Marchena said the AmCham Real Estate Committee is an advantage for Panama.
The promotion of Panama as the headquarters of multinational companies is the focus to be given this year to maintain the dynamics of the real estate sector, said the President of the Panamanian Association of Real Estate Brokers and Developers (ACOBIR), Osvaldo Marchena.This issue was addressed by the business leader in the monthly meeting of the AmCham Real Estate Committee.
The promotion of Panama as the headquarters of multinational companies is the focus to be given this year to maintain the dynamics of the real estate sector, said the President of the Panamanian Association of Real Estate Brokers and Developers (ACOBIR), Osvaldo Marchena.This issue was addressed by the business leader in the monthly meeting of the AmCham Real Estate Committee.
Among the topics discussed were collaboration with ACOBIR, a seminar on marketing to foreigners based on overseas marketing surveys, publication of a "Quick Reference Guide to Buying Property in Panama", and the need to reinforce ethics and good business practices in the Panamanian real estate sector, according to information from Amcham.
Marchena emphasized that projections for 2009 point to the desirability of promoting Panama as a center for the headquarters of multinational companies under law 41, in force since August 24, 2007, which has facilitated the installation of 17 large companies in the country. "We are beginning with international partners from countries that have free trade treaties with Panama, such as Chile, Taiwan and Singapore, with networks of real estate professionals in Canada and the United States", he explained.
This, he said, is because the market of retirees and second home owners remains on stand-by, due to the effects of the global situation, while that of a hub of multinational companies has a development potential in the short term."If Panama is a center for multinational companies, these will attract smaller ones rapidly, and they will have to find housing for their staff, helping to boost the market", he explained. Any multinational company with operations that are international or regional and established in Panama, bringing services only to the group it belongs to, either parent company or subsidiaries, affiliates or its partners, which may apply to Law No.41.
The main incentives include exemption from income tax, the organization of plans for the planning of global taxation and the exemption from taxes that would come from services rendered to the parent company, the holding group and/or its subsidiaries and its affiliates based abroad.
Moreover, in the case of services rendered to the parent company, holding group, or subsidiaries or their affiliates, the company pays no income taxes.Along with these incentives, other barriers related to these operations have been eliminated, such as the taxation and social security contributions of the executive employees and the issuance of special visas that allow their holders exemption from working permits and for their dependants to also obtain visas and the elimination of obligatory contributions of Panamanian staff (90 percent).
Moreover, in the case of services rendered to the parent company, holding group, or subsidiaries or their affiliates, the company pays no income taxes.Along with these incentives, other barriers related to these operations have been eliminated, such as the taxation and social security contributions of the executive employees and the issuance of special visas that allow their holders exemption from working permits and for their dependants to also obtain visas and the elimination of obligatory contributions of Panamanian staff (90 percent).
The system employed is similar to that offered by Singapore to foreign companies operating in that nation, such as tax exemptions, visa facilities, special provisions for both labor and immigration.Companies that have already been installed in the country under this law include Procter and Gamble, Caterpillar, Roche, Merck, LG, AES Panama, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Peugeot, Western Union, Thunderbird and Hyundai Heavy Industries, among others.
