Panama builds on its economic boom
Financial Times
von Richard Lapper and Adam Thomson (Panama City)
A $10bn project outside the capital is the latest sign of US and Canadian hunger to invest in residential property developments.
President Martín Torrijos of Panama last month unveiled what could become one of the biggest investment projects in the country's history, with a value of up to $10bn. The creation of an urban centre the size of central London on the outskirts of Panama City is the latest sign of an economic boom that has invited comparisons between Panama and bigger international business centres, such as Dubai.
A specially created government agency will provide residents with streamlined regulation and there will be tax incentives for selected industries. London & Regional, the UK-based company that will develop the site, said the project, on the former Howard US air force base, would reinforce Panama's attractions as a centre of international business. Ian Livingstone, of London & Regional, said it would combine industrial, retail and residential properties and its value could be worth up to $10bn.
Mr Torrijos's administration, which took office in 2004, is poised to award the first contract for breaking ground in an ambitious $5.25bn plan to expand the canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is one of the world's most important waterways.
Panama took full control of the canal in 1999 and the investment in three new locks and physical widening will facilitate the passage of huge cargo ships, known as post-Panamax vessels.
International and local companies are pouring billions of dollars into Panamanian residential property developments, in large part to capitalise on the peak of interest shown by US and Canadian retired people and second-home buyers. In addition, deals worth $14.5bn have been agreed recently to build two oil refineries and the US Congress is expected to approve a trade agreement soon between the two countries.
Mr Torrijos said recently that the refineries, canal expansion and trade pact are the three motors that could propel Panama towards developed country status. Panama's economy, which is fully dollarised, grew 8.1 per cent in 2006, and economists believe it could grow more than 10 per cent this year. Inflation, meanwhile, is subdued and lending rates are among the most competitive in the western hemisphere. However, some analysts suggest that the government must do more to reduce poverty, especially in rural areas, if development goals are to be achieved.
"Wealth is being concentrated more and more. This is very bad news," said Guillermo Chapman, an analyst at the Indesa consultancy in Panama City.
The London & Regional project hopes to attract businesses from neighbouring countries that do not enjoy the sort of stability that Panama offers. Panama has begun to attract higher numbers of investors from Colombia and Venezuela than in previous years, and analysts expect that trend to continue.
Although London & Regional has yet to present the government with a master plan of the 1,800-hectare site, the plans are known to include a golf course, flats, schools and a hospital.
"It will have an urban feel, with town-centre-type shops, public open spaces, condominiums ... We are going to build a sustainable community," said Mr Livingstone. "In terms of logistics, it's a no-brainer,'' he said.
In addition to an initial $405m minimum investment over the next eight years by London & Regional and local partners, Mr Livingstone has committed another $300m over the remainder of the 40-year concession.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Panama's Economy Surges Ahead
Panama's Economy Surges Ahead
Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington 23 August 2007
A dynamic services sector, a strong investment climate and the Panama Canal expansion programme are expected to ensure that economic growth in Panama exceeds last year's 8.1%.
This is the conclusion of Moody's, the international ratings agency, which stated that the country's Ba1 foreign currency government bond rating and stable outlook are supported by "a dynamic service sector that has served to shield the economy from the volatility observed in other countries in the region, and by a favourable debt profile".
"The strong performance of services' exports (including tourism), domestic consumption and investment activity, in preparation of the Panama Canal expansion, are key contributors to such growth," noted Moody's analyst senior Alessandra Alecci, according to an AFX News report.
Driven by revenues resulting from the 2005 tax reform, Moody's observed that the non-financial public sector deficit has moved into surplus for the first time in a decade.
However, Alecci reportedly cautioned that Panama would not be immune from the dangers of a global economic downturn, given the Central American economy's sensitivity to the external environment. This, she suggested, would "pose significant challenges to Panama's performance".
In June, Moody's upgraded Panama's foreign and local-currency country ceilings for bonds to A3 from Baa1, reflecting a decline in risk during a period of relative macroeconomic and political stability, the responsible running of the Panama Canal since the handover from the US in 1999, and the relative smooth running of government affairs despite periods of alternating power between the two main political parties.
Last year, Panama's construction sector grew by 17.4%, reflecting a continuing property boom, which also perhaps assisted growth of 12.8% in the banking sector. Improving tourism lifted the hotel and restaurant sector by 12.5%. External trade grew by 11.3%.
Panama's finances will be dominated for years to come by the proposed expansion of the canal, anticipated to cost US$5.25 billion, with construction expected to be completed in 2014.
Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington 23 August 2007
A dynamic services sector, a strong investment climate and the Panama Canal expansion programme are expected to ensure that economic growth in Panama exceeds last year's 8.1%.
This is the conclusion of Moody's, the international ratings agency, which stated that the country's Ba1 foreign currency government bond rating and stable outlook are supported by "a dynamic service sector that has served to shield the economy from the volatility observed in other countries in the region, and by a favourable debt profile".
"The strong performance of services' exports (including tourism), domestic consumption and investment activity, in preparation of the Panama Canal expansion, are key contributors to such growth," noted Moody's analyst senior Alessandra Alecci, according to an AFX News report.
Driven by revenues resulting from the 2005 tax reform, Moody's observed that the non-financial public sector deficit has moved into surplus for the first time in a decade.
However, Alecci reportedly cautioned that Panama would not be immune from the dangers of a global economic downturn, given the Central American economy's sensitivity to the external environment. This, she suggested, would "pose significant challenges to Panama's performance".
In June, Moody's upgraded Panama's foreign and local-currency country ceilings for bonds to A3 from Baa1, reflecting a decline in risk during a period of relative macroeconomic and political stability, the responsible running of the Panama Canal since the handover from the US in 1999, and the relative smooth running of government affairs despite periods of alternating power between the two main political parties.
Last year, Panama's construction sector grew by 17.4%, reflecting a continuing property boom, which also perhaps assisted growth of 12.8% in the banking sector. Improving tourism lifted the hotel and restaurant sector by 12.5%. External trade grew by 11.3%.
Panama's finances will be dominated for years to come by the proposed expansion of the canal, anticipated to cost US$5.25 billion, with construction expected to be completed in 2014.
Africa-Israel to build in Panama City
Africa-Israel to build in Panama City
The luxury residential project marks the company’s first foray into Central America.
Ariel Rosenberg 23 Aug 07 18:15
Globes Online
Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY.PK) has made its first foray into Central America. The company has bought 50% of a company that owns the full land rights to a 3,700-sq.m. lot in Panama City.
Africa-Israel and the sellers plan to build a luxury 73-storey luxury high-rise on the site at an initial estimated investment of $86 million. The 100,000-sq.m. project will include 355 apartments with a sea view, a swimming pool, gym, events hall, and shops. The project is located on Avenida Balboa, the city’s main thoroughfare with views towards the Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal. Apartments on the street go for $2,500-3,000 per sq.m.
The luxury residential project marks the company’s first foray into Central America.
Ariel Rosenberg 23 Aug 07 18:15
Globes Online
Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY.PK) has made its first foray into Central America. The company has bought 50% of a company that owns the full land rights to a 3,700-sq.m. lot in Panama City.
Africa-Israel and the sellers plan to build a luxury 73-storey luxury high-rise on the site at an initial estimated investment of $86 million. The 100,000-sq.m. project will include 355 apartments with a sea view, a swimming pool, gym, events hall, and shops. The project is located on Avenida Balboa, the city’s main thoroughfare with views towards the Caribbean Sea and the Panama Canal. Apartments on the street go for $2,500-3,000 per sq.m.
VIII Investment Forum at the Panama Stock Exchange
VIII Investment Forum at the Panama Stock Exchange
PRNewswire
PANAMA CITY, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- With presentations by COPA Airlines, AES Panama, the investment funds of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and leading regional public companies, the VIII Investment Forum will be held at the Sheraton Panama Hotel in Panama City on Wednesday, August 29.
The Forum, a full-day event organized by the Panama Stock Exchange and promoted by the financial community, gathers together investors, publicly traded companies and financial institutions to hear and discuss financial presentations by important companies of the region. The event, which has been going on since 2002, typically attracts some 400 people.
Closing remarks will be delivered by Standard & Poors on the Panamanian economic perspective and impact of the Panama Canal expansion.
