Special regimes for business

SEM: multinational headquarters

Sedes de Empresas Multinacionales.

The SEM regime lets multinational companies run regional operations from Panama with benefits in taxes, labor, customs and immigration, giving access to a Latin American market of over 400 million people. It is aimed at back-office and regional activities such as operations management, logistics and warehousing, design and construction plans, electronic processing, and research and product development.

• How many192 multinationals were registered as of May 2026, with 13 new headquarters in 2025. The United States leads with 37, followed by China (18), Switzerland (14) and the Netherlands (13).
• JobsAbout 10,000 jobs recorded, roughly half held by Panamanians.
• Who qualifiesUnder the rules we worked with, a group that manages $200 million or more in assets, or has at least seven subsidiaries. Confirm current thresholds before applying.
• Household namesCompanies that have set up here include P&G, Dell, 3M, Samsung, Philips, Maersk, Nestlé and LG.

Sources: La Estrella de Panamá, September 2026 and Ministry of Commerce and Industries presentations.

EMMA: manufacturing services

Law 159 of 2020.

EMMA (Empresas Multinacionales para la Prestación de Servicios Relacionados con la Manufactura) is modeled on SEM but for multinationals that provide manufacturing-related services from Panama. Richard Kilborn helped develop the law at the start of the 2019 administration, then promoted it and signed up the first companies registered under it.

• TaxA reduced income tax, capped at 5% in the Ministry presentations.
• ImmigrationVisas for foreign executives and staff, renewable.
• CustomsExemption from import duties on goods, machinery and equipment used in manufacturing.
• Fast trackCompanies already holding an SEM license can apply through a faster process.
• Legal stabilityAutomatic legal stability for the incentives.
• EnvironmentActivities that carry environmental risk need an impact study before operating.

Details come from our Ministry-era materials; confirm the current text of the law.

Private free zones

Law 32 of 2011.

Panamanian law allows an individual or a company to create a free zone anywhere in the country, as long as it meets set criteria, including a minimum area (two hectares in the materials we worked with). Permitted activities include manufacturing, assembling, processing, logistics, high-tech research, environmental services and health services.

Two roles

• Promoter

  Develops the zone. Applies with a study covering the objectives and activities, size and location, land title or lease, initial investment and two years of projected investment, financial projections, a schedule and a land-use authorization.

• Operator

  Runs the zone day to day, with an administrative office inside the zone and responsibility for customs and tax compliance. The promoter can be its own operator.

Applications go through a Panamanian lawyer to the National Commission of Free Zones, whose technical secretariat sits in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries. Supporting documents must be in Spanish, with foreign documents apostilled and translated.

Other incentives

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