Synopsis
The Republic of Panama occupies an area of 77,082 square kilometres and is situated between Costa Rica in Central America and Columbia in South America with coastlines on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Its capital, Panama City, is on the Pacific coast at the entrance of the Panama Canal. The country has a population of approximately 2 million of which 700,000 people live in Panama City.
The Constitution of Panama provides for a Republican form of Government. Citizens over the age of 18 years have the right and obligation to vote directly for a President and two Vice Presidents, and to vote for appointment of Legislators to the Legislative Assembly. For the purpose of the election of Legislators, the country is divided into Electoral Circuits with an average of 30,000 voters in each.
Panamanian law is based on the Spanish Civil Code, although the company law has been taken from the corporation law of Delaware in the USA.
The official language is Spanish. Documents in a foreign language, which require to be filed at Companies Registry must be accompanied by a Spanish translation. Equally company documents in Spanish are accompanied by an English translation. Spanish and English are used equally in business circles.
Panama City is linked by major scheduled airlines, through regular daily flights, with the principle cities of North, Central and South America, Europe and the Far East.
It has excellent telecommunications and postal facilities, and courier services are well established in the country.
The official currency is the Balboa, which, under a monetary agreement of 1904 with the United States, is at par with the United States dollar and is freely convertible. The US Dollar is also legal tender, and since there is no Panamanian paper currency it circulates freely.
By use of nominee services, it is possible to protect the identity of the beneficial ownership of a company incorporated in Panama.
User login
This is a cut-down version of this jurisdiction information sheet. To view the full information sheet, please enter your e-mail address and country of residence below and click Login (see our privacy policy about how we use your e-mail address).
Last reviewed: Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the details contained herein are correct and up-to-date, it does not constitute legal or other professional advice. We do not accept any responsibility, legal or otherwise, for any error or omission.
Cyprus Profile, April 2012
Seeking financial reassurance
lan Le Breton, Gibraltar Magazine, March 2012
Nationality by Investment
Howard Bilton, HK Golfer, January 2012