News

The U.S. government has announced a plan to “turbocharge” the semiconductor in Panama, the latest sign that the country’s economy is still on a solid growth trajectory.

Panama was slotted as one of the main beneficiaries of the new Western Hemisphere Semiconductor Initiative, a program that will “turbocharge countries’ capacity to assemble, to test, and to package semiconductors,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.

The initiative will be funded by the CHIPS Act of 2022, which looks to “create a more resilient, secure, and sustainable global semiconductor supply chain” for the U.S.

The semiconductor industry is exploding throughout the region and this program puts Panama at the center of the activity. Semiconductors would be one more driver for Panama’s increasingly diversifying economy. As infrastructure continues to improve, more multinationals are creating and expanding their operations, providing consistent fuel for the Panama real estate market.

At PPR, we talk about this all the time. The strength of Panama as an investment and property market is based on the solid foundation of the economy, which remains a regional powerhouse. Panama is no longer all about the Panama Canal. A wide array of industries are expanding in Panama, including green technologies.  

The U.S. Department of State announced the semiconductor deal during the recent “Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity,” an initiative that brought together 11 regional countries.

“If we follow through on the full promise of this partnership, I think we have a historic opportunity to help realize the aspirations of our people, to strengthen their faith in our democracies, and to build a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous region for everyone,” Secretary Blinken said.

The next step is a Sept. symposium in Mexico, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, focused on “expanding and diversifying the semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging (ATP) ecosystem in Americas Partnership countries.”

The State Department announcement said the symposium will “bring together industry, particularly small and medium-sized suppliers, governments, academia, and labor to identify key challenges, explore emerging opportunities, and develop strategies for sustainable growth and collaboration in this critical industry.”