Panama Business

Panama, Panama. Air Transat presented its new flight program for winter 2015-2016, which offers vacationers more than 35 Sun destinations from 19 Canadian airports, in addition to increased capacity on flights to the South and some of Europe's most sought-after destinations during the winter months. True to its position of leading Canadian leisure airline, Air Transat also meets the needs of its Canadian clientele by adding 16 new routes to its Sun destination flight schedule.
Travellers from Ontario will benefit from the advantages of a new flight to the Rio Hato airport in Panama, as well as the addition of a flight to La Romana, Dominican Republic .
Air Transat is Canada's leading holiday travel airline. Every year, it carries some 3 million passengers to nearly 60 destinations in 30 countries aboard its fleet of Boeing narrow-body and Airbus wide-body jets. The company employs approximately 2,000 people. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., an integrated inter…

Panama, Panama. Punta Pacifica Realty’s groundbreaking property marketing program has generated its first big success story. A luxurious three-bedroom penthouse in Trump Ocean Club, one of the first properties enrolled in PPR’s exclusive Trophy Property Collection, has sold for $1.59 million to a longstanding PPR client.
The Trophy Property Collection, launched in August, is a unique program designed to connect Panama City’s most beautiful properties with Punta Pacifica Realty’s select clientele. PPR’s team of Panama City real estate experts create a detailed marketing plan for each Trophy Property, including professional videos, a designer staging for showings and special prominence on PPR’s digital platforms.
The Trump penthouse was given the white glove treatment and sold to a buyer from North America, who is planning to rent the apartment and then live in it a few years from now. The buyer is an existing PPR property management client who was looking for a second property in Punta P…

Panama, Panama. Panama's government has imposed more than $1.2 million in fines on two companies tasked with building a controversial hydroelectric dam in the western province of Chiriqui, according to one of the firms, which said an appeal has been filed. The Environment Ministry imposed the fines on Aug. 31, Generadora del Istmo S.A., or Genisa, a Panamanian company.
Genisa, holder of the concession to develop the Barro Blanco project, and Hidraulica de San Jose, the company subcontracted to build the dam, filed an appeal "against each and every element" of the official resolution, the company said. It added that the evidence would show the companies had acted properly in carrying out the work.
Genisa was fined $775,200 for non-compliance with its obligation to "negotiate with, relocate and compensate those affected by the hydroelectric project," which is being built in the Tole district on the Tabasara River, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Panama City…

Panama, Panama. The Panama Canal Authority defied poor sentiment last week when it printed a US$450m 20-year debut bond tight to the sovereign despite a particularly rocky week for emerging markets.
The single A rated operator of the Panama Canal cut a solitary figure in the moribund US high-grade primary market where much of the paper was placed. The credit, rated A2/A-/A, was largely marketed to US municipal analysts and high-grade infrastructure players who understood such structures and saw value in the name.
Emerging markets accounts accustomed to pricing quasi sovereigns with a pick up to government paper thought IPTs of Treasuries plus 230bp was far too tight for their liking. At that level, the operator of the Panama Canal was offering just 35bp over where a new Panama 20-year would come, according a syndicate official away from the deal.
Its autonomy from government control made the Panama Canal Authority stand out from other quasi sovereigns and helped it obtain a credit stand…

Panama, Panama. Copa is offering one daily round-trip flight to its hub in Panama City which started Sept. 17. The airline will use Boeing 737-800 jets on the route, which will become Copa's twelfth to the United States.
San Francisco customers will be able to connect to Copa's destinations in Central and South America.
"This new service offers a world of possibilities to our customers, with connections to 55 cities in Latin America," San Francisco International Airport Director John Martin says in a statement. "We appreciate Copa Airlines' selection of SFO for its growth in the United States."
Similarly, Copa will be able to offer numerous connections via San Francisco on its Star Alliance partner United. San Francisco is one of United's busiest hubs.
"Copa's new flight not only will greatly enhance business and leisure travel options between San Francisco and Panama, it also will increase connectivity with 55 destinations throughout …

Panama, Panama. Metro de Panama has awarded Consorcio Línea, a Brazilian/Spanish consortium of Alstom, CIM, Sofratesa, Thales and TSO, a $2.2 billion contract to supply Line 2 of the Panama Metro system on a turnkey basis.
Consortium leader Alstom, whose share of the contract is approximately $338 million, will supply an integrated rapid transit system that includes 21 Metropolis trainsets, traction power substations (among them a Hesop reversible substation) and Urbalis, Alstom’s CBTC (communications-based train control) system. Urbalis, which controls train movements and enables them to operate safely at higher frequencies and speeds, will enable 90-second headways.
Line 2, expected to open in 2019, will be 13 miles long and include 16 stations. Elevated, it will run from San Miguelito to Nuevo Tocumen and will be able to carry up to 40,000 passengers per hour, per direction. Line 2 will interconnect with Line 1, which Consórcio Línea supplied and inaugurated in April 2014. With the n…

Panama, Panama. Joining Uniweld in the celebration, will be renown brands such as Makita, Ridgid, Stanley, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Champion, and many other valued suppliers to Centro Industrial, S.A.. As stated by Uniweld's Director of International Sales, Richard Apodaca, "We are honored to be part of the celebration and to be associated with such a prestigious company, as is Centro Industrial.".
The anniversary event for Centro Industrial, S.A, which hosted individuals from the welding industry, was held on Wednesday, September 16, 2015. Centro Industrial, S.A. is among the largest hardware stores in Panama with well over 60,000 products in their inventory. Among the products they represent, is the Uniweld brand of products which include principally their line of oxy/fuel welding and cutting equipment and accessories. Centro Industrial, S.A., prides itself on offering Panamanians with leading brands in diverse sectors of the industry, be it for home repair, or industr…

Panama,Panama. The IAOM Latin America District will hold its 39th annual technical conference in Panama City, Panama in February 2016. Developed by and for operative millers, the IAOM meeting will focus on technical aspects of flour mill operations. Day one will feature a milling specific workshop. The second day will offer attendees the opportunity to learn about the newest innovations in the industry, and share in roundtable discussions about topics such as employee management, product protection, facilities management and technical operations.

