Euroclear Bank and Central Latinoamericana de Valores (Latin Clear), the CSD of Panama are launching an international link sponsored by Panama’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to enable global investors to participate in Panama’s capital markets and strengthen the Republic of Panama’s position as a key financial centre for Latin America.

MEF Viceminister of Finance, Dario Espinosa said, “Panama’s economy has the highest rate of growth in Latin America. This initiative will allow Panama to access a broader base of foreign investors and diversify our funding sources. The international link with Euroclear will be a defining moment in the way Panama’s issuers connect with domestic and international investors.”

Stephan Pouyat, global head of international markets for Euroclear, explained that the international link makes use of a single post-trade platform for both domestic and international investors, thus creating a single pool of liquidity.

Ivan Diaz, chief executive officer & general manager of Latin Clear added, “Panama has a reputation for capital market innovation in Latin America.

This partnership with Euroclear connects our market to all parts of the globe. We will be able to offer our investors and issuers access to a broad range of international counterparties while simultaneously offering investors from across the globe easy access to Panamanian government debt.”

“We plan to add corporate debt and equities as well. We believe that this international link can act as a springboard for Panama, increasing scalability and ensuring that our capital markets can seamlessly adapt to the levels of economic growth that our country has witnessed over the past decade. This new initiative represents an important milestone for the Panamanian securities market and for the region.”