Panama's corporate system represents one of the most advanced and advantageous structures for businesses globally. Businesses in Panama enjoy a highly favorable environment thanks to a combination of political stability, tax incentives, and access to international markets.

Panama's corporate system is designed to attract investors and entrepreneurs from around the world. Investing in Panama is synonymous with efficiency and opportunity, thanks to the ability to establish companies in Panama with unparalleled ease and speed. Multinationals in Panama benefit from transparent and flexible legislation, ideal for optimizing their presence in Latin America.

Businesses in Panama enjoy numerous advantages, including:

• Zero Taxation on Foreign Income : One of the main attractions of the Panamanian Corporate System is the territorial taxation which exempts from paying taxes on foreign source income.
• Ease of incorporation : Setting up companies in Panama takes less than a week, you can open SA (Sociedad Anonima), SDRL (Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada).
•  Advanced Infrastructure : Multinational companies in Panama can take advantage of a robust and well-regulated international banking system

Panama's corporate system is designed to attract capital to Panama, thanks to favorable legislation and incentives for foreign investors. For those looking to invest in Panama, the country offers one of the most dynamic and growing economies in the region, with a stable GDP and a rapidly expanding logistics sector.

Thanks to its geographic location, Panama is the ideal location for multinationals wishing to operate in Latin America. The Panamanian corporate system, also known as the financial center of Panama, facilitates the management of international operations, offering state-of-the-art infrastructure and global logistics connections

Panama's corporate system represents a strategic choice for those wishing to invest in Panama and launch successful businesses. Through its advantageous tax model and favorable environment, Panama continues to attract capital, consolidating its position as a regional leader for multinationals and companies of all sizes.

Running a Panamanian Corporation

Opening a company in Panama is certainly a decision that facilitates international business. Opening a company in Panama allows you to legally evade taxes and legally operate offshore accounts when the income is from foreign sources. While it is not illegal to open a company in Panama, like any other instrument, its improper use is illegal, such as tax evasion or failure to declare it to the tax authorities of your country, if and when there is clear evidence that the beneficiary lives in their country of origin and not abroad. At Studio Panama Italia , we offer a high level of due diligence and rapid corporate and banking services in Panama. At the corporate level, Panama offers a great opportunity for all foreigners interested in benefiting from the territorial tax regime in force in the country on the isthmus. Panama provides a corporate platform capable of competing with global corporate and offshore hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Based on its historic and powerful offshore legislation, Panama offers various legal instruments suitable and appropriate for multiple, if not infinite, purposes. Panamanian companies are perhaps the best companies in the world to do business of all kinds.

Panamanian Companies and Private Interest Foundations

From corporations to private foundations, Panama boasts a flexible, adaptable legal framework, suited to any historical, social, family, and financial situation. Panama's corporate center is the offshore mecca of the current century; no other city in the world boasts more banks, investments, law firms, and multinational headquarters and branches than Panama.

Not even Hong Kong and Singapore are comparable in size. A large portion of all world trade passes through Panama, which includes the world's most important navigable trade channel. Despite all other offshore hubs, Panama, with its logistics, air, sea, commercial, banking, financial, legal, and brokerage platforms, has no competitors that can even remotely undermine the added value this sector and its Panamanian interpretation offer to the globalized corporate world.

That's why, as a Panamanian law firm that has been providing services in Panama and other tax havens for over half a century, we recognize the tremendous value Panama can hold for all small and large entrepreneurs who wish to use Panama as a base for their global entrepreneurial mission. To learn how to open a company in Panama and understand what documents are required, simply read the information on our website. We recommend that you take the time—often hours—to carefully read these pages and the entire website, because an educated client is a client who has control over the decisions they make and the services they purchase from us.

To proceed with opening a Panama company, contact us via email or WhatsApp, indicate three possible company names, and once the payment has been made, we will proceed quickly with its incorporation.

When it comes to doing business with more than one company, Panamanian corporations pair well with American LLCs. If you need to operate a Panama SA structure with a US LLC, consider learning more about our company formation options in the United States.

Opening a foreign company allows you to enjoy much more competitive and logical initial start-up conditions than starting with a company in your home country. Opening a foreign company provides tax, equity, banking, privacy, and asset protection benefits. Therefore, by seeking to open up to the business world in the most competitive and cost-effective way possible, opening a company abroad remains the most obvious and convenient way to get started.

What are the risks, benefits, and procedures for opening a company abroad? A foreign company is probably the most common type of company in the world. But let's take a closer look at its key features.

Opening a company abroad carries marginal risks that shouldn't be underestimated unless you know what you're doing and work with a reputable professional. For example, opening a foreign company in Panama without understanding the necessary due diligence to open, maintain, and manage it results in unnecessary initial costs and higher future management costs and fines if not managed with precision. Furthermore, the risk of not knowing how to use it is high for those who are not experienced in managing a foreign company.

A company abroad is opened for tax optimization. Therefore, it is opened to comply with national and international tax laws and then use those laws to legally evade taxable income. This is not a matter of using a company abroad in Panama, for example, to hide behind it and evade taxes. Today, every country in the world requires meticulous due diligence to determine who is really behind a company. Beyond shareholders and directors, they want to understand who the true UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) is.

