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Latin America: Panama Most Expensive City
Panama City more expensive than Frankfurt, Vienna and Dubai.
BY LATINVEX STAFF
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA – Panamanian capital Panama City has become the most expensive city in Latin America, according to the latest cost of living survey from Swiss bank UBS.
Panama City now ranks 25th among 77 cities worldwide. That means it is more expensive than cities like Frankfurt, Vienna, Dubai and Rome. The development comes as Panama now ranks as the richest country in Latin America, according to a new Latinvex analysis.
Argentine capital Buenos Aires, meanwhile, has become less expensive and ranks second in Latin America and 49th worldwide.
“Buenos Aires is nevertheless a great expat destination, though if you're thinking of getting an iPhone, you'd probably want to buy it elsewhere,” UBS says, alluding to the high price for the phone.
The UBS survey looks at prices of 128 goods and services for a 3-member family.
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Cost of Living |
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Cost of living expenses, including rent |
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Index 100 equals New York. 77 cities included. |
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LA Rk |
Gl Rk |
City |
Index |
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1 |
25 |
Panama City, Panama |
73.7 |
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2 |
49 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
56.7 |
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3 |
51 |
Santiago, Chile |
55.5 |
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4 |
54 |
Sao Paulo, Brazil |
54.4 |
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5 |
55 |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
53 |
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6 |
61 |
Lima, Peru |
49.2 |
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7 |
65 |
Bogota, Colombia |
47.6 |
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8 |
67 |
Mexico City, Mexico |
46 |
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Source: UBS |
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BUSINESS FAVORITE WINS FIRST ROUND IN COLOMBIA
Ivan Duque won the first round of Colombia’s presidential elections on May 27, in welcome news for local and foreign investors.
"A Duque victory will most likely result in an improvement in the business environment in the medium term, with a reform of the tax code, a return to attracting investments in the extractive sector, legislation on popular consultations, and a reduction of government spending,” Sergio Guzmán, analyst for global risk analysis at Control Risks in Bogotá told the Inter-American Dialogue’s daily Latin America Advisor.
Duque will face Gustavo Petro, the leftist ex-mayor of capital Bogota, in the second round of elections on June 17, but is expected to win by a wide margin.
Duque – who worked at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC and studied at Georgetown University and American University – counts on the support from Colombia’s former president Alvaro Uribe