JCB from England, Isuzu Motors Limited from Japan and China Railway International Group CO have set up under the conditions of the regime known as SEM (Sede de Empresa Multinacional or Site of a Multinational Company).
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced that from these sites companies will provide services to their subsidiaries in the region.
“… The JCB group, headquartered in England, is dedicated to the manufacture and marketing of heavy equipment for construction, agriculture, recycling and waste management, and power generation, among other things.“
“… China Railway International Group CO from China, is engaged in the development of investment and investment management, technical transfer, import and export of technology and goods.“
What is a MHQ?
MHQ are those companies, Regional or Multinational Companies Headquarters, that from Panama carry out operations or services to their Main Office, subsidiary or affiliate in other countries. A MHQ can be able to operate as a foreign company registered in Panama or as a Panamanian company, property of the transnational company.
The Republic of Panama has a service based economy, for what becomes necessary to take advantage of the globalization and the worldwide structures for the creation of new alternatives that helps for the development of our country.
Panama is located in the center of the American Continent, with access through land, sea and air. It has a tropical climate the whole year, free of natural disasters, and a modern capital city with the largest banking center in Latin America. Having qualified human resource, a stable economy based on the US Dollar currency; a world class communications platform, political and social stability, makes Panama a strategic country for any company looking to relocate or simply open a back office.
All of this makes of Panama the ideal place to establish a Regional or Headquarters of Multinational Company, while supporting the national economy by capital investment, local consumption of goods and services, creating employments and transferring technology and knowledge.
However, it was necessary to count with a regulation that specifies the conditions in order for our country to become a place of Multinational Headquarters. Together with the private sector, the Government of Panama approved a new Law that supports the development of this important sector, through the gathering of tax and immigration incentives under one legal framework and the creation of a Single Window Service to grant Licenses for Multinational Companies Headquarters.
LAW NO. 41 OF AUGUST 24, 2007
By means it has been created a special régime for the establishment and operation of Multinational Companies Headquarters and also the LICENSES COMMISSION OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES HEADQUARTERS AND FURTHERMORE IT DICTATES OTHER DISPOSITIONS.
The Law No. 41 of 2007 define the Company MHQ, as; “A multinational company that from Panama carries out operations that are directed to offer the services defined in this Law to their Main Office or to their subsidiaries or to their affiliates or associate companies, or if they establish their Main Office in Panama, and furthermore Business Groups. The Headquarters will always be part of multinational companies with international or regional or important operations in their origin country.”