The Real Estate Sector Widens Options
The estate sector searches for new alternatives in the multinationals.
PANAMA. Facing a reduction in potential clients for the purchase of luxury residences, the president of the Panamanian Association of Real Estate Brokers and Promoters, Osvaldo Marchena, proposes to take advantage of the conditions in Panama as a logistical center for transnationals to soften the impact of the “temporary reduction” of residential demand by foreign clients.
Marchena explained that there are large international companies interested in investing in Central America and they will have a need to base themselves in a strategic place with the right conditions. This signifies an opportunity for Panama, which possesses infrastructure, technology, and a telecommunication network.
The businessman assures that the country has the capacity to offer immediately residences and offices to those executives nad employees at the top of the corporate hierarchy that would have to move along with the company.
“When a company says I’m going to Panama, the executives need a place to live and can’t wait four years for a building to be completed,” he said.
“In Singapore there are more than 5,000 multinationals and in the world there are 60,000 in the same category,” he added.
Currently, in the Economic Area of Panama Pacific, operate the transnationals Dell as a “call center”, River Latinoamerica Industrial, I.P. Leather Corp, the Singaporean company Aerospace Engineering and ACCEL. Also Caterpillar and Procter & Gamble decided to move their Latin American seats to this special place. Meanwhile 3M is deciding when they will move. There are also credit-related entities that such as the Banco Latinoamericano de Reexportaciones that have Panama as their principal office.
But for the construction sector, the president of the Panamanian Chamber of Construction, Jaime Jované, suggests large investments in infrastructure to palliate the deficiency in demand of high cost properties.
DATA
According to the Comptroller, residencial projects in January of 2009 reduced by 31.2%, principally in the district of Panama City and San Miguelito.
Multinationals Dell, Aerospace Engineering, ACCEL and Caterpillar settled in the Economic Area of the Pacific.