Panama arouses interest as stock market

Story by Minerva Bethancourth / The Panama Post


Registration of issuers increased With ten years as the regulatory body the entity prepares to take on new challenges according to the international trends

The National Securities Commission (CNV) has just completed ten years of operation, but away from the festivities, the regulator of the Panamanian stock market prepares to introduce a series of adjustments with the goal of strengthening the market.

The stock market whose main protagonists are the issuers, intermediaries and investors, remains active. The CNV has registered 98 issuers, with 46 additional securities houses, 23 not private investment companies, three pension fund administrators and the Panama Stock Exchange, additional supplements that drive the market for local securities.
The activity in the stock market remains active and has gained prominence for businesses as an alternative source to obtain funding.

Recent figures from CNV show that from July 2 to 6, the total of registered securities is $ 514,975 million and that there are $ 289.146 million under procedures.
But the accomplished achievements are also due to the sustained growth of international stock markets, mainly the U.S. market, driven by the growth of technology companies, investment services to serve the industry and the number of securities houses that are set in Panama to offer services, either directly or through local and foreign banking institutions.

At the head of the CNV is Juan Manuel Martans, a lawyer with experience not only in the local financial market, but internationally, and who worked at the Colombian Institute of Administration and the Stock Exchange of Bogotá.


Martans, appointed as President Commissioner for the period 2007 to 2012, confirmed the dynamism that the stock market activity maintains and the interest Panama generates for foreign companies as an exchange market.

The executive stressed that the CNV is in a review process of some regulations in order to adapt to changes facing the global financial market.

To deepen on these regulations, the performance of stock markets and its expectations, Juan Manuel Martans spoke with The Panama Post on this matter.

How is the Panamanian stock market?
It is a market that is growing and this is noted with the entry of new investors, and new emissions. This fact demands oversight and monitoring more closely the operations that these investors perform.

What new strategies are being adopted today by the National Securities Commission?
We are about to adopt new rules in the capital market, is a fairly broad issue in the stock market. We are analyzing the rules that relate to obtaining licenses for operation of the securities houses to be more expeditious.

We have also submitted for public consultation a project addressing foreign securities houses that wish to conduct remote negotiations with countries that have recognized jurisdictions. The purpose of this project is to provide greater liquidity to the stock market, increase the volume of transactions and promote the local stock market.

What are the advantages offered by the CNV to the market players?
One of the advantages that the CNV offers is the law that allows foreign companies linked to stock market activity to conduct operations from Panama to other latitudes. It´s not like other legislations in the area that when they grant a license to a security house is just to perform operations in the country.

Laws regulating stock market activity offer security and transparency for those wishing to start operations in the country.

What do you define as the main achievements of the CNV?
Among the achievements we can mention supervision, which has been a very important factor in market promotion. Agents regulated by the commission have led their processes to the level of disclosing all their financial information in order for the market to be fully confident in the processes being undertaken by the commission. Confidence is undoubtedly a cornerstone in the stock market.

What are the objectives of the CNV in the long term?
The objectives are to continue regulating, supervising and promoting the market. Our intention is to issue new rules. In the short to medium term we are about to modernize and update rules that have long been issued. We are also about to issue new figures such as the remote operator.