Panama's '08 Consolidated Budget Surplus At 0.4% Of GDP
(easybourse.com) The Panamanian government's consolidated budget ended last year with a surplus equivalent to 0.4% of the country's gross domestic product or $97.8 million, the Panamanian government said Thursday.
The surplus is lower than the 3.5% surplus reported in 2007 as a result of higher spending, the government said.
Kathryn Rooney, analyst at the Miami-based investment bank Bulltick Capital Markets, said that given the circumstances - the U.S. financial crisis and global turmoil - the fiscal surplus is a positive outcome.
Rooney had expected a 1.5% fiscal surplus for 2008.
"Panama along with Peru are the stars in Latin America," Rooney said, adding that Panama has a diversified economy that depends on several different and performing industries such as tourism, the canal, banks and the construction sector.
Panama is expected to experience a "soft landing" this year as the country is well-positioned to weather the global economic slowdown as a result of strong growth, fiscal surpluses and declining debt ratios, Rooney added.
Panama likely grew 7.7% last year, and it may grow around 2.5% this year, according to Bulltick.
For 2009, Rooney expects a deficit of 0.5% GDP as tax revenues will fall.
