Coverage of Panama’s corporate world, markets, startups, and trade developments. We provide news, analysis, and practical insights for business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Rising fuel and shipping surcharges tied to the US-Israeli war on Iran are prompting some galleries at Art Central in Hong Kong to consider leaving artworks in the city for months to avoid inflated freight bills.
Amazon said drone activity disrupted its AWS Bahrain cloud region, the second AWS outage this month tied to the Iran war, highlighting risks to regional cloud reliability.
Xiaomi reported a 27% drop in fourth-quarter net profit to 6.5 billion yuan as weaker smartphone sales cut into margins and EV growth slowed, marking the first sequential profit decline since Q2 2024.
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement will be provisionally applied from May 1 for Mercosur members that completed ratification and notified the EU by end-March. Panama, while not a member, could see indirect effects on trade and logistics as a regional hub.
Cathay Pacific extended suspensions of flights between Hong Kong and Middle East cities, including Dubai and Riyadh, through the end of May and will add more services to Europe next month.
Hong Kong welcomed more than 270,000 skilled professionals between late 2022 and the end of last month, a trend highlighted at Global Talent Summit Week as part of the city’s push to reshape its economy.
Gilead Sciences will acquire US-based Ouro Medicines for up to US$2.18 billion, gaining rights to an antibody-based autoimmune therapy licensed from China’s Keymed Biosciences; Gilead will pay US$1.675 billion to Ouro shareholders.
HKIC, Gobi Partners and the University of Hong Kong launched Gobi-HKU Fund I to back university research spin-outs, immediately investing in robotics firm Manifold Tech and AI-focused AilsynBio.
A Japanese food company rebranded tofu with a deliberately ‘manly’ image to attract younger consumers, driving more than ¥6 billion (US$38 million) in annual sales. The move highlights how targeted branding can revive traditional foods.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned that grounding long-haul flights is a “distinct possibility” as jet fuel shortages tied to the war in Iran force airlines to carry extra fuel or face refuelling refusals abroad.
Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz are disrupting shipments of oil, fertilisers and perishables, prompting warnings that the Global South may face worsening food scarcity, industry leaders say.
The English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong has proposed tuition increases averaging 4.1% for primary and secondary students and 5.8% for kindergartens for the next academic year, pending approval.
Hong Kong’s eMPF will cut administration fees for 378 funds by 21.6%, lowering rates from 0.37% to 0.29% from April 1, and is forecast to save HK$50 billion (US$6.4bn) in under 10 years.
Panama’s banking sector is consolidating as foreign capital pours in and large acquisitions reshape the market, strengthening the country’s role as a regional financial hub.
Alibaba Cloud and other Chinese cloud providers are combining infrastructure with AI to help firms expand overseas, offering new digital tools that could reshape global competition.
Panama has moved to strengthen its gambling regulations and restrict betting advertising, a shift reported by iGamingToday that will affect operators and marketers in the country.
Experts in Panama advise that the annual thirteenth month pay can be transformed from short-term relief into lasting financial progress by prioritizing debt reduction, savings, and planning.
An investor has initiated arbitration under the Panama–Singapore FTA after Panama abruptly cancelled an LNG project, pursuing about $4 billion in damages. The dispute underscores risks for energy investment and could carry major financial and policy implications for Panama.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing are playing out in Panama as AMP takes over Cristóbal and Balboa ports and concerns grow over potential Chinese retaliation affecting the Panamanian shipping registry and imports.
Hong Kong is accelerating efforts to expand AI computing capacity after chip executives warned that autonomous AI agents will drive explosive demand for GPUs and other processors.