There's no point in lying because the tracking of tax and banking information uncovers the true beneficiary in 100% of cases. Therefore, the only real risk of opening a foreign company, such as a Panamanian foreign company, is having the tax authorities of your home country question your activities, which have never been declared in your country of tax residence. To avoid this, simply open it with us or another qualified specialist, seek prior advice, and, if necessary, obtain a second tax residence suitable for managing foreign companies, such as a simple second residence in Panama.

All Panamanian companies can open a foreign bank account. Panamanian companies can open a foreign bank account anywhere in the world. Since companies are incorporated in Spanish, a certified English translation and apostilles, required to open a foreign bank account outside Panama, will be provided upon request.

• Contacting a law firm in Panama is the first step in incorporating a Panamanian company. You can contact us at Studio Panama Italia, who are resident agents and licensed attorneys to open companies in Panama.
• After consulting with a lawyer, decide on the structure best suited to your needs. During the consultation, we will evaluate the typical structure of a Panamanian SA and S de RL, the type of business it will conduct, the applicable regulations, the type of share capital and its value, and any tax exemptions that may apply to one structure versus another.
• Maintenance of the company: the company must be maintained every year, so it is necessary to pay the cost of the resident agent, the cost of the maintenance fee of the company at the public registry
• Corporate Bureaucracy: Although the company is tax-free for foreign income, it must still file the mandatory tax return every year

The advantages of opening a foreign company are many. For example, by opening a foreign company in Panama, you will enjoy corporate privacy, corporate flexibility, the absence of specific licenses, and corporate tax residency in Panama, which allows you to benefit from the country's territorial taxation and therefore avoid filing tax returns in Panama and always pay zero taxes on all earnings received from abroad.

Opening a foreign company also allows you to benefit from a friendly tax system in your country of incorporation for local taxation when you meet the requirements for local taxation. Banks are more likely to open an account with an internationally recognized company, such as a reputable Panamanian corporation, than with a company established in your home country.

If you want to operate with international and global megabanks, you certainly won't be able to do so with a company incorporated in Italy, but you can certainly do so with a reputable Panamanian company, well-known and manageable globally by any international banking institution. After all, there's a reason why Panama is currently the world's leading corporate hub, where most global companies are established. There's also a specific reason.

Ironically, Panama and other tax havens comply with all anti-money laundering regulations and perform all the due diligence required by law for customer identification and fund tracking, which is not the case in most European countries and the United States. This leaves international banks with the decision to better manage foreign companies like those in Panama, for which they have documentation that allows the institutions themselves to facilitate the due diligence required to identify the final beneficiary.

The procedure for opening a foreign company is standard. Here we explain the procedure for opening a foreign company in Panama, but it applies to any other company abroad. The name of the foreign company must be defined. Then the first and last names must be provided, followed by the identification of its directors. In this case, since it is a Panamanian company, the first and last names of the director, treasurer, secretary, and shareholder of the company are required.

Recognition is achieved through a copy of everyone's passport. Finally, decide which sector the company will operate in, which will be clarified in the articles of incorporation, although the Panamanian company offers standard articles of incorporation with the freedom to engage in any legal activity without restrictions. Once the company is established abroad, a bank account must be opened. For more information on managing a company abroad or understanding the specific legal requirements for each country where a foreign company is established or operates (regardless of the country of incorporation), you can request a paid consultation from our law firm.

Panama stands out as a strategic hub for global trade, thanks to two key facilities: the Zona Libre de Colón and Tocumen International Airport , also known as the Hub of the Americas .

The Zona Libre de Colon is the largest free zone in the Western Hemisphere and a key pillar of the Panamanian economy. It is an integral part of the mega-corporate complex created in Panama. Located near the Panama Canal, this zone is a hub for international trade, attracting companies from around the world thanks to its strategic location and undeniable tax advantages.

From this Panamanian corporate hub and global free port, businesses and multinationals can trade goods and move people under a privileged tax regime and in many areas completely tax-free, making this zone much more attractive and functional than any other Free Trade Zone and Free Zone in the rest of the world.

In the Zona Libre de Colón, companies can enjoy tax exemptions on imports, exports, and supplies, making it an ideal environment for trade and logistics, contributing to the renowned prestige of Panama's corporate and financial system. This has made the Zona Libre de Colón a prime destination for Latin American and Caribbean markets.

Tocumen International Airport is Panama's main airport and one of Latin America's most important infrastructures. Known as the Hub of the Americas , the airport connects over 90 destinations worldwide, making Panama a crucial transit point for travelers and cargo.

Tocumen International Airport is not only a passenger transportation hub, but also a key hub for global logistics. Its strategic location and operational efficiency make it an ideal gateway to markets in the Western Hemisphere.

The combination of the Zona Libre de Colón and Tocumen International Airport positions Panama as a regional leader in trade and tourism, further enhancing the prestige and power of the corporate system. This Hub of the Americas allows for an unprecedented flow of money, goods, services, and people, making Panama a premier destination for investors and entrepreneurs seeking a glamorous, safe, transparent, and vibrant corporate financial and logistics hub.

The Zona Libre de Colón and Tocumen International Airport are two strategic assets of this corporate hub, strengthening Panama's position as an undisputed and innovative global economic and logistics hub. Thanks to the Hub of the Americas, the country continues to attract multi-billion dollar investments and consolidate its position as a key hub for international trade and tourism.

There are sites that offer financial and corporate information on companies in Panama

Public Registry of Panama

OpenCorporates

Superintendency of Banks of Panama

Zona Libre de Colón