NOTE: THIS IS JUST A TRANSLATION OF A NEWS ARTICLE APPEARING IN EL CAPITAL FINANCIERO NEWSPAPER IN PANAMA ON 10 FEBRUARY 2018. THE ARTICLE IS AUTHORED BY PRISCILLA PEREZ AND IS THE PROPERTY OF EL CAPITAL FINANCIERO. THE BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN PANAMA DOES NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF THE CONTENTS OF THE ARTICLE, JUST THE TRANSLATION PRESENTED BELOW.
Since Law 41 of 24 August 2007 was approved, which creates a special system for the establishment and operation of Multinational Companies’ Headquarters (MHQ) in Panama, 146 companies have obtained licenses to operate as MHQ businesses in the country.
Some of these that received their licenses in 2017 are in the process of setting themselves up.
It was reported that the MHQ businesses have up to six months to establish themselves once they receive the license, and if they experience delays due to their internal procedures, they can request an extension.
However, they are not obligated to officially inform the Ministry of Trade and Industries about the progress regarding their establishment in the country.
The Ministry of Trade and Industries, to this day, has not received any extension requests from the twenty businesses that decided to enter the country last year through the MHQ law.
Boeing, Visa, Panalpina, Hankook, Grunenthal Pharma GmbH & Co, McKinsey & Company, Athens PVT Limited, Grupo Elite Flower, among others, comprise some of the companies who received licenses in 2017 to establish themselves in Panama.
Among the 146 MHQ businesses in the country, the Ministry of Trade and Industries estimates an investment of one billion dollars and 6,000 jobs generated by these companies.
According to the entity, these results confirmed the confidence of investors in the competitive advantages of Panama, and the laws that promote investment.
Foreign direct investment reached $5.2 billion in the first semester of 2017, which reflects an increase of 15.9% in comparison with the same period in 2016, reported the Ministry of Trade and Industries.
COMPANIES
In 2007 when the MHQ system was created, only two companies installed themselves: Maersk and Proctor & Gamble.
While in 2008, there were eight multinationals that decided to come to Panama, among them: Caterpillar, Total, AES, Western Union, Halliburton, and LG.
In 2009, there were a total of eleven companies established in the country. Nestle, Mars, Cemex, Kumho Tire, Heineken, Phillips, Pan American Life, are some of them.
Vanity Fair, Adidas, Sanofi Aventis, Robert Bosch, Alfa Laval, Puig, among six others were established in 2010.
In 2011, 14 MHQ businesses arrived. Johnson & Johnson, Huawei, Grainger, Unilever, Wrigley, Bauer and another eight multinationals complete the list of those who were established that year.
Telefonica, S.A. 3M, Under Armour Inc, Tetra Pak, Grupo Evergreen, Ralph Lauren Corporation, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited, The Brink’s Company received their MHQ licenses in 2012. That year, 19 companies established themselves in the country.
In 2013, a total of 16 companies based themselves in Panama. Hino Group, Ace Limited, Sony Corporation, China State Construction LTD, Grupo Hospiten, Nike, Inc, Banesco International Financial Group are in the list corresponding to that year.
On the other hand, nine multinationals received their licenses in 2014. Cementos Argos, Royal BAM Group, Cochlear Limited Group, Cotecna, S.A, Dell Inc, and others.
Intcomex Inc, Tadano Ltd, Daewoo International Corporation, Group Michelin, Acino Group, Mercon Ventures, S.A., Yamaha Motor Co, are on the list of MHQ businesses that arrived in 2015.
In 2016, likewise in 2007, a total of 20 businesses entered Panama under the MHQ regime.
Cosco Container Lines, The Estee Lauder Companies Inc, Pandora, Payless Inc, among others were established in 2016, while in 2017 Red Bull GMBH, The Central America Bottling Corporation, Visa, Athens PVT Limited, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp and others received their licenses in 2017.
The United States continues to be the country with the greatest quantity of businesses with regional headquarters in Panama.
Read the original article here: https://elcapitalfinanciero.com/panama-146-multinacionales-tienen-licencias-sem-inversion-alcanza-los-1000-millones/