Contact information: Viodelda Barrias (507) 269-1966, vbarrias@panabolsa.com
PRNewswire
PANAMA CITY, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- With presentations by COPA Airlines, AES Panama, the investment funds of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and leading regional public companies, the VIII Investment Forum will be held at the Sheraton Panama Hotel in Panama City on Wednesday, August 29.
The Forum, a full-day event organized by the Panama Stock Exchange and promoted by the financial community, gathers together investors, publicly traded companies and financial institutions to hear and discuss financial presentations by important companies of the region. The event, which has been going on since 2002, typically attracts some 400 people.
Closing remarks will be delivered by Standard & Poors on the Panamanian economic perspective and impact of the Panama Canal expansion.
Contact information: Viodelda Barrias (507) 269-1966, vbarrias@panabolsa.com
Abengoa's Telvent wins 9-yr Panama traffic control concession
Abengoa's Telvent wins 9-yr Panama traffic control concession for 14 mln eur
CNN Money
August 22, 2007: 11:31 AM EST
MADRID, Aug. 22, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Abengoa SA's IT unit Telvent (NASDAQ:TLVT) GIT SA said it has won a nine-year concession to construct and manage a traffic control system in Panama City worth 14 mln eur.
In a statement, Telvent said it will implement an Intelligent Traffic Adaptive Control Agent (ITACA) system in the city in 130 crossings, which will be controlled and operated from a single traffic control centre.
tfn.europemadrid@thomson.com
Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
CNN Money
August 22, 2007: 11:31 AM EST
MADRID, Aug. 22, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Abengoa SA's IT unit Telvent (NASDAQ:TLVT) GIT SA said it has won a nine-year concession to construct and manage a traffic control system in Panama City worth 14 mln eur.
In a statement, Telvent said it will implement an Intelligent Traffic Adaptive Control Agent (ITACA) system in the city in 130 crossings, which will be controlled and operated from a single traffic control centre.
tfn.europemadrid@thomson.com
Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
Few in Panama favor return of Noriega
Few in Panama favor return of Noriega
Source: The Washington Times
By Kathia Martinez
August 21, 2007
Some worry that Noriega has too much hidden money and too many hidden supporters in high places, and that the country's court system, still fragile, won't even be able to keep him behind bars.
Noriega's opponents claim new laws are being tailored to protect him, although the government denies that.
Panamanian courts sentenced him in absentia to at least 60 years in prison for embezzlement, corruption and murder committed during his six-year dictatorship. But the law only allows him to serve a maximum sentence of 20 years and under legislation passed in January he could subtract his 18 years of U.S. prison time served.
It also allows anyone over 70 to seek house arrest rather than prison. Noriega is 72.
Another legal change is a ban on trials in absentia, which opens the door for Noriega to contest the convictions that got him his 60-year sentence.
"If Noriega returns to Panama, it's certain the great number of 'Noriegists' that are in the government disguised as ministers, lawmakers, judges and prosecutors will want to do everything possible to ensure that Noriega doesn't go to jail," political science professor Miguel Antonio Bernal said.
Businessman Roberto Eisenmann, who founded La Prensa, Panama's leading newspaper, and was among the military dictatorship's biggest critics, says Noriega still has a "monstrous fortune hidden somewhere in the world."
Elias Castillo, president of the Panamanian congress, recalls the power Noriega once commanded, and wonders what other dirty secrets may spill out if he comes back.
"On his birthday, we would all compete to see who would bring the general the biggest gift," he said. "All of that is still there, but it is kept in a silent vault. It will all depend on whether Noriega stays silent or not."
But Labor Minister Reynaldo Rivera argues that Noriega is a "relatively old man who no longer has a base of political support."
Noriega's 30-year sentence by a Miami court for drug trafficking has been reduced for good behavior. The former general and CIA operative says he's a prisoner of war and must be sent home because the Geneva Conventions bar his extradition to a third country.
The United States and France disagree.
In the years Noriega was imprisoned, the old-guard politicians of the ruling party founded by Omar Torrijos, his one-time mentor, were voted out of power. The military was replaced by a national police force, and Mr. Torrijos' son, Martin, who earned an economics degree at Texas A&M University, worked to distance himself from the old dictatorship, noting he was in the United States at the time.
Source: The Washington Times
By Kathia Martinez
August 21, 2007
Some worry that Noriega has too much hidden money and too many hidden supporters in high places, and that the country's court system, still fragile, won't even be able to keep him behind bars.
Noriega's opponents claim new laws are being tailored to protect him, although the government denies that.
Panamanian courts sentenced him in absentia to at least 60 years in prison for embezzlement, corruption and murder committed during his six-year dictatorship. But the law only allows him to serve a maximum sentence of 20 years and under legislation passed in January he could subtract his 18 years of U.S. prison time served.
It also allows anyone over 70 to seek house arrest rather than prison. Noriega is 72.
Another legal change is a ban on trials in absentia, which opens the door for Noriega to contest the convictions that got him his 60-year sentence.
"If Noriega returns to Panama, it's certain the great number of 'Noriegists' that are in the government disguised as ministers, lawmakers, judges and prosecutors will want to do everything possible to ensure that Noriega doesn't go to jail," political science professor Miguel Antonio Bernal said.
Businessman Roberto Eisenmann, who founded La Prensa, Panama's leading newspaper, and was among the military dictatorship's biggest critics, says Noriega still has a "monstrous fortune hidden somewhere in the world."
Elias Castillo, president of the Panamanian congress, recalls the power Noriega once commanded, and wonders what other dirty secrets may spill out if he comes back.
"On his birthday, we would all compete to see who would bring the general the biggest gift," he said. "All of that is still there, but it is kept in a silent vault. It will all depend on whether Noriega stays silent or not."
But Labor Minister Reynaldo Rivera argues that Noriega is a "relatively old man who no longer has a base of political support."
Noriega's 30-year sentence by a Miami court for drug trafficking has been reduced for good behavior. The former general and CIA operative says he's a prisoner of war and must be sent home because the Geneva Conventions bar his extradition to a third country.
The United States and France disagree.
In the years Noriega was imprisoned, the old-guard politicians of the ruling party founded by Omar Torrijos, his one-time mentor, were voted out of power. The military was replaced by a national police force, and Mr. Torrijos' son, Martin, who earned an economics degree at Texas A&M University, worked to distance himself from the old dictatorship, noting he was in the United States at the time.
Investments by $550 million in six months
Panama, Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Investments by $550 million in six months
Duarte Castle ecastillo@prensa.com
The construction sector has obtained their better semester of all the times, with a private investment enter important execution that rise to 550 million dollars. The amount represents an increase of 28,2% in the value declared in constructions permits, repairs and improvements, if it is compared with the first semester of last year.
The district of Arraiján, with a rise of 58,7% was the one that presented the greater dynamism in residential work, followed by the district of Panama (35.4%) and San Miguelito (16.5%), according to the General Comptroller of the Republic.
The result of the semester of this industry, last year closed with a growth of 17%, is well above of which it had projected the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac). And, for this year closing the perspective looks even better.
The president of Capac, Walter Medrano, commented that the entrance in execution of a series of mega projects, like construction sites of the third locks of the Canal, real estate developments and the coastal line, will make year 2007 one of the best ones of the industry.
Consulted on if the union problems could affect this performance, he was sorry that the union is victim of this situation of instability. "to guarantee a sustainable development and to give guarantees for foreigner investment, Capac agreed on wages until 2013 in the collective convention and we are fulfilling exactly everyword of the agreement".
Investments by $550 million in six months
Duarte Castle ecastillo@prensa.com
The construction sector has obtained their better semester of all the times, with a private investment enter important execution that rise to 550 million dollars. The amount represents an increase of 28,2% in the value declared in constructions permits, repairs and improvements, if it is compared with the first semester of last year.
The district of Arraiján, with a rise of 58,7% was the one that presented the greater dynamism in residential work, followed by the district of Panama (35.4%) and San Miguelito (16.5%), according to the General Comptroller of the Republic.
The result of the semester of this industry, last year closed with a growth of 17%, is well above of which it had projected the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac). And, for this year closing the perspective looks even better.
The president of Capac, Walter Medrano, commented that the entrance in execution of a series of mega projects, like construction sites of the third locks of the Canal, real estate developments and the coastal line, will make year 2007 one of the best ones of the industry.
