Panama tortoise Economy up 5.9% in first quarter

WHILE PUBLIC attention is largely focused on the daily unraveling of the corruption structure that plagued the country during the previous administration, almost unrecognized Panama’s economy continues to grow at a rate that is the envy of many countries in the Western world

On Monday, June 15, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) announced that the Panamanian economy grew 5.9% in the first quarter of 2015 regardless of Tweets from Miami claiming that the country was moving like a tortoise.
According to the MEF, the sectors in the country with better performance remain construction and services.
The data is part of gross domestic product (GDP) report published by the Comptroller General’s of Statistics and Census Institute.
“These results are in line with the official MEF economic projections, which forecast a 6% growth in the economy of Panama in 2015,” the report said.
Rogelio Alvarado, director of Economic and Social Analysis of the MEF, said the report highlights that economic activities that showed a good performance in the first quarter were mining and quarrying, the construction industry, local wholesale , transport and communications, financial intermediation, real estate activities and business services, energy, and government services.