2017年-世界发展银行全球_Economy_Profile_of_Panama_68页_1mb

Doing Business 2018: Panama Summary

Core Content Overview

The Doing Business 2018 report, published by the World Bank Group, evaluates business regulations and their implementation across 190 economies, including Panama. It focuses on key areas that impact the ease of doing business, such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency. It also measures labor market regulation.

The report provides quantitative indicators that reflect the distance to frontier (DTF), a metric that compares an economy's performance to the best practices observed globally. Panama's DTF score and rankings are presented alongside regional and global comparator economies.

Main Indicators and Performance in Panama

Key Information

Starting a Business in Panama

• Legal Form: Sociedad Anónima (S.A.) - Corporation
• Paid-in Minimum Capital: 0% of income per capita
• City Covered: Panama City
• Procedures: 5 procedures for both men and women
• Time: 6 days
• Cost: 5.7% of income per capita

Procedures:

1. Hire a registered agent to prepare the articles of association (1 day, USD 200)
2. Notarize the articles of incorporation (1 day, USD 75)
3. Register at the Mercantile Division of the Public Registry and pay the Annual Franchise Tax (2 days, USD 50 for the first USD 10,000, plus 0.75 cents per 1,000, and USD 250 for annual tax)
4. Obtain a notice of operations through the "Panama Emprende" website (1 day, USD 55 for legal entities)
5. Request an employers' inscription number and register employees at the Social Security Administration (1 day, no charge)

Dealing with Construction Permits in Panama

• Estimated Warehouse Value: USD 623,563.20
• Procedures: 18 procedures
• Time: 105 days
• Cost: 2.5% of warehouse value
• Building Quality Control Index: 9.0 (out of 15)

Procedures:

1. Obtain a good standing certificate (2 days, USD 30)
2. Conduct a geotechnical study (30 days, USD 2,000)
3. Conduct an environmental study (23 days, USD 2,500)
4. Obtain a topographical survey (14 days, USD 1,250)
5. Notarize the environmental study form (1 day, USD 3)
6. Obtain preliminary approval from the Environmental Authority (15 days, USD 350)
7. Submit drawings to the Municipality and obtain clearance (7 days, USD 1)
8. Hold consultation with the Municipality to determine approvals (6 days, USD 370)
9. Obtain signature of a certified fire specialist (2 days, no charge)
10. Obtain preliminary approval from Ministry of Public Works and Fire Department (1 day, USD 10)
11. Request and obtain construction permit (15 days, USD 6,236)
12. Request and connect to water and sewerage services (14 days, USD 287)
13. Receive inspection from the Municipal Office (Ministry of Public Works) (1 day, no charge)
14. Receive inspection from the Fire Department Safety Office (1 day, no charge)

Additional Notes

• Distance to Frontier (DTF): Measures how far an economy is from the best practices observed globally.
• Ease of Doing Business Ranking: Ranges from 1 to 190, based on the DTF score.
• Methodology: The report uses a standardized business model to ensure comparability across economies.
• Online Procedures: Count as 0.5 days in the total time calculation.
• Gender-specific Procedures: For Panama, procedures are the same for men and women.
• Data Collection: The most recent data were collected in June 2017.

Conclusion

The Doing Business 2018 report highlights Panama's regulatory environment for businesses, particularly in the areas of starting a business and dealing with construction permits. While Panama performs relatively well compared to its regional peers, it still has room for improvement in terms of reducing the number of procedures, time, and cost associated with these processes. The report serves as a benchmark for reform and encourages economies to adopt more efficient and transparent regulations.