Panama Seen Regaining Crown as Region's Fastest Growing Economy

  • Increased trade through Panama canal to drive 5.8% growth
  • Finance Minister Dulcidio de la Guardia comments in interview

A vessel moves along the Panama Canal next to an excavation for the expansion of the canal near Panama City, Panama, on April, 24, 2014.

Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Panama will regain its crown as Latin America’s fastest growing economy this year on a surge in trade through the newly-expanded canal and government investment in other infrastructure projects, the finance minister said.

Central American country will leapfrog the Dominican Republic, growing 5.8 percent in 2017, a year after the $5.3 billion expansion of the canal allowed the passage of larger ships, Dulcidio de la Guardia said in an interview in Buenos Aires.