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Count billionaire publisher Steve Forbes among Panama’s fans. Forbes used his column in his well-respected business magazine to argue that Panama is getting the wrong reputation from all the coverage of the Panama Papers, the leak of data about shell companies created by a Panama law firm.

“Contrary to global headlines, Panama is no sleazy money-laundering backwater,” Forbes writes. “Quite the opposite. Panama City is becoming the financial center of Latin America, with scores of global and Latin-American financial institutions having a sizable presence there.”

Forbes made it clear that his viewpoint reflected his own personal experiences in Panama.

“I recently visited this small Central American country and saw firsthand what is largely unknown: Panama is a huge economic success story, enjoying an average annual growth rate that’s about the best in the world in the 21st century,” Forbes wrote.

The publicity about the Panama Papers is obscuring the real story about Panama, Forbes writes. Not only has the country made great strides in transparency and international finance, its growth is driven by real economic expansion and financial activity.

“Unlike the numbers coming out of China these days, which are ostensibly slightly higher, Panama’s are the real deal,” Forbes notes. “Its growth is still light-years ahead of that in most of the world’s countries.”

Forbes offers a laundry list of the many factors which suggest Panama’s economy is on stable footing, from the government support to the growth of multinational operations. But don’t take our word for it. Read the full story:

“The Panama Papers? Here’s the Real Panama Story”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2016/05/10/the-real-story-about-panama/#113dda46757a