Consulted on if the union problems could affect this performance, he was sorry that the union is victim of this situation of instability. "to guarantee a sustainable development and to give guarantees for foreigner investment, Capac agreed on wages until 2013 in the collective convention and we are fulfilling exactly everyword of the agreement".
Government is not responsible for economic growth
From Sam Talifero's
According to some the government is NOT responsible for the economic growth
The two brief articles below appeared in todays paper. They are obviously by the opposition party but they have a ring of truth. I would agree that the government has done little to help in the promotion of the country in our industry of residential tourism which is driving the construction boom. In fact they have implemented new laws and changes in old laws to the investors and foreign residents detriment. It is always the way of government to take credit for the good times as it is certain they will be blamed when things go bad. I wonder just how much growth we would have if the government really worked to boost economic activity through foreign direct investment of this kind?
Government is not responsible for economic growth
The sectorial leadership of Cambio Democratico (CD), rejected yesterday that the growing cycle of the economy and the "real estate boom" are the result of the economic policy that the national government of the PRD-PP executes.
The president of the Supervise Committee of Cambio Democratico, Frank De Lima, indicated that this financial boom is the exclusive result of the dynamics of the private sector and the solidity of the banking center. To criterion of the opponent, the recent reforms by the government in the matter of tourist visa issue could change the rate of growth of the construction sector and the arrival of new investors to the country. (La Critica)
De Lima: Government policies harm the national economy
President of the Supervise Committee of Cambio Democatrico (CD), Frank De Lima, noticed that the governmental policy is harming the economic growth. "To three years of government, the alleged accomplishments in economic matter are merely conjectural, because global economic comes from a cycle of high growth and the real estate boom that the country is going through is due to the dynamics of the private sector and to the solidity of our banking center". (Estrella de Panama)
According to some the government is NOT responsible for the economic growth
The two brief articles below appeared in todays paper. They are obviously by the opposition party but they have a ring of truth. I would agree that the government has done little to help in the promotion of the country in our industry of residential tourism which is driving the construction boom. In fact they have implemented new laws and changes in old laws to the investors and foreign residents detriment. It is always the way of government to take credit for the good times as it is certain they will be blamed when things go bad. I wonder just how much growth we would have if the government really worked to boost economic activity through foreign direct investment of this kind?
Government is not responsible for economic growth
The sectorial leadership of Cambio Democratico (CD), rejected yesterday that the growing cycle of the economy and the "real estate boom" are the result of the economic policy that the national government of the PRD-PP executes.
The president of the Supervise Committee of Cambio Democratico, Frank De Lima, indicated that this financial boom is the exclusive result of the dynamics of the private sector and the solidity of the banking center. To criterion of the opponent, the recent reforms by the government in the matter of tourist visa issue could change the rate of growth of the construction sector and the arrival of new investors to the country. (La Critica)
De Lima: Government policies harm the national economy
President of the Supervise Committee of Cambio Democatrico (CD), Frank De Lima, noticed that the governmental policy is harming the economic growth. "To three years of government, the alleged accomplishments in economic matter are merely conjectural, because global economic comes from a cycle of high growth and the real estate boom that the country is going through is due to the dynamics of the private sector and to the solidity of our banking center". (Estrella de Panama)
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Moody's Rating on Panama
Panama's debt ratings and outlook supported by dynamic service sector - Moody's
MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) -
Moody's Investors Service said Panama's 'BA1' foreign-currency government bond rating and stable outlook are supported by a dynamic service sector that has served to shield the economy from the volatility observed in other countries in the region, and by a favourable debt profile.
'The strong performance of services exports, including tourism, domestic consumption, and investment activity in preparation for the Panama Canal expansion, are key contributors to such growth,' Moody's vice president and senior analyst Alessandra Alecci said.
She added: 'Given the economy's sensitivity to the external environment, a severe downturn in global conditions would pose significant challenges to Panama's performance.'
In its annual report on Panama, Moody's said that, with economic activity booming, Panama's extremely favourable macroeconomic performance is likely to extend over the medium term. Real GDP growth, which was at 8.1 pct in 2006, is likely to exceed this level in 2007.
Moody's 'A3' foreign-currency country bond ceiling assesses the risk of disruption to the smooth functioning of the dollar payments system.
'Given dollarisation's long tradition in Panama, Moody's sees limited risk of such disruption,' Alecci said. 'In addition, because of dollarisation, the foreign-currency country bond ceiling reflects the lack of transfer risk.' TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com vsr/lce
MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) -
Moody's Investors Service said Panama's 'BA1' foreign-currency government bond rating and stable outlook are supported by a dynamic service sector that has served to shield the economy from the volatility observed in other countries in the region, and by a favourable debt profile.
'The strong performance of services exports, including tourism, domestic consumption, and investment activity in preparation for the Panama Canal expansion, are key contributors to such growth,' Moody's vice president and senior analyst Alessandra Alecci said.
She added: 'Given the economy's sensitivity to the external environment, a severe downturn in global conditions would pose significant challenges to Panama's performance.'
In its annual report on Panama, Moody's said that, with economic activity booming, Panama's extremely favourable macroeconomic performance is likely to extend over the medium term. Real GDP growth, which was at 8.1 pct in 2006, is likely to exceed this level in 2007.
Moody's 'A3' foreign-currency country bond ceiling assesses the risk of disruption to the smooth functioning of the dollar payments system.
'Given dollarisation's long tradition in Panama, Moody's sees limited risk of such disruption,' Alecci said. 'In addition, because of dollarisation, the foreign-currency country bond ceiling reflects the lack of transfer risk.' TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com vsr/lce
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Tropical Hotspot Panama Investment Less Straightforward Than It Looks
Source: emediawire
Panama is becoming a hot retirement, vacation, and investment destination, but a lack of quality written information on the country often leads to a bevy of mishaps and mistakes. As a result, new resources are becoming available to educate investors that might otherwise blindly buy into the hype.
Panama City, Panama (PRWEB) August 20, 2007 -- The Republic of Panama is rapidly becoming the buzzword among savvy investors, inspired travelers, and retirees looking for a place to hang their boots. But as is so often the case in a trendy developing destination, the rush for luxury condos and stunning beach front real estate does not come without a catch.
A lot of Panama investors from the United States (specifically cities like Miami, Houston, Atlanta, and LA) are motivated to invest abroad due to rising housing costs, natural disasters, taxes and expensive, unreliable health care. For the most part, the Panama hype has traveled by word-of-mouth and a national marketing campaign to attract such investors. When looking for real facts and figures about Panama's work force, bargain prices and great health care, investors have been forced to listen to the stories of those who have come before them.
When New Yorker Adam Strauss came to see for himself, he and his wife Leslie bought into that "hype" and purchased a home at a beach project called Malibu, just 45 minutes outside of cosmopolitan Panama City by car.
"I don't know where in the USA we could find a three-bedroom home within walking distance of a beautiful beach for $145,000" Strauss said, laughing.
"Our new home will have access to a sports club, rivers for fishing, cabanas on the beach, high-end restaurants, and a giant supermarket only five minutes away. Those kinds of deals simply don't exist anymore where we come from."
San Francisco resident Matthew Semmelhack seems to agree. "When I first invested in Panama back 12 months ago, it was almost the kind of thing that seemed too good to be true," he said.
"Four acres in the mountains of Pedasi, water, electricity, roads, full title, 15-minute walk to the beach. And all that for only $27,000? But sitting here today, having sold that ocean view property for nearly triple, it definitely made me a believer."
Semmelhack echoes the feelings of many expats in Panama today. "Panamanians thought I was paying too much for my property. I thought I was paying far too little. Looks like we both came out ahead!" he said.
But with such a modern day gold rush, times are a changing and such deals are becoming more and more difficult to find. Properties like the one Semmelhack bought are now upwards of $100,000. Of the hoards of agents and developers, the need for honest and objective information is quite hard to come by and as noted by prominent organizations such as England's Investment Property Forum (IPF), there is a desperate need for today's international investors to improve their "awareness, understanding and efficiency of property as an investment." They warn that too many investors try to hit the ground running, before they learn how to walk.
