Big companies suffer, but the MEF boasts bonanza

Big companies suffer, but the MEF boasts bonanza

Tagarópulos announced the cessation of its operations to the Stock Exchange, and Panamanian franchises reported losses of more than $ 2 million.

At a time when large companies announce the cessation of their operations and others register millions of losses, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) assures that the economy of Panama maintains a leadership in Latin America with a dynamism of up to seven times higher than other nations of the world. the region.

Faced with the questions that different sectors ask about the management of the national economy, the MEF opted to use its social networks to boast of the country's growth.

Closures

14 restaurants closed this year in Panama due to the low sales recorded.

104 thousand 528 jobs have been generated by the service industry until August 2017.

However, the economist Adolfo Quintero pointed out that although it can not be denied that Panama is among the countries that grow the most in Latin America, first the domestic market must be analyzed in the first half of the year, since growth is the lowest in the region. the last 15 years.

"I can not fill myself with glory saying that we lead the growth of the Latin American economy, when internally that is not reality," he said.

He added that from 2003 to date there had been no lower growth, except for the year 2009, when the world economic crisis was reported.

However, in the midst of these contradictions, company restructuring increases in order to survive due to losses, while others prefer to sell part of their shares or up to 100%, as they can not bear the resounding drops they have suffered in their sales.

An example of this is the restaurants that have reported 50% reductions.

Although there are several companies that go through the same situation, recently it was known that two big players in the market, Panamanian Franchises and Tagarópulos, face a complicated situation.

Cessation and losses

Panamanian franchises reported economic losses in the second quarter of this year by 2 million 815 thousand 852 dollars, while Tagarópulos S.A. reported that it initiated an orderly process to significantly reduce its operations at the national level.

Tagarópulos is dedicated to the wholesale and retail of consumer goods as dry merchandise and general food and hygiene and beauty products for local and international markets.

Other companies that have recently announced "restructuring" are Grupo Shahani, Ricardo Perez, Bonlac, Panama Ports Company (PPC), Minera Panama, National Television. To these are added the denunciations of a group of Grupo Rey workers for the dismissal of 60 employees.

Aida Michelle de Maduro, president of the Association of Free Trade Zones of Panama, said that the economic situation is hitting strongly both small and large companies, which serve nationally and internationally.

"The slowdown is affecting all activities in Panama and there is no activity that is excellent, because it is not, on the contrary, have seen how to adjust for the economic slowdown," he said.

Meanwhile, the economist Maribel Gordón recalled that the problem is that the leadership that Panama has, as the MEF says, does not translate into quality of life for the majority of the population, as a result of an economic policy that does not address national development. Social.

"We are leaders in growth, but at the same time, leaders in the maldistribution of wealth, we are also leaders in that the significant accumulation of people who are malnourished and those are the things that we need to worry about," he stressed.