Panama's economic recovery has been "very strong," but the outlook remains uncertain as growth is projected to slow to 5% this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Friday, Reuters reported. Panama faces risks of new external shocks as well as potential disruptions to copper mining after delays reaching a renewed agreement with Minera Panama, the IMF said. Canadian miner First Quantum owns a 90% interest in the Cobre Panama mine through its unit Minera Panama. Panama's inclusion on the Financial Action Task Force grey list also poses risks.
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Panama
The Panamanian attorney general’s office will ask a judge to order Odebrecht to pay fines due in 2019 and 2020 after the corruption-ensnared Brazilian conglomerate failed to pay, prosecutor Anilu Batista said on Friday, Reuters reported. Panamanian authorities fined Odebrecht in 2017 for paying bribes in exchange for construction contracts in the Central American country. The company owes more than $35.5 million, a judicial source at the attorney general’s office said. Odebrecht did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Panama’s Copa Airlines on Wednesday reported that it earned almost no income between April and June, with revenue falling 98% as coronavirus-related measures virtually shuttered the Panama City airport that serves as its home base, Reuters reported. Panama’s tough anti-coronavirus measures, including a travel ban that will go at least through August, has also become a radical test of Copa’s resilience. In normal times, Copa is considered Latin America’s most financially successful airline, known for steady profits, low debt and a strong cash position.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is showing little inclination to intervene in the sale of Nortel's prime assets to a foreign buyer, saying he is reluctant to erect protectionist barriers in Canada while preaching the benefits of freer trade in the Americas, The Globe and Mail reported. Mr. Harper rejected a call from Research In Motion Ltd. for the government to simply block the sale of Nortel Networks Corp.'s wireless assets to Ericsson for $1.13-billion, but left open the prospect of a review under the Investment Canada Act.
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Ecuador’s default on $3.9 billion of international bonds means it’s only a matter of time before the country drops the U.S. dollar as its currency, Goldman Sachs Group has said, Bloomberg reported. Ecuador’s use of the dollar gives President Rafael Correa no outlet for providing credit to the economy as access to foreign financing dries up and revenue from sales of oil, the nation’s biggest export, tumbles.
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