Potential buyers are learning how to tell the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly in Panama through resources like the recently released Panama Real Estate Report (http://www.thepanamareport.com/real-estate-report/panama-real-estate-report-439.html), an uncensored guide detailing the dos and don'ts of buying real estate. Similar to the IPF, The Panama Real Estate Report is meant to educate investors and promote responsible investment practices in a country where so much of the press is handled by developers and real estate agents themselves. In addition, as the environment in Panama becomes more and more familiar to Americans, with Subway sandwich shops and the like, it can be easy for them to get too comfortable and let down their guard.
Report author Matt Landau admitted: "I was amazed by the void of well-researched, in-depth reports about the country." After trying his hand at real estate, Landau decided he better stick to the sidelines and took on the role of consultant to numerous clients that find him through his tell-all website The Panama Report (http://www.thepanamareport.com), which has developed a small following in its few years of existence.
"Which bank is the only one in Panama that doesn't work with American affiliates and is thus the ultimate place to hide your money? How do you invest big while still maintaining a low profile on the tax radar? In finding a broker or a lawyer, which ones do you trust and which ones do you kick to the curb? These are the types of questions people come to me with on a daily basis," Landau said, "none of which is mainstream information these days in Panama."
What you can find on the internet is a wealth of helpful information regarding investment incentives, available properties, residency and visa applications, as well as other investment-enabling tidbits, as provided by law firms and real estate agencies. In researching sound investment opportunities in the country, these resources are being updated daily with new information but rarely do they point out truly dangerous traps.
"The main key in this gold rush is researching the reputation of any agency you intend to entrust your money with to avoid becoming a negative example of careless investment," purports Landau. And whether it's the $99 Panama Real Estate Report or a million dollar home, today's Panama investors are hungrily searching for options.
Panama is becoming a hot retirement, vacation, and investment destination, but a lack of quality written information on the country often leads to a bevy of mishaps and mistakes. As a result, new resources are becoming available to educate investors that might otherwise blindly buy into the hype.
Panama City, Panama (PRWEB) August 20, 2007 -- The Republic of Panama is rapidly becoming the buzzword among savvy investors, inspired travelers, and retirees looking for a place to hang their boots. But as is so often the case in a trendy developing destination, the rush for luxury condos and stunning beach front real estate does not come without a catch.
A lot of Panama investors from the United States (specifically cities like Miami, Houston, Atlanta, and LA) are motivated to invest abroad due to rising housing costs, natural disasters, taxes and expensive, unreliable health care. For the most part, the Panama hype has traveled by word-of-mouth and a national marketing campaign to attract such investors. When looking for real facts and figures about Panama's work force, bargain prices and great health care, investors have been forced to listen to the stories of those who have come before them.
When New Yorker Adam Strauss came to see for himself, he and his wife Leslie bought into that "hype" and purchased a home at a beach project called Malibu, just 45 minutes outside of cosmopolitan Panama City by car.
"I don't know where in the USA we could find a three-bedroom home within walking distance of a beautiful beach for $145,000" Strauss said, laughing.
"Our new home will have access to a sports club, rivers for fishing, cabanas on the beach, high-end restaurants, and a giant supermarket only five minutes away. Those kinds of deals simply don't exist anymore where we come from."
San Francisco resident Matthew Semmelhack seems to agree. "When I first invested in Panama back 12 months ago, it was almost the kind of thing that seemed too good to be true," he said.
"Four acres in the mountains of Pedasi, water, electricity, roads, full title, 15-minute walk to the beach. And all that for only $27,000? But sitting here today, having sold that ocean view property for nearly triple, it definitely made me a believer."
Semmelhack echoes the feelings of many expats in Panama today. "Panamanians thought I was paying too much for my property. I thought I was paying far too little. Looks like we both came out ahead!" he said.
But with such a modern day gold rush, times are a changing and such deals are becoming more and more difficult to find. Properties like the one Semmelhack bought are now upwards of $100,000. Of the hoards of agents and developers, the need for honest and objective information is quite hard to come by and as noted by prominent organizations such as England's Investment Property Forum (IPF), there is a desperate need for today's international investors to improve their "awareness, understanding and efficiency of property as an investment." They warn that too many investors try to hit the ground running, before they learn how to walk.
Potential buyers are learning how to tell the difference between the good, the bad and the ugly in Panama through resources like the recently released Panama Real Estate Report (http://www.thepanamareport.com/real-estate-report/panama-real-estate-report-439.html), an uncensored guide detailing the dos and don'ts of buying real estate. Similar to the IPF, The Panama Real Estate Report is meant to educate investors and promote responsible investment practices in a country where so much of the press is handled by developers and real estate agents themselves. In addition, as the environment in Panama becomes more and more familiar to Americans, with Subway sandwich shops and the like, it can be easy for them to get too comfortable and let down their guard.
Report author Matt Landau admitted: "I was amazed by the void of well-researched, in-depth reports about the country." After trying his hand at real estate, Landau decided he better stick to the sidelines and took on the role of consultant to numerous clients that find him through his tell-all website The Panama Report (http://www.thepanamareport.com), which has developed a small following in its few years of existence.
"Which bank is the only one in Panama that doesn't work with American affiliates and is thus the ultimate place to hide your money? How do you invest big while still maintaining a low profile on the tax radar? In finding a broker or a lawyer, which ones do you trust and which ones do you kick to the curb? These are the types of questions people come to me with on a daily basis," Landau said, "none of which is mainstream information these days in Panama."
What you can find on the internet is a wealth of helpful information regarding investment incentives, available properties, residency and visa applications, as well as other investment-enabling tidbits, as provided by law firms and real estate agencies. In researching sound investment opportunities in the country, these resources are being updated daily with new information but rarely do they point out truly dangerous traps.
"The main key in this gold rush is researching the reputation of any agency you intend to entrust your money with to avoid becoming a negative example of careless investment," purports Landau. And whether it's the $99 Panama Real Estate Report or a million dollar home, today's Panama investors are hungrily searching for options.
Coastal Line Update
Coastal Line Final Design Approved
Jose González Pinilla jagonzalez@prensa.com
The works of construction of the multi million dollar project "coastal line and new road" will begin October 15. Thus the minister of Public Works (MOP), Benjamin Colamarco announced, when he explained to this newspaper the final design of the work. "I can say that for April of 2009 we will have the coastal line", he assured. The project, that in principle was hard criticized by the civil society, now has the endorsement of that sector.
Rodrigo Mejía-Andrión, of Alliance Pro City, maintained that they are satisfied with the design. He said the company Norberto Odebrecht, will construct the project in partnership with Constructora Urbana, S.A. (Cusa), was based on the design that Alliance Pro City had proposed and that was elaborated by architects Boris Aguilar and Alberto Arosemena. The minister informed this week the proceeding order will be granting to the company. And this weekend, the General Contraloría of the Republic authenticated the contract that signed MOP and the company to a cost of 189,1 million dollars. The amount includes 172 million dollars for the construction of the work, one million for deprived affectations, million 500 thousand for environmental plan handling and 4 millions for the affectations of services.
Colamarco maintained that they will deal with the final cost of the work is smaller to 189 million dollars, price that offered Odebrecht-Cusa in the public bidding. The coastal line will begin from the mouth of the Matasnillo river, in the Balboa Ave., to the Seafood Market. It will have an extension of seven kilometers. In addition to the six existing routes of the Balboa Ave., they will be constructed four more lanes on a filling of 30 hectares in the bay.
These four tracks will have a one way towards Paitilla, while the six existing routes go towards the Old Quarter, in San Felipe. It will be constructed to a special avenue for bicycles and bicychair, of seven kilometers of extension and four meters wide. The work will have 2 thousand free public parking and five pedestrian steps for handicapped people. There will be an amphitheatre and fields of games, with water sources in different places.
The monument of Vasco Núñez de Balboa will be removed forwards and will be aligned with Parque Porras. In this point Alliance Pro City it suggested recently stays the original design of the monument. According to the minister, the work will have 25 hectares of park with palms and trees, and there will be bridges of walls armed in front of the Balboa Ave as the Government had designed originally.
Also two viaducts elevated for cars will be constructed. One will be near the Seafood Market and will exit up to the National Avenue, and the other will begin in the Israel Route until the bridge on the Matasnillo river, in the Balboa Ave.. It was known in addition that the line of the cleaning project of the bay will be underground. 60% of the works will become via marine, while 40% are from land, that is to say, in the Balboa Ave. Colamarco said that on the coastal line will not be any kind of condominiums of commercial building. The only one that will be there is the Miramar hotel.
