The expectation is that GDP will increase by 8.3%, a slight cooling off from the nearly 11% in 2011.  With that will come another round of inflation.

Panama has maintained a remarkable record of economic growth in recent years, despite the effects of the global economic crisis which began in 2008.

In 2011, the GDP growth rate reached 10.9%, driven by the construction sector, which grew by 18.5%, along with mining (18.4%), trade (15.9%), transport and communications (13.7%), financial intermediation (7.6%) and hotels and restaurants (7.6%).

In terms of composition, 24.1% of GDP is contributed to by the transport and communications sector, followed by commerce with 15.2%, financial intermediation and construction.

For 2012 expectations are that it will grow by 8.3%, a slowdown of two and a half percentage points compared to 2011. According to economist Adolfo Quintero, this will force the country to review its high levels of investment and public debt, to match future revenue streams.

In addition to indebtedness, Quintero identified as worrisome the stagnation of manufacturing and agriculture, which have been declining steadily in terms of contributing to GDP since 2007. Some activities such as fishing have shown negative figures since 2009.

“Within the state policy there should be efficient and effective use of available resources in order to avoid macrofiscal difficulties that might endanger our country’s investment grade. It is important to note that productive activities are reducing their participation in the generation of product GDP”, said Quintero.

Source: laestrella.com.pa