Offshore
Opportunities
According to Gartner’s Annual Research’s survey report, Panama was nominated as
one of the top outsourcing country. Its language skills, cultural compatibility,
government support, and political and economic stability, were assigned the
rating of ‘good.’
Panama has a stable and prosperous
economy, and is claimed to be the most advanced in all of Central and South
America.
Panama is becoming a viable location for Business
Process Outsourcing operations. Although it cannot compete with India or China
due to their massive workforces, it is an ideal candidate for outsourcing call
center operations. Many in the field speak English, and often with an American
accent.
Panama is emerging as a hub for call centers among Latin American
nations and is
boasting a young, technically skilled,
English-speaking labor pool.
Another factor that makes outsourcing to Panama easier is because it is a
peaceful country with no military. Panama has the lowest crime rate in all of
Central and South America and it also has an excellent infrastructure and is
more easily accessible to the U.S. than Asia. Companies such as LG, Dell, AT&T,
Sprint, Nextel, People PC, XM Radio, Direct TV, Caterpillar, 24 Fitness, Visa,
Citigroup, and Toshiba have chosen Panama or have placed subsidiaries in Panama
to save operational costs. Other services very popular in outsourcing offshore
jurisdiction are data entry, especially for Law Firms as it would cost less than
half as compared to the US.
Wages are a lot lower in Panama as compared to the US which makes outsourcing
even more attractive. Office workers have varying salary levels. Executive
assistants who speak English are paid from around $350 to $600 per month
depending on their job description and responsibilities. Banking personnel
who speak English can make around $600 to $700 while website designers and
webmasters get mostly around $600 or more per month.
Government Incentives:
The government of Panama and its laws encourage foreigners to invest and live
there. One of the biggest opportunities that Panama has for off shoring is in
the area of international call centers. This is due to a 2001 law that granted
call centers these incentives:
·
Tax free operations (No sales, income or any other national tax).
·
Market fluctuations are a justified cause for contract termination.
·
No import tariffs.
·
Resident visas for expats.
·
Productivity premiums, bonuses or incentives are not considered as part of
salary.
Other Advantages:
·
US Dollar based economy
·
Location -
Accessing
Panama is easy from anywhere in the world. Living conditions are very similar to
the US, but the cost of living is one-half.
·
Favorable tax regime
- No taxes on foreign source income.
There are no
double tax treaties that can be used for commercial activities. No VAT is
payable on goods or services exported from Panama.
·
Excellent living conditions -
Extremely low risk of natural disasters (earthquake free, no active volcanoes, and no hurricanes).
No pollution.
The extremely low risk of natural disasters gives the Panama telecom sector
security and reliability of service as well as a competitive advantage over
other offshore jurisdictions
·
Fully bilingual certified engineers
-
Apart from Spanish which is spoken by majority of the population, English is the
second most common language spoken by 14% along with some of the population
which is bilingual. Also the literacy rate is 88% for the population over 10
years of age.
·
Continental Fiber-Optic Network Link -
Submarine
networks give Panama four international connections via high-bandwidth,
fiber-optical trunk routes, superseding the current satellite link. This enables
fast and reliable connections for B2B, banking, e-commerce and other businesses.
·
Telecommunication infrastructure -
Panama has the best access to multiple high-bandwidth continental fiber optic
networks in telecommunications infrastructure, which connects North and Latin
America to Asia, Europe, Africa and rest of the world.
Top
Outsourcing Countries:
According to sourcingline.com, Panama is ranked 32nd in the top
outsourcing country in the world.
Panama Outsourcing Map
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