The Richest Businessman in El Salvador and Key Man at Avianca Moves His Holding Company from Spain to Panama

Roberto Kriete Ávila, the main shareholder of the airline Avianca and recognized as the most powerful man in the business community of El Salvador, has decided to move his holding company from Spain to Panama.  This information comes from The Objective, which claims that Kriete has already registered the project to relocate World Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul to Panama, a firm that until now had been domiciled in Madrid since 2017.  According to the outlet, at the end of 2023, the company reported assets and equity valued at 132 million euros ($138 million), based on Insight View data.  They also detail that the board of directors of the Kriete Company approved on October 28 the transfer of the registered office to Panama, through what is known as a cross-border transformation outside the European Union.  The firm, controlled by the MRO group, has been the key to Kriete’s economic growth over the past decade. In Panama, Kriete serves on the board of directors of several corporations registered in the country.  According to information from the Public Registry, he is president and secretary of SA Logistics Holdings and MRO Holdings Inc. He participates in at least seven corporations in Panama. 

The departure of Kriete’s assets from Spain occurs in a context of fiscal pressure, where Pedro Sánchez’s government has promoted tax reforms aimed at large fortunes and companies, including banks and electricity companies.  Roberto Kriete Ávila is known as the key man in the alliance formed between Avianca and Gol.  The newspaper La República describes him as the businessman who has promoted large businesses in Central America, especially those linked to aeronautics.  Kriete increased his influence in Avianca in 2019. He has had a stake in that airline since the merger with TACA. There he participated in the restructuring process in which an alliance with Viva Air, its local competitor, was formalized, and then he took an even more ambitious step by closing an agreement with the Brazilian company Gol, marking a milestone in its regional expansion.  His foray into the world of big business began thanks to his father, Ricardo Kriete, who in 1961 acquired a 30% stake in Transportes Aéreos de Centroamérica (TACA). Years later, Roberto Kriete took control of the company, finally achieving its full acquisition and consolidating his position as one of the most influential businessmen in the region.