiple challenges.
Taking measures to reactivate the productive sectors, make better use of public-private partnerships and boost tourism is part of what the private sector expects from the Panamanian government in the coming year.
Six months before the Cortizo administration takes office, Panama's business sector is asking it to make the decisions the economy needs to be able to continue on the path of development, and above all, not to lose competitiveness both domestically and in relation to its peers in the region, and to be able to continue to attract foreign investment.
The latest PISA assessment confirms that Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the only countries in the region to appear in its ranking, are far from the average results obtained by the OECD group of nations.
Although in the last ten years the average expenditure per primary and secondary student increased by about 15% in OECD countries, most of their states do not report significant progress in education.
Costa Rican businessmen warn that the government's decision to standardize wages in 2020 will lead to more unemployment, affect workers with less education and reduce competitiveness even further.
For the business sector is imprudent to approve and implement the wage standardization in 2020, since it will have a strong impact on productive sectors such as agriculture, trade, transport, tourism and construction, explains a statement from the UCCAEP.
The high energy tariffs paid in Costa Rica compared to other countries in the region and the effects of the monopoly that exists in electricity generation are threats to the local economy and future investments.
Panamanian businessmen warn that the bills advancing in the National Assembly concerning health and safety standards for work in ports, put at risk the competitiveness of the country.
The National Assembly approved in first debate the bill number 92, "which creates the law on health and safety in port works in the Republic of Panama". Another one that also surpassed the first discussion was number 93 "that dictates norms for the protection of the port worker."
In the 2019 Global Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua fell back in the ranking, while Honduras registered no changes and the Dominican Republic was the only country that improved.
According to the report by the World Economic Forum, during 2019 Costa Rica ranked 62 out of 141 countries. It was followed by Panama at box 66, the Dominican Republic at 78, Guatemala at 98, Honduras at 101, El Salvador at 103 and Nicaragua at 109.
In the 2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala fell back in the ranking, while the Dominican Republic was the only country that improved.
According to the report prepared by the World Economic Forum, during 2019 Costa Rica ranked 41 out of 140 countries. It was followed by Panama at box 47, the Dominican Republic at 73, Nicaragua at 91, Honduras at 94, Guatemala at 99 and El Salvador at 108.
A bill proposing to charge $5 for each passenger in transit was presented, whose funds, which would reach $65 million, would be given to airlines as incentives to attract more tourists to the country.
Bill 150, called "Airline Incentive Law", was presented to the National Assembly on August 26. See full initiative.
In a competitive scenario for lower costs and higher productivity, devaluation against the Lempira Dollar in Honduras and the Cordoba Dollar in Nicaragua is a factor that could help these economies stay competitive.
In the last five years, the exchange rate in Honduras increased by 17%, from 21.06 Lempiras per U.S. dollar in June 2014 to 24.67 in the same month in 2019.
In recent years, the sector in Guatemala has lost nearly 30,000 jobs, because the high costs resulting from having one of the highest minimum wages in the region, makes it more profitable only to export raw materials, rather than making them in the country.
Vestex figures show that in recent years several jobs have been lost in the sector, given that between 2006 and 2018 the industry lost a considerable number of jobs, going from 82,109 to 53,636 places, equivalent to a 35% decrease.
American Drugstore and C. Imberton were sanctioned for proving "that they engaged in the anti-competitive practice of agreeing to fix the prices of Cataflam, Diovan and Lamisil products."
The Superintendence of Competition of El Salvador (SC) sanctioned American Drugstore, for $171,000, and C.
Costa Rica is discussing a bill that proposes to charge an additional 0.5% on all premiums and prohibits deducting from income tax the 4% collected to finance the Fire Brigade.
For the directors of the Association of Private Insurers (AAP), the approval of the National Statistical System Bill, which is being discussed in the country's Congress, would put companies in trouble and cause a contraction in growth.
According to the IMF, the Central American country has been the most dynamic economy in Latin America in the last three decades, reaching one of the highest per capita incomes in the region.
A report published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and signed by Alejandro Santos, Panama's mission chief, and Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov, chief economist in the Western Hemisphere Department, explains that the country's growth is important, since the economy has grown at around 6% per year for a quarter of a century, well above other countries with traditionally strong growth such as Chile, the Dominican Republic and Peru, as well as twice the growth rate of Latin America as a whole.
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