Panama forecasts nominal gross domestic product growth of five percent and inflation of two percent in 2025, a report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance says today.
According to the holder of that portfolio, Felipe Chapman, the macroeconomic projections were used to prepare the draft law of the General State Budget for 2025, an amount of 26,84 million dollars, which he will present next week to the National Assembly (unicameral parliamentar).
The calculations, he explained, are based on projections given by the International Monetary Fund and are aligned with estimates from agencies such as the World Bank and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Chapman acknowledged that the global economic scenario remains uncertain, while praising the measures taken by the Government to present a achievable, credible and responsible budget that ensures the financial and fiscal stability that the country deserves, and that fosters confidence, promotes investment, consumption and, therefore, the economic boom.
In this direction, he said, it includes the promotion of public policies that promote employment and development, thus ensuring an enabling environment for the social well-being and prosperity of citizens.
The main objective of the budget is to be consistent with a fiscal deficit reduction strategy by maintaining public investment in key areas, with transparency and accountability, and a clear strategy to overcome current structural challenges, the official stressed.
On the subject, the business consultant, René Quevedo, told the newspaper La Estrella de Panamá that while it is true that the measures announced in the 2025 budget seek to make public finances sustainable, the Panamanian economy faces a circulating deficit and a significant contraction in consumption, accelerated by the recent loss of the Investment Degree of the risk qualifier Fitch Ratings on March 28.
Among the impacts of this measure, he pointed to the 1.5 per cent increase in the unemployment rate announced by the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development (April 2024), which represents 34,413 lost places, aggravating the already depressed consumption.
This article has been translated after first appearing in El Pais