Panama International Construction and Manufacture Industry Expo

From 11 to 16 November， 2014， the Panama International Construction and Manufacture Industry Expo will be held for the first time in Panama City， the capital city of Panama. The exhibition is organized by the China Trade Commission in Panama， the Panama Chamber of Commerce of Builders， and Panama International Construction and Manufacture Industry Expo. The exhibition is expected to reach an exhibition area of 3，000 square meters and it is divided into four sections： Engineering equipments section， domestic construction， electronic appliance， and consumer electronics.

Panama is located in the southeast part of the Middle East， and the country enjoys stable politics and a relatively developed economy. As a free trade harbour and a logistics and financial center， Panama possesses a strategic business position， and would be an ideal platform for Chinese export companies to enter into the Middle Africa. There are 15 harbours in Panama， the Panama Canal， which connects the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean， and carries the world’s 5% cargo circulation. The Panama-Cologne Free Trade Zone is the largest free trade zone in the west hemisphere， and is only second to Hong Kong， the world’s largest free trade zone. In 2012， the PanamaCologne Free Trade Zone achieved a total turnover of 29.165 billion dollars， at an annual growth rate of 10.7%.

Panama has a very weak industrial foundation and no heavy industry. The country has long been enjoying trade deficit. In 2012， the export of the country was 822 million dollars， and the import was 13.633 million dollars， rising 4.7% and 11.4% respectively. Construction projects covering the canal expansion， real estate construction， airport， subway and highway building.

Currently， China and Panama does not have any diplomatic relationships， and there is limited communication between the two countries. However， as the trade and investment environment improves， the Panama is attracting the attention of more and more Chinese companies. As the economic development pattern is onefold， Chinese commodities are expected to be very popular in the local market.