Jose González Pinilla jagonzalez@prensa.com
The works of construction of the multi million dollar project "coastal line and new road" will begin October 15. Thus the minister of Public Works (MOP), Benjamin Colamarco announced, when he explained to this newspaper the final design of the work. "I can say that for April of 2009 we will have the coastal line", he assured. The project, that in principle was hard criticized by the civil society, now has the endorsement of that sector.
Rodrigo Mejía-Andrión, of Alliance Pro City, maintained that they are satisfied with the design. He said the company Norberto Odebrecht, will construct the project in partnership with Constructora Urbana, S.A. (Cusa), was based on the design that Alliance Pro City had proposed and that was elaborated by architects Boris Aguilar and Alberto Arosemena. The minister informed this week the proceeding order will be granting to the company. And this weekend, the General Contraloría of the Republic authenticated the contract that signed MOP and the company to a cost of 189,1 million dollars. The amount includes 172 million dollars for the construction of the work, one million for deprived affectations, million 500 thousand for environmental plan handling and 4 millions for the affectations of services.
Colamarco maintained that they will deal with the final cost of the work is smaller to 189 million dollars, price that offered Odebrecht-Cusa in the public bidding. The coastal line will begin from the mouth of the Matasnillo river, in the Balboa Ave., to the Seafood Market. It will have an extension of seven kilometers. In addition to the six existing routes of the Balboa Ave., they will be constructed four more lanes on a filling of 30 hectares in the bay.
These four tracks will have a one way towards Paitilla, while the six existing routes go towards the Old Quarter, in San Felipe. It will be constructed to a special avenue for bicycles and bicychair, of seven kilometers of extension and four meters wide. The work will have 2 thousand free public parking and five pedestrian steps for handicapped people. There will be an amphitheatre and fields of games, with water sources in different places.
The monument of Vasco Núñez de Balboa will be removed forwards and will be aligned with Parque Porras. In this point Alliance Pro City it suggested recently stays the original design of the monument. According to the minister, the work will have 25 hectares of park with palms and trees, and there will be bridges of walls armed in front of the Balboa Ave as the Government had designed originally.
Also two viaducts elevated for cars will be constructed. One will be near the Seafood Market and will exit up to the National Avenue, and the other will begin in the Israel Route until the bridge on the Matasnillo river, in the Balboa Ave.. It was known in addition that the line of the cleaning project of the bay will be underground. 60% of the works will become via marine, while 40% are from land, that is to say, in the Balboa Ave. Colamarco said that on the coastal line will not be any kind of condominiums of commercial building. The only one that will be there is the Miramar hotel.
Is the Party Over?
This article is from the Dallas Morning News and I must say I agree with alot of it. The condo market here in my opinion is being driven largely by speculators and not retirees who intend to actually occupy the condos being purchased.
To contrast this, there are still great bargains to be had for retirees in the countryside, where one can still find a great homesite and have a decent home built for a total of $250k-$300k.
Long term, the cost of living here is still one of the most attractive factors, combined with health care, modern infrastructure, and tropical weather.
REAL ESTATE
Is the party in Panama over?
Panama's developers hoped to lure U.S. retirees with cheap prices. Then came speculators, 380 tower projects representing more than 40,000 condos, rising prices and the possibility of a bust.
Posted on Tue, Aug. 21, 2007Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint/license print email
BY JIM LANDERS
The Dallas Morning News
BEATRICE DE GEA/THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
A building boom is transforming the skyline of Panama City.
PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Cement prices have doubled, and it's hard to get a truck to come to your building site. The situation is similar for steel, glass, bricks and all the guts of a high-rise condominium.
The real-estate business is having a party in Panama.
As of July, 380 tower projects were under way or announced, representing more than 40,000 condos and apartments. A year ago, it was 11,000 units.
The builders say Americans looking for the urban high life in retirement will snap up these buildings in a new Miami that's half the price of the real Miami.
''The baby boomers, simply put,'' wrote Roger Khafif, builder of the Trump Ocean Club in the Punta Pacifica shoreline neighborhood, in an e-mail about his target buyers. ``Without them, Panama's real-estate boom would bust.''
Retirement properties have been considerably cheaper in Panama than in Florida, and the climate is as good or better. The local currency is the U.S. dollar. And although Medicare doesn't reach Americans abroad, healthcare is much less expensive there than in the United States.
But speculators are the ones who have put down deposits on 70 percent to 90 percent of these units, said Paul McBride, chief executive of Prima Panama developers. There's no beach on the bay, which is where the 1 million residents of this city pour their sewage. A seven-year, $300 million cleanup is underway.
And falling prices in Miami and elsewhere in the United States may make those Panama condos seem less cheap.
It's hard to find evidence that white-haired North Americans are mounting an invasion of retirees, and you can almost hear the air escaping from the bubble.
The Ice Tower, a 104-story dream of blue and silver, has melted. Two other towers of 96 and 54 floors are not going to get off the ground, either. There are mutterings about whether some developers were simply looking for interest-free loans from the people putting down condo deposits. A Panamanian legislator is proposing to a law requiring developers to pay 6 percent interest on refunded deposits.
Khafif's Trump Ocean Club, a venture with New York developer Donald Trump, is starting to rise. The skyscraper shaped like a sail, he hopes, will be completed in October 2010 with 500 condos and 500 hotel suites with a market value of $404 million.
''Of course we can build a 90- or 104-floor building in Panama,'' Khafif wrote. ``Almost anything can be done if the price is right!! And that was precisely the problem. Plain and simple, the developers sold toooooo cheap.''
A builder needs to sell condos during the construction phase at prices high enough to cover inflation in materials and other construction costs, Khafif argued. ''We . . . launched our modest 66-floor building at three times the market value,'' he wrote, and thus he expects no problems.
There are real-estate booms like this in a dozen Chinese cities and in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai.
Whenever the discussion turns to where all of the money comes from, people look over Panama's shoulder and see Colombia, where cocaine has built fortunes looking to be laundered.
Such whisperings have not stopped other investors from coming. Condos priced at a total of $5.7 billion are on the market in a nation with a $16.5 billion economy. The expansion of the Panama Canal, hopes for big energy investments and happy days in the banking industry all point to rapid economic growth.
In the first five months of this year, Panamanian banks reported profits of $444.1 million, up 19.4 percent from the same period in 2006. The banks say credit is expanding 15 percent a month.
McBride of Prima Panama said the average Panama City condo is selling for more than the average single-family home in the United States. This doesn't hurt the luxury market so much, but it may make a difference for North Americans hoping to stretch their nest eggs by retiring abroad.
''Two or three years ago, the price of a luxury condo was $120 a square foot. Now it's $250 to $300 a square foot,'' McBride said.
To contrast this, there are still great bargains to be had for retirees in the countryside, where one can still find a great homesite and have a decent home built for a total of $250k-$300k.
Long term, the cost of living here is still one of the most attractive factors, combined with health care, modern infrastructure, and tropical weather.
REAL ESTATE
Is the party in Panama over?
Panama's developers hoped to lure U.S. retirees with cheap prices. Then came speculators, 380 tower projects representing more than 40,000 condos, rising prices and the possibility of a bust.
Posted on Tue, Aug. 21, 2007Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint/license print email
BY JIM LANDERS
The Dallas Morning News
BEATRICE DE GEA/THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
A building boom is transforming the skyline of Panama City.
PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Cement prices have doubled, and it's hard to get a truck to come to your building site. The situation is similar for steel, glass, bricks and all the guts of a high-rise condominium.
The real-estate business is having a party in Panama.
As of July, 380 tower projects were under way or announced, representing more than 40,000 condos and apartments. A year ago, it was 11,000 units.
The builders say Americans looking for the urban high life in retirement will snap up these buildings in a new Miami that's half the price of the real Miami.
''The baby boomers, simply put,'' wrote Roger Khafif, builder of the Trump Ocean Club in the Punta Pacifica shoreline neighborhood, in an e-mail about his target buyers. ``Without them, Panama's real-estate boom would bust.''
Retirement properties have been considerably cheaper in Panama than in Florida, and the climate is as good or better. The local currency is the U.S. dollar. And although Medicare doesn't reach Americans abroad, healthcare is much less expensive there than in the United States.
