Panamanian industry is concerned about the hard situation that it is going through which has made industrialists not to make investments.
According to the Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP), loans for the industry fell in 4.7% by 2015 going from 2 million 199 thousand and 306 dollars in 2014 to 2 million 95 thousand and 889 dollars last year.
The above is reflecting that decrease in loans for manufacturers fell some 103 thousand 417 dollars in 2015.
On the other hand, by February this year, the loans requested by this industry grew in 3.2% going from 2 million 95 thousand 889 dollars in December 2015 to 2 million 163 thousand 664 dollars in February this year which shows that the increase in loans to industrialists has been only about 67 thousand 775 in the past three months.
Out of seven activities recorded in the Superintendence of Banks, three showed negative numbers in terms of loans acquired in this period.
Credits to steel and construction material industries decreased in 15.5%; clothes and shoes, 6.1%, and those of oil and its derivatives, 0.6%.
Meanwhile, production and electricity generation grew in 11.2%; food and beverages, 2.3%; manufacturing, 1.8%; ports and railways, just 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the contribution of the industrial sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country in 2015 fell in 1.3%, according to figures from the Comptroller General.
In the meantime, in 2014, GDP grew to 0.9% and in 2013, to 1.3%.
This decline in loans and contributions that the industrialists give to the GDP is a reflection of the difficult economic situation that the country is facing, a situation that encourages entrepreneurs to make investments.
For Ricardo Sotelo, President of the Union of Industrialists of Panama (SIP), the investments that entrepreneurs of the country make respond to "stimulus" or incentives that they have to make, which is an action that the current Administration has been slow at granting them.
He added that as a result of this situation, the loans that the businessmen have requested from the Panamanian banks have plummeted.
He added that the investments that the Panamanian industry currently makes is the result of entrepreneurs who are already participating in the market and not the result of new investments are doing.
He stressed that Panama does not have a clear policy that encourages future investments in the sector, so they are calling for an immediate approval in the adoption of the law on Industrial development, which will benefit not only the industry, but also the productive sector of the country.
Meanwhile, Aida Michelle de Maduro, former President of the SIP and Vice President of the National Council of Private Enterprise, noted that the industry as a whole had a slump during 2015, which is reflected in their contributions to the GDP and in the loans to the sector.
She added that the industry requires greater support from the Government, especially to encourage future investment.
She stressed that the activity has been a bit behind not for lack of private sector investment, but because the authorities are convinced that Panama is a country of service.
Meanwhile, economist Juan Jované said that Panama is undergoing a process of de-industrialization, since the industry is decreasing.
He added that the Government has not done anything to mitigate this situation and simplify what the two most important sectors that the economy needs, which are agriculture and industry.
He stressed that the industry has as a characteristic its intensity in hiring labor more than the services and to the extent that it is made to disappear, more unemployment will be caused.