Panama is the only country in all of CEntral America that has permission from the USA to use the US Dollar as their official currency. You may however hear Panamanians talk of the Balboa, which is actually the US Dollar.

Panama has created a unique environment for foreign investment since the Investment Stability Law of 1998. Panama came to the conclusion that if it created a stable and secure investment law for foreigners that it would attract a larger foreign investment to Panama. One of the main sections of the law was that a foreigner as an investor has exactly the same rights as a Panamanian, there is no differentiation in the eyes of the law or the government in this case. The law meant that Panama become a safe and secure country for foreigners to invest in with no requirements for special authorizations, permits, or prior registration.

The law also provides a 10 year guarantee for investments that tax, customs, municipal, labor and legal rules will remain the same as those at the time of registration. This secures that no-changes will affect the amortization of investments. Currently more than 2 billion dollars worth of projects have been registered under this legislation.

The Colon free trade zone on the Caribbean side of the Panama canal is one of the largest free trade zones on the Western Hemisphere and the 2nd in the world. The Zone was set up in 1948 just after the 2nd World War and is home to over 1751 merchants and exports over $2 billion annually. The area is a great area for foreigners and Panamanians to do business within.

Investment opportunities in Panama range from Real Estate Development, Tourism, Colon Free Trade Zone projects (ship and port services, cruise ship tourism, future canal construction), Telecommunications, Ecommerce, Petroleum Free Zones, and mining exploration.

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