But speculators are the ones who have put down deposits on 70 percent to 90 percent of these units, said Paul McBride, chief executive of Prima Panama developers. There's no beach on the bay, which is where the 1 million residents of this city pour their sewage. A seven-year, $300 million cleanup is underway.
And falling prices in Miami and elsewhere in the United States may make those Panama condos seem less cheap.
It's hard to find evidence that white-haired North Americans are mounting an invasion of retirees, and you can almost hear the air escaping from the bubble.
The Ice Tower, a 104-story dream of blue and silver, has melted. Two other towers of 96 and 54 floors are not going to get off the ground, either. There are mutterings about whether some developers were simply looking for interest-free loans from the people putting down condo deposits. A Panamanian legislator is proposing to a law requiring developers to pay 6 percent interest on refunded deposits.
Khafif's Trump Ocean Club, a venture with New York developer Donald Trump, is starting to rise. The skyscraper shaped like a sail, he hopes, will be completed in October 2010 with 500 condos and 500 hotel suites with a market value of $404 million.
''Of course we can build a 90- or 104-floor building in Panama,'' Khafif wrote. ``Almost anything can be done if the price is right!! And that was precisely the problem. Plain and simple, the developers sold toooooo cheap.''
A builder needs to sell condos during the construction phase at prices high enough to cover inflation in materials and other construction costs, Khafif argued. ''We . . . launched our modest 66-floor building at three times the market value,'' he wrote, and thus he expects no problems.
There are real-estate booms like this in a dozen Chinese cities and in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai.
Whenever the discussion turns to where all of the money comes from, people look over Panama's shoulder and see Colombia, where cocaine has built fortunes looking to be laundered.
Such whisperings have not stopped other investors from coming. Condos priced at a total of $5.7 billion are on the market in a nation with a $16.5 billion economy. The expansion of the Panama Canal, hopes for big energy investments and happy days in the banking industry all point to rapid economic growth.
In the first five months of this year, Panamanian banks reported profits of $444.1 million, up 19.4 percent from the same period in 2006. The banks say credit is expanding 15 percent a month.
McBride of Prima Panama said the average Panama City condo is selling for more than the average single-family home in the United States. This doesn't hurt the luxury market so much, but it may make a difference for North Americans hoping to stretch their nest eggs by retiring abroad.
''Two or three years ago, the price of a luxury condo was $120 a square foot. Now it's $250 to $300 a square foot,'' McBride said.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Medical tourism to Latin American is on the cusp of booming
Medical tourism to Latin American is on the cusp of booming
August 20, 2007
I have long been convinced that medical tourism will be one of Latin America's biggest industries in the 21st century. On a visit to Panama City recently, I got a glimpse of the coming boom.
It's not just that 100 million Americans will reach retirement age over the next 30 years, and growing numbers of them won't be able to afford ever-rising U.S. health-care costs. Americans already are traveling to Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina and Chile, among other countries, for heart operations, cosmetic surgery or dental work at half price, and with more personalized attention.
Before I tell you what I saw here, let me share with you some figures from a new book by Milica and Karla Bookman.
It quotes United Nations figures as saying that the $4.4 trillion-a-year travel and tourism industry has in recent years become the world's largest industry, bigger than the defense, manufacturing, oil and agriculture sectors. And in many countries, medical tourism is becoming an increasingly growing slice of the travel and tourism sector.
"Several decades ago, when exotic-locale tourism first took off, the attraction was the three S's: sun, sand and sex," the authors write. "The three S's of developing countries have now been replaced by four S's: sun, sea, sand and surgery."
Thailand receives 400,000 medical tourists a year and Costa Rica about 150,000, it says. And one of the reasons Spain's economy is growing twice as fast as that of most of its neighbors is that hundreds of thousands of German, Swedish and British retirees are living several months a year in Spain, enjoying the warm weather, good life and cheaper health care.
Recently, I visited Panama City's brand-new Punta Pacifica Hospital, affiliated with the United States' Johns Hopkins hospitals. Foreigners — mostly Americans without medical insurance or seeking services not covered by their insurance and Canadians who don't want to wait eight months for an operation in their country's socialized health system — already make up about 25 percent of the new hospital's patients.
Rolando Bissot, the hospital's medical director, told me that a simple coronary bypass surgery that costs $60,000 in the United States costs $30,000 at his hospital in Panama. And a breast implant that goes for $12,000 in the United States is performed for $6,000 here, he said. In Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, these procedures are even less expensive.
But will Americans trust Panamanian doctors? I asked. They already do, he said.
Bissot noted that many U.S. doctors are foreign-born. Indeed, the New England Journal of Medicine says that 25 percent of U.S. doctors studied abroad, and 60 percent of these doctors studied in developing countries.
The 65-bed Punta Pacifica Hospital is not only routinely supervised by Johns Hopkins inspectors, but three of its doctors are U.S.-certified surgeons who perform the same procedures in Miami and New York hospitals, Bissot said.
One of them, orthopedic surgeon Jose Jaen of Miami, told me in a telephone interview that he often tells his U.S. patients who can't afford an operation in the United States to have it done in Panama.
"It's the same surgeon, the same operation and the same orthopedic treatment that the patient would get in my Miami clinic, but at half the price," Jaen told me. "And that includes airfare and hotel."
My opinion: The big challenge for Latin America will be to get its hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission International, the international branch of the U.S. agency that accredits U.S. hospitals.
So far, while China, India and several other developing countries have JCI-accredited hospitals, in the Americas outside the United States and Canada only hospitals in Brazil and Bermuda have reached that level, according to the JCI Web page. (Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, among others, are applying for accreditation.)
But we're witnessing the beginning of a booming industry that will expand to retirement communities, health-
focused hotels and spas for all kinds of treatments. Much like Spain, Latin American countries may dramatically improve their standards of living by becoming hosts to rich countries' retirees.
And if the competition helps put downward pressure on U.S. health-care costs, there will be even more reasons to celebrate.
Oppenheimer is a Latin America correspondent for the Miami Herald. Send e-mail to aoppenheimer@herald.com.
August 20, 2007
I have long been convinced that medical tourism will be one of Latin America's biggest industries in the 21st century. On a visit to Panama City recently, I got a glimpse of the coming boom.
It's not just that 100 million Americans will reach retirement age over the next 30 years, and growing numbers of them won't be able to afford ever-rising U.S. health-care costs. Americans already are traveling to Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina and Chile, among other countries, for heart operations, cosmetic surgery or dental work at half price, and with more personalized attention.
Before I tell you what I saw here, let me share with you some figures from a new book by Milica and Karla Bookman.
It quotes United Nations figures as saying that the $4.4 trillion-a-year travel and tourism industry has in recent years become the world's largest industry, bigger than the defense, manufacturing, oil and agriculture sectors. And in many countries, medical tourism is becoming an increasingly growing slice of the travel and tourism sector.
"Several decades ago, when exotic-locale tourism first took off, the attraction was the three S's: sun, sand and sex," the authors write. "The three S's of developing countries have now been replaced by four S's: sun, sea, sand and surgery."
Thailand receives 400,000 medical tourists a year and Costa Rica about 150,000, it says. And one of the reasons Spain's economy is growing twice as fast as that of most of its neighbors is that hundreds of thousands of German, Swedish and British retirees are living several months a year in Spain, enjoying the warm weather, good life and cheaper health care.
Recently, I visited Panama City's brand-new Punta Pacifica Hospital, affiliated with the United States' Johns Hopkins hospitals. Foreigners — mostly Americans without medical insurance or seeking services not covered by their insurance and Canadians who don't want to wait eight months for an operation in their country's socialized health system — already make up about 25 percent of the new hospital's patients.
Rolando Bissot, the hospital's medical director, told me that a simple coronary bypass surgery that costs $60,000 in the United States costs $30,000 at his hospital in Panama. And a breast implant that goes for $12,000 in the United States is performed for $6,000 here, he said. In Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, these procedures are even less expensive.
But will Americans trust Panamanian doctors? I asked. They already do, he said.
Bissot noted that many U.S. doctors are foreign-born. Indeed, the New England Journal of Medicine says that 25 percent of U.S. doctors studied abroad, and 60 percent of these doctors studied in developing countries.
