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In the News from Panama

Expert Touts Benefits of Investing in Panama Real Estate

The founder of a Central American investment firm makes the case for Panama as “an ideal country to do business” in a new article.

Randall Ortega Castillo of RACO Investment, which primarily works with small- and medium-sized businesses in Panama and Costa Rica, says investing in Panama “makes sense” in the current climate. Panama has been” one of the stronger Central American countries during the COVID-19 pandemic,” and provides a climate that is “stable in social, political, labor and economic matters,” he writes.  

“On the legal side, Panama presents a transparent and robust environment, which improves the issue of investment,” according to Castillo. The use of the dollar, the country’s “strategic location” and abundance of natural resources all add value to the proposition. “Investing in Panama real estate today opens up great options to generate large dividends.” Casillo writes.

Castillo argues that for the European investor, “this is the best time to invest in Panama, as it helps it to dodge the current housing bubble, taking advantage of a euro stronger than the dollar to invest in dollarized markets.” In addition, Panama is a popular second place of residence for many retirees around the world, mainly Americans, “under the large tax incentives offered by Panamanian laws.”

(Those new laws include a new “Golden Visa” program, the Red Carpet Visa, which provides a quick and efficient way for investors to earn a permanent residency visa with the purchase of Panama real estate.)

The new Panama Investor visa law was enacted in large part to support the property market, the type of government support that makes Panama so attractive. According to the Panamanian National Association of Real Estate Promoters and Brokers (ACOBIR), about 20 percent of real estate investment in Panama is made by foreigners, Castillo notes. He believes the bullish upswing could last seven or eight years, due to the expansion of the Panama Canal.”

“Investing in Panama has never been simpler,” Castillo writes. The government recently established the Panama Agency for the Attraction of Investment and Export Promotion (PROINVEX) in order to attract more foreign investment, he notes. The group is an autonomous government agency attached to the Ministry of Trade and Industries of Panama focused on helping foreign real estate investors.

“The intention of the creation of PROINVEX is that the government of Panama can provide as much assistance as possible regarding the legal and bureaucratic processes that foreign investors have to comply with if they wish to invest in Panama,” Castillo explains.