The minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima, made an announcement during a conference of the National Economic Council (CENA) that Panama’s growth exceeded earlier estimates.

This in from CentralAmericaData.com.

During the second quarter of 2011, Panama’s economic growth was 11.4%, reaching 10.3% during the first six months of the year.

Panama’s economic growth for the second quarter of 2011 was 11.4% and in the first half was 10.3%, as reported by the minister of Economy and Finance, Frank De Lima, citing figures from the Controller General of the Republic. “We are projecting that by the end of the year, we will close at 9% growth, being, as is traditional, very conservative,” said De Lima.

According to the representative, the country’s growth is a reflection of many factors among which he mentioned: Employment growth and wage increases revealed by a survey carried out by the Controller, the rise in activities on the Panama Canal and ports, development of wholesale and retail sectors, and investments in the financial sector, the Colon Free Zone, construction, tourism and telecommunications.

“The benefit to Panama is that this growth translates into job creation, as shown by the figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), which indicate that unemployment has fallen from 6.5% to 5.6%,” De Lima noted.