Investment Flows Between Panama and Colombia

According to the Colombian Central Bank in the second quarter of 2011, the amount of foreign investment received was $3,372 million of which correspond to $176 million from Panama.

The FDI influx into Panama was the highest, surpassing even that of Chile and Brazil.

"But what do these statistics really mean? Well, experts in Colombia are responding by arguing that much of these investments are made by Columbians channelling funds into Panama and later returning them to Colombia, which does not stop still this being counted as foreign investment.

"There are countries and partners in the Caribbean that have been gaining importance in Central America and that is what is happening in Panama", said Camila Quevedo, an economist of Macroeconomics Research at Bancolombia", in an article in Capital.com.pa.

Source: Capital.com.pa

More on this topic

Panama: Foreign Direct Investment Increases 26%

September 2010

In the first six months of this year, Foreign Direct Investment grew 26% when compared to the same period of 2009.

According to Roberto Henríquez, Commerce & Industry Ministry, foreign investors are showing the confidence they have in the country by pouring around $1.14 billion in the nation.

More FDI for All of the Region in 2011

May 2012

Foreign Direct Investment in 2011, in millions: Panama - $2,790, Costa Rica - $2,104, Honduras - $1,014, Guatemala - $985, Nicaragua - $460, El Salvador - $386.

Notable for its importance to the respective economies, is the growth of the arrival of foreign direct investment in Nicaragua, which increased by $460 million compared to 2010.

El Salvador Raised $542 million in FDI in 2011

January 2012

Up to September 2011, the country received a net income of $541.7 million on account of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), $95 million more than in the same period in 2010.

A press release from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador reads:

From January to September 2011, El Salvador received a total net income of $541.7 million on account of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), higher than the $94.9 million in the comparable period of 2010, according to the Management and Studies of Economic Statistics of the Central Bank.

Foreign Direct Investment in Central America

October 2011

In the first six months of 2011, Panama received $1,426 million, 17% more than in the first half of 2010. Costa Rica received $1.057 million (+45%), Honduras $486 million (+15%), Guatemala $485 million (+54%), El Salvador $376 million (+1404%), and Nicaragua $284 million (+30%).

A report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), confirms the upward trend in foreign direct investment (FDI) which has been recorded since 2010, for all of Latin America and the Caribbean.