The 65-bed Punta Pacifica Hospital is not only routinely supervised by Johns Hopkins inspectors, but three of its doctors are U.S.-certified surgeons who perform the same procedures in Miami and New York hospitals, Bissot said.
One of them, orthopedic surgeon Jose Jaen of Miami, told me in a telephone interview that he often tells his U.S. patients who can't afford an operation in the United States to have it done in Panama.
"It's the same surgeon, the same operation and the same orthopedic treatment that the patient would get in my Miami clinic, but at half the price," Jaen told me. "And that includes airfare and hotel."
My opinion: The big challenge for Latin America will be to get its hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission International, the international branch of the U.S. agency that accredits U.S. hospitals.
So far, while China, India and several other developing countries have JCI-accredited hospitals, in the Americas outside the United States and Canada only hospitals in Brazil and Bermuda have reached that level, according to the JCI Web page. (Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, among others, are applying for accreditation.)
But we're witnessing the beginning of a booming industry that will expand to retirement communities, health-
focused hotels and spas for all kinds of treatments. Much like Spain, Latin American countries may dramatically improve their standards of living by becoming hosts to rich countries' retirees.
And if the competition helps put downward pressure on U.S. health-care costs, there will be even more reasons to celebrate.
Oppenheimer is a Latin America correspondent for the Miami Herald. Send e-mail to aoppenheimer@herald.com.
The Costa Rica Experience Moves Next Door
Tito Herrera for The New York Times
Tourists visiting a garden in Boquete, Panama, a highlands town near the Barú volcano.
By JEFF KOYEN
Published: August 19, 2007
IT'S a Friday afternoon in Boquete, Panama, and the main street resembles Anytown, U.S.A. There is a mom-and-pop coffee shop with round tables, premade sandwiches and a dessert case. Nearby is a tiny video store, with posters advertising “Misión Imposible Tres” and “La Guerra de Los Mundos.” And down the block is a small deli that serves cheeseburgers with rice and beans.
At midday, when the air is warm but crisp, a casual pace falls over the town. Crocs-wearing tourists mingle with old-timers, making fishing and hiking plans for the following morning.
What feels at times like a newly minted resort town in New England or perhaps Southern California is actually the latest stop on Panama's growing tourist route. Tucked in the highlands near the Barú volcano, in the western Chiriquí region of Panama, Boquete is emerging as one of Central America's latest eco-tourism destinations.
Surrounded by green mountains topped by misty, craggy peaks, Boquete offers plenty of outdoors adventure, like hiking, climbing, bird-watching and white-water rafting. And thanks to a 3,000-foot elevation, the area's microclimate deducts 10 crucial degrees from the incessant lowland heat.
Wispy clouds meander overhead in the morning, but release their grip by midday. It's warm in the daytime, bracing at night, and perfect for growing bananas, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, strawberries and coffee — Chiriquí's main crops.
But unlike most eco-tourist hot spots, Boquete draws people not just to its natural beauty, however lush it may be, but also to its snowbird enclave. In the last two decades, a thriving community of North American baby boomers have built homes in and around town. Attracted first by the Napa-like weather and low cost of living, and then by the lax real estate laws — not to mention potable tap water — several thousand foreign families now own homes in Boquete, according to Tom Byrne, a 39-year-old developer who moved there from Ireland.
And while Boquete's real estate market was once dominated by porch-swinging retirees, the latest wave of arrivals tend to be younger couples in their 40s and 50s. Many are opening so-called hobby businesses — restaurants, touring companies, bed-and-breakfasts and wellness spas — geared for tourists.
While tourism is still light, at least when compared with Costa Rica next door, that is changing. At Amigos Restaurant (Central Park Plaza), opened by two Canadians in the center of town, a few older gringos were sipping beers on a recent Friday night. But the majority of customers were younger tourists, armed with Lonely Planet guides and digital cameras, filling up on hamburgers and French fries.
Boquete “is like Costa Rica 15 years ago,” Mr. Byrne said.
The comparison is apt, but not entirely accurate. Like the popular mountain towns Monteverde and La Fortuna in Costa Rica, Boquete is capitalizing on its forests, rivers and abundant wildlife.
But development in Panama is following a more upscale track. Tourists arrive in rented S.U.V.'s from David, Panama's fourth-largest city, and stay in the high-end hotels hidden off the main road and perched up in the hills.
One that is popular with honeymooners is the Panamonte Inn and Spa (Avenida April 11, 507-720-1324; www.panamonteinnandspa.com), which offers first-name service, candlelit dinners and spa wraps and massages, with garden cabins starting at $126 a night.
Another upscale hotel, La Montaña y el Valle Coffee Estate Inn (Jaramillo Arriba Road, 507-720-2211; www.coffeeestateinn.com), opened by Canadian expatriates, has three secluded bungalows set among jade green coffee trees and exotic flower gardens for $130.
Amenities like high-thread-count sheets and aromatherapy massages have cemented Boquete's reputation as a counterpart to Bocas del Toro, Panama's epicenter for Caribbean-style carousal. Whereas the coast is ideal for the partying singles set, there's nary a nightclub pushing beats into Boquete's fresh night air. After sunset, when most of the tourists have retreated to their luxurious hotels and hillside B & Bs, the town square is as quiet as a church.
Morning is when Boquete springs to life. Most days, a steady stream of blue rafts can be spotted bobbing down the Chiriquí Viejo, Gariche and Dolega rivers. One of the region's oldest outfits, Chiriquí River Rafting (Avenida Central, 507-720-1505; www.panama-rafting com) runs daily trips, from beginners' to Class IV rapids, starting at $60.
For those who want to remain dry, Coffee Adventures (507-720-3852; www.coffeeadventures.net) offers tours of the Kotowa coffee plantation, which claims Panama's oldest coffee mill, for $22.50. Visitors hike through rows of coffee trees, meet the pickers and, of course, sample fresh brews in the mill's cupping room.
Panama also offers magnificent bird-watching. The forests in and around Boquete are home to a dazzling array of quetzals, toucans and parrots.
But for adventure-seekers, there's only one way to appreciate Boquete's natural beauty: “tree trekking” or zip-lining. Boquete Tree Trek (Avenida Central, 507-720-1635; www.aventurist.com) offers half-day trips for $60. After a bumpy uphill ride in the back of a pickup truck, nervous tourists are strapped into harnesses and sent on free-falls through the dense jungle canopy — 12 times.
Then it's back to the hotel for a hot stone massage. And maybe a nice bottle of red wine with dinner. But you'll want to turn in early and sink into the crisp white sheets as a gentle mountain breeze lulls you to sleep. There's plenty to do in the morning.
Tourists visiting a garden in Boquete, Panama, a highlands town near the Barú volcano.
By JEFF KOYEN
Published: August 19, 2007
IT'S a Friday afternoon in Boquete, Panama, and the main street resembles Anytown, U.S.A. There is a mom-and-pop coffee shop with round tables, premade sandwiches and a dessert case. Nearby is a tiny video store, with posters advertising “Misión Imposible Tres” and “La Guerra de Los Mundos.” And down the block is a small deli that serves cheeseburgers with rice and beans.
At midday, when the air is warm but crisp, a casual pace falls over the town. Crocs-wearing tourists mingle with old-timers, making fishing and hiking plans for the following morning.
What feels at times like a newly minted resort town in New England or perhaps Southern California is actually the latest stop on Panama's growing tourist route. Tucked in the highlands near the Barú volcano, in the western Chiriquí region of Panama, Boquete is emerging as one of Central America's latest eco-tourism destinations.
Surrounded by green mountains topped by misty, craggy peaks, Boquete offers plenty of outdoors adventure, like hiking, climbing, bird-watching and white-water rafting. And thanks to a 3,000-foot elevation, the area's microclimate deducts 10 crucial degrees from the incessant lowland heat.
Wispy clouds meander overhead in the morning, but release their grip by midday. It's warm in the daytime, bracing at night, and perfect for growing bananas, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, strawberries and coffee — Chiriquí's main crops.
But unlike most eco-tourist hot spots, Boquete draws people not just to its natural beauty, however lush it may be, but also to its snowbird enclave. In the last two decades, a thriving community of North American baby boomers have built homes in and around town. Attracted first by the Napa-like weather and low cost of living, and then by the lax real estate laws — not to mention potable tap water — several thousand foreign families now own homes in Boquete, according to Tom Byrne, a 39-year-old developer who moved there from Ireland.
