The Ministry of Finance is considering issuing up to $500 million in debt securities in the Chinese securities market, in order to take advantage of the lower borrowing costs offered by the Asian market.
The advantage is that, according to Minister Dulcidio De la Guardia, " ... after changing the money to dollars, it is possible that the country could reduce by a quarter or half a percentage point the rate it would need to pay for a bond in dollars with equivalent maturity."
The Ministry of Economy wants to rent a property where it can integrate the departments that are currently spread out over two buildings.
The ministry's aim is to integrate the offices that are currently located in the Ogawa and PH Republic buildings, located on Via España.The intention is to pay less rent than is currently being paid.
Four days after it came into force, the government has suspended the implementation of the decree that requires updating of cadastral information of properties.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance:
June 11, 2017.The Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF), Dulcidio De La Guardia, announced today that, due to a distortion on the part of a political sector of the scope of Decree 130 on cadastral updates, its implementation is suspended, so that a Day Of Explanation can be started immediately with guilds from the sector and interested citizens.
The government has based its forecast of GDP growth on the recovery of activity in the Canal and public and private investment in infrastructure projects.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance:
Fulfilling the legal mission to project the evolution of gross domestic product (GDP) of Panama, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has reported that the estimated growth of the economy for this year is 5.8%, driven by dynamism in the sectors of construction, mining and quarrying, financial intermediation and supply of electricity, gas and water.
A proposal has been made in Panama to make public all sanctions to be imposed on entities that violate the law on prevention of money laundering.
The proposal put forward by the National Committee Against Money Laundering, and Financing of Terrorism and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CNBC), created in 2015 within the framework of the new law on prevention of money laundering, aims to "...
A bill has been proposed to create a fiscal council to ensure that the public budget contemplates reasonable assumptions and meets the requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility Law.
The bill is being prepared by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and its chief, Dulcidio de la Guardia, told Prensa.com that in addition the Fiscal Council, aims to create"...
The project to build a mini city to house the offices of state entities, with a cost of $400 million, is facing opposition from the Varela administration.
The "Government City" project, which remained on paper for several years, was resuscitated during the Martinelli administration, with companies even being pre-qualifying for the work, although in the end it never actually materialized.Now the Varela government is arguing that it will not allocate budget funds to carry out the project.
The approved budget for 2017 includes $5,148 million for works such as the extension to 8 lanes of the bridge-Arraiján Americas and to 6 lanes of the road San Carlos-La Chorrera.
From a statement issued by the Presidency of Panama:
In an extraordinary session held by the Cabinet Council on Friday, approval was given to a Draft State Budget for fiscal year 2017 in the amount of 21.670 billion balboas.
Japan, India and Australia will join the list of countries with which Panama will exchange tax information.
Of the agreements that have been negotiated in recent months, "... most of the agreements are already in place and only 6 are pending signing (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Bahrain, Vietnam and Colombia)."
The treaty to avoid double taxation will come into force in 2018 and includes a clause for exchanging tax information upon request, in accordance with OECD standards.
Ending a story that began two years ago when Colombia suggested including Panama on its list of tax havens, the government has finalised negotiations and announced that the treaty to avoid double taxation will be signed by presidents Santos and Varela in June this year and will take effect automatically in 2018.
The agreement signed with the United States states that exchange of information will be done between the tax administrations.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF):
Panama and the United States signed today the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the two countries for the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax
Corporations that have not paid their annual fee for ten years will be officially dissolved after their names have been published in the official newspaper La Gaceta.
The Minister of Economy and Finance said in an article on Laestrella.com.pa that "... 'it is a plan we have been working on since last year. There is a provision in the tax code that establishes that corporations that have not paid their annual fee for ten years will be dissolved ex officio.'"
A Brazilian firm will carry out a diagnosis, review of the business model, and propose business and legal strategies to revive the competitiveness of the free zone.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Guatemala:
(CENA) The National Economic Council has given approval for the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), to contract out, by exceptional procedure, consulting services with company BAIN Brasil LTDA., in order design an effective industrial policy and a proposed business model for the Colon Free Zone in the amount of $1,619,674.
Confirmation has been given that the country is to be removed from the list compiled by the Financial Action Task Fprce a year and a half after adjusting laws and regulations for the financial sector.
The Minister of Economy and Finance in Panama, Dulcidio De La Guardia, confirmed that the removal of Panama from the gray list was approved during the plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held on Thursday February 18 in Paris, France.
It has been announced that an international consultant will be hired to design a long-term strategy for resolving problems affecting the CFZ.
The company to be hired will also be in charge of developing a national strategy for industrial development, explained the Minister of Economy and Finance, Dulcidio De La Guardia.
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