The issuance of corporate debt and multilateral organizations made in Panama will have access to a broader international market and with greater options to attract investments. The Latin American Stock Exchange (Latinex) announced that access was obtained to Euroclear Bank, a capital market infrastructure and provider of post-trading services, which allows settlement and custody services of national and cross-border securities for bonds, stocks and investment funds. With this ecosystem, issues of corporate debt and multilateral organizations that meet the established requirements and are registered in Latinex may apply to this link system between Euroclear Bank and Central Latinoamericana de Valores (Latinclear), called iLink (International Link).
In a statement, Latinex explained that Panama has maintained a link with Euroclear Bank since 2014 to internationalize local debt issues, and with the opening of this new phase, access to international investors is expanded, which offers a series of benefits such as the convertibility of securities to Euroclearables, direct access to international investors, greater diversification in the investor base, as well as a boost to liquidity and market growth. The president of the Panamanian Capital Market Association (Apamec), Sergi Lucas, indicated that this access is a milestone for the Panamanian capital market and for the financial sector in general.”It positions Panama on the path of becoming an international and regional financial center. This agreement is the result of two elements, the first a tireless work of Latinex and also the country’s effort to get off the lists, this has been key to achieving this approval,” Lucas said.
The president of Apamec explained that any local or international issuer that operates and issues on the Latinex stock exchange, may have access to any European investor or who is in Euroclear, to buy those papers. “Until now what happened was that any investor who wanted to buy Panamanian papers had to have an investment account in a Panamanian stock house, or in a stock exchange in a Central American country, but now an entire continent of investors is opening up to us who will be able to start operating with Panama, which is extraordinary,” Sergi Lucas said.
He added that this is one more step and it is essential to continue exploring business opportunities and they should be sought. “We have put the investment highway between Europe and Panama, but for those cars to arrive, or those investors, we must make a marketing effort in that continent. Our competitors have been doing it for a long time, we have to start cutting distances,” stressed the president of Apamec. He said that they will now see larger regional issuers, because they will see Panama as an interesting market to be able to place their financial instruments. And in addition, he mentioned that through access to investors in Europe, there will be the possibility of new issuers and new investors. “Panama becomes a hub for investments and fixed income listed in Panama with European investors.”