And while Boquete's real estate market was once dominated by porch-swinging retirees, the latest wave of arrivals tend to be younger couples in their 40s and 50s. Many are opening so-called hobby businesses — restaurants, touring companies, bed-and-breakfasts and wellness spas — geared for tourists.
While tourism is still light, at least when compared with Costa Rica next door, that is changing. At Amigos Restaurant (Central Park Plaza), opened by two Canadians in the center of town, a few older gringos were sipping beers on a recent Friday night. But the majority of customers were younger tourists, armed with Lonely Planet guides and digital cameras, filling up on hamburgers and French fries.
Boquete “is like Costa Rica 15 years ago,” Mr. Byrne said.
The comparison is apt, but not entirely accurate. Like the popular mountain towns Monteverde and La Fortuna in Costa Rica, Boquete is capitalizing on its forests, rivers and abundant wildlife.
But development in Panama is following a more upscale track. Tourists arrive in rented S.U.V.'s from David, Panama's fourth-largest city, and stay in the high-end hotels hidden off the main road and perched up in the hills.
One that is popular with honeymooners is the Panamonte Inn and Spa (Avenida April 11, 507-720-1324; www.panamonteinnandspa.com), which offers first-name service, candlelit dinners and spa wraps and massages, with garden cabins starting at $126 a night.
Another upscale hotel, La Montaña y el Valle Coffee Estate Inn (Jaramillo Arriba Road, 507-720-2211; www.coffeeestateinn.com), opened by Canadian expatriates, has three secluded bungalows set among jade green coffee trees and exotic flower gardens for $130.
Amenities like high-thread-count sheets and aromatherapy massages have cemented Boquete's reputation as a counterpart to Bocas del Toro, Panama's epicenter for Caribbean-style carousal. Whereas the coast is ideal for the partying singles set, there's nary a nightclub pushing beats into Boquete's fresh night air. After sunset, when most of the tourists have retreated to their luxurious hotels and hillside B & Bs, the town square is as quiet as a church.
Morning is when Boquete springs to life. Most days, a steady stream of blue rafts can be spotted bobbing down the Chiriquí Viejo, Gariche and Dolega rivers. One of the region's oldest outfits, Chiriquí River Rafting (Avenida Central, 507-720-1505; www.panama-rafting com) runs daily trips, from beginners' to Class IV rapids, starting at $60.
For those who want to remain dry, Coffee Adventures (507-720-3852; www.coffeeadventures.net) offers tours of the Kotowa coffee plantation, which claims Panama's oldest coffee mill, for $22.50. Visitors hike through rows of coffee trees, meet the pickers and, of course, sample fresh brews in the mill's cupping room.
Panama also offers magnificent bird-watching. The forests in and around Boquete are home to a dazzling array of quetzals, toucans and parrots.
But for adventure-seekers, there's only one way to appreciate Boquete's natural beauty: “tree trekking” or zip-lining. Boquete Tree Trek (Avenida Central, 507-720-1635; www.aventurist.com) offers half-day trips for $60. After a bumpy uphill ride in the back of a pickup truck, nervous tourists are strapped into harnesses and sent on free-falls through the dense jungle canopy — 12 times.
Then it's back to the hotel for a hot stone massage. And maybe a nice bottle of red wine with dinner. But you'll want to turn in early and sink into the crisp white sheets as a gentle mountain breeze lulls you to sleep. There's plenty to do in the morning.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
CH2M HILL Team Selected as Program Manager for Mega Expansion of Panama Canal
PR Newswire - Press Release
08.17.07, 6:11 PM ET
Most Popular Stories
DENVER, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has awarded CH2M HILL, a global full-service engineering, construction and operations firm the Program Management contract for the $5.25 billion Panama Canal Expansion program. Subcontractors on the team include DHV Group, Grupo TYPSA, CSA Group, and Earth Consultants International.
"We are proud to contribute our global experience to help build not only one of the world's major infrastructure projects, but to build it in such a way as to leave a lasting legacy of sustainable socioeconomic growth and environmental responsibility," said Michael Kennedy, President of CH2M HILL Transportation Group. "We are thrilled to support Panama's incredible vision for its future."
The expansion project involves building a new set of massive locks on both the Atlantic and Pacific ends of the existing canal and will include substantial excavation and dredging. The project schedule calls for the first "Post Panamax" vessel to transit through the expanded canal in 2014, the 100th anniversary of the completion of the original canal. A Post Panamax vessel is the term for ships that are larger than a Panamax and do not fit in the original canal. After expansion, the Panama Canal is expected to be able to handle vessels up to 12000 TEU in size.
"The expansion of the Panama Canal is considered one the most visible and important infrastructure projects in the world, and will affect global commerce significantly over the next century," said Garry Higdem, CH2M HILL's lead executive for the Panama Canal program.
The Program Management function involves assisting the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in the management of all contracts, interfacing with design build and construction teams, as well as numerous stakeholders. "We are honored to team with ACP in delivering this historic project for the citizens of Panama," said Jhan Schmitz, CH2M HILL's Program Manager for the Canal Expansion. "The key to this program's success will be the effective coordination of a world-class multidisciplinary team."
Headquartered in Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in engineering, construction and operations for public and private clients. With $4.5 billion in revenue, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2007). The firm's work is concentrated in the areas of transportation, water, energy, environment, and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer by business media and professional associations worldwide. CH2M HILL has more than 19,000 employees in regional offices around the world.
SOURCE CH2M HILL -0- 08/17/2007 /CONTACT: John Corsi of CH2M HILL, +1-720-286-2087, john.corsi@ch2m.com/ /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060123/LAM077LOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/ /Web site: http://www.ch2m.com / CO: CH2M HILL ST: Australia, Colorado, Panama, Canada IN: CST SU: CON MS-CD -- LAF062 -- 9083 08/17/2007 18:10 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
08.17.07, 6:11 PM ET
Most Popular Stories
DENVER, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has awarded CH2M HILL, a global full-service engineering, construction and operations firm the Program Management contract for the $5.25 billion Panama Canal Expansion program. Subcontractors on the team include DHV Group, Grupo TYPSA, CSA Group, and Earth Consultants International.
"We are proud to contribute our global experience to help build not only one of the world's major infrastructure projects, but to build it in such a way as to leave a lasting legacy of sustainable socioeconomic growth and environmental responsibility," said Michael Kennedy, President of CH2M HILL Transportation Group. "We are thrilled to support Panama's incredible vision for its future."
The expansion project involves building a new set of massive locks on both the Atlantic and Pacific ends of the existing canal and will include substantial excavation and dredging. The project schedule calls for the first "Post Panamax" vessel to transit through the expanded canal in 2014, the 100th anniversary of the completion of the original canal. A Post Panamax vessel is the term for ships that are larger than a Panamax and do not fit in the original canal. After expansion, the Panama Canal is expected to be able to handle vessels up to 12000 TEU in size.
"The expansion of the Panama Canal is considered one the most visible and important infrastructure projects in the world, and will affect global commerce significantly over the next century," said Garry Higdem, CH2M HILL's lead executive for the Panama Canal program.
The Program Management function involves assisting the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in the management of all contracts, interfacing with design build and construction teams, as well as numerous stakeholders. "We are honored to team with ACP in delivering this historic project for the citizens of Panama," said Jhan Schmitz, CH2M HILL's Program Manager for the Canal Expansion. "The key to this program's success will be the effective coordination of a world-class multidisciplinary team."
Headquartered in Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in engineering, construction and operations for public and private clients. With $4.5 billion in revenue, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2007). The firm's work is concentrated in the areas of transportation, water, energy, environment, and industrial facilities. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer by business media and professional associations worldwide. CH2M HILL has more than 19,000 employees in regional offices around the world.
SOURCE CH2M HILL -0- 08/17/2007 /CONTACT: John Corsi of CH2M HILL, +1-720-286-2087, john.corsi@ch2m.com/ /Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060123/LAM077LOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/ /Web site: http://www.ch2m.com / CO: CH2M HILL ST: Australia, Colorado, Panama, Canada IN: CST SU: CON MS-CD -- LAF062 -- 9083 08/17/2007 18:10 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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