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The last Investors' trip took place from
24th February to 3rd
March 2018
There won't be any further trips.
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, February, 2018
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, February, 2016
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, March, 2014
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, March, 2012
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, May, 2011
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, February, 2010
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, February, 2009
Picture gallery of the investors’ trip, February, 2008
We are happy to give individual travellers
further information. However, due to our
very lean organisation, we are not able to offer an escort to the plantations.
PANAMA – BASIC INFORMATION
Panama (Panamá in Spanish) is a small country in Central
America, bordering on Costa Rica in the West and on Columbia in
the East. The Panama Canal crosses the country and connects the
Atlantic (Caribbean) in the North with the Pacific in the South.
The Panama Canal is being expanded since 2007. On both sides –
Atlantic and Pacific - new, three-tier locks are being built in
addition to the existing ones. The amplified Canal is supposed
to be inaugurated in 2015.
Panama lies on the narrowest part of the Central American
isthmus and is 700 km long. The Central American Cordillera
follows the coasts and in the West. carries the extinct volcano
Barú (3,475 m), the highest mountain in the country.
The most important income sources of the Panamanian economy are
the Panama Canal, on the one hand, which offers about 8,000
people jobs in administration, management, and maintenance and,
on the other hand, the registration of ships.
The Panama Canal is 82 km long and 12 m deep and is transited
annually by almost 15,000 ships with 200 million tonnes of
cargo, fetching 1.73 billion dollars for the country in 2011.
The international community (and the USA in particular) have a
vital stake in preserving the political and economical stability
of the country. On a security-political level, Panama limits
itself to a guardian role. It has a police force; the army was
abolished by a reform of the Constitution. The defence of the
territory is guaranteed by international treaties.
Panama is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation of
American States, the Latin American and Caribbean Economic
Association, Non-Aligned Nations Conference, the World Bank, the
Inter-American Development Bank, the International Currency
Fund, and the World Trade Organisation.
Panama – Salient points
Form of Government
Presidential republic. The President of the Republic is elected
for five years and is also the Head of State.
The country is organised in nine provinces and three large and
two smaller Indian reserves (comarcas).
Official language
Spanish. Approximately every seventh Panamanian also speaks
English, more in Panama City, less in rural areas.
Independence
Panama was a Spanish colony until 1821. It became independent of
Columbia in 1903.
Population
3,571,185 (2011). The most densely populated areas are on the
Pacific Coast and along the Canal Zone. More than half the
population live in towns.
Surface
77,082 km², thereof 210 km² water. The coastline is 2,800 km.
Capital
Panama City, established 1519, approx. 1,300,000 inhabitants.
The city bears comparison to international standards. Since the
‘Seventies, it has become one of the most important financial
centres in Latin America.
Tropical Climate
In the coastal areas the average annual temperature is around
25°C. In the hills and mountains it is cooler. The rainy season
lasts from April to November. The Caribbean side of the country
is rainier than the Pacific side.
Currency
Balboa (B/. PAB), divided into 100 centavos. The Balboa is fixed
at par with the United States dollar. Panama mints its own
coinage but uses US dollars as its paper currency.
International dialing code +507
Travel advice:
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/laender-reise-information/panama/reisehinweise-panama.html
Weather forecast:
http://ch.wetter.com/panama/NAPA.html
Panama – today
There is no denying the long-term influence of the USA on the
Panamanian economy. The free trade zone Colón is a hub for
global trade. The infrastructure is relatively robust. Timber
exports benefit from the fact that the transport infrastructure
is highly developed.
The distances from the plantations to the export ports are
relatively short. As Panama is an import country, the costs for
export containers for heavy goods (logs, wood) are low.
The banking centre Panama hosts over 120 resident foreign banks
and is well developed and internationally aligned. Panama has no
national restrictions on financial import and export. Inflation
is one of the lowest in South and Central America.
The Government has introduced investment incentives such as tax
exemption for profits resulting from forestry and tourist
operations. It endeavours to protect Panama’s natural
rainforests. Plantations that are planted before 2018 are
tax-exempt for income from wood sales.
Panama has survived the global financial crisis of the past
years without any major losses.
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