UBER launches service for Businesses (U4B) in Panama. "Uber for Business", known as U4B for its acronym was launched in Panama.Company executives will be registered to determine use for their employees and partners.
Uber for Business has had a tremendous reception in all cities where it operates. Companies in the Uber platform can quickly and easily solve the mobility needs of its partners and employees.
Company executives will be registered in U4B determine use for their employees and partners. From the platform, companies can authorize who can use the service to meet their business needs of transport by providing precise usage times, points of departure, arrival and other detailed rules. All from a single control platform, which facilitates the estimation and reporting of expenditures.
U4B was launched last year in several US cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC and in July of this year in Mexico City and Guadalajara.
"Uber for Bu…

New Orleans business leaders coming to Panama on trade mission related to the expansion of the Panama Canal.New Orleans business leaders are hoping to strengthen ties with Panama and will lead a trade mission to the Central American region this week.
With the Panama Canal being widened, so-called mega ships will be able to bring 14,000 containers of freight at a time to this country. Local leaders hope to bring more of that business up the Mississippi River.
The trade mission is being organized by GNO Inc. A diverse group of industries are participating in the trip, including representatives from the banking, tourism, technology industries as well as the international trade sector.
The group will visit the Panama Canal expansion site, meet with Panamanian business leaders from multiple sectors including infrastructure development, financial services, tourism, renewable energy, and technology, and network with key business leaders.
"I think we're going back to the future,&quo…

Punta Pacifica Realty Launches Exclusive Service for Luxury Panama Properties. As part of an expansion of its real estate services, Punta Pacifica Realty has introduced a private marketing program to help link sellers and buyers of luxury property in Panama. 
The Trophy Property Collection, the first of its kind in Panama, is designed to connect Panama City’s most beautiful properties with Punta Pacifica Realty’s select clientele. Only properties with special attributes, and that are priced at more than $750,000, will be considered for the program.
Trophy Property homes will be marketed exclusively through Punta Pacifica Realty (PPR) and owners will receive the white glove concierge treatment. Extra services include pre-screening of potential buyers, eliminating the “Lookie Lous”; special Web site promotions; and professional staging services.
“These are properties that deserve special treatment,” said Duncan McGowan, President of Punta Pacifica Realty. “The Trophy Property Collection…

UGE and OTEPI Continue Success in Panama by Providing Solar to Mega Storage. UGE International Ltd. a global leader in distributed renewable energy solutions for businesses, and OTEPI Renewables, an energy-related company subsidiary of OTEPI Group (founded in 1967), announced they will design and install solar systems for all of Mega Storage's locations in Panama. The custom photovoltaic arrays will offset over 30% of the electricity used by the buildings, providing significant savings for Mega Storage.
"In choosing to use solar, we reduce our electricity expenses, avoid the volatile price of electricity, and show a commitment towards the environment," said Orlando Wong, General Manager of Mega Storage. "We are proud to be pioneers in the self-storage industry in Latin America generating onsite electricity through solar modules."
The deployment of distributed renewable energy is growing across Latin America, with Panama especially well positioned for significant…

AES Awarded Panama’s First Natural Gas-Fired Generation Plant. The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) announced today that, its subsidiary, Gas Natural Atlantico S. de R.L., has won a competitive bid process conducted by the Electric Transmission Company, SA (ETESA), the state’s electric transmission company, to supply 350 MW of new capacity. The project will include the construction of a 350 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired plant with a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), and a 170,000 m3 LNG storage tank and regasification facility, to supply gas to the plant, as well as to potentially serve growing demand for natural gas in Central America.
“Together with our local partner, Inversiones Bahia, we are very happy to announce that we were the lowest bidder for ETESA’s 10-year PPA for 350 MW. We will construct a low emission combined cycle power plant, which will be fueled by LNG via the new regasification terminal on Panama’s Atlantic coast,” said Andrés Gluski, AES President and Chief …

Bannockburn Global Forex expands to Latin America and visits Panama.  Bannockburn is a leading provider of foreign currency transactions and hedging services, which now local companies in Panama can benefit from.
The company's services will prove very useful to local companies in Panama who regularly deal in foreign exchange and have to handle payables/receivables in foreign exchange or other hedging products. Bannockburn Global Forex is also a boutique capital markets trading firm specializing in currency advisory and payment services. The firm has a business model that is purely client oriented. Its principal focus is on combining its 125 years of experience in financial markets with highly cost efficient currency transactions to provide expert level consulting and foreign exchange payment services to its valued clients.
With their highly customer oriented focus, Bannockburn aims to provide consulting in doing business in over 90 currency pairs used worldwide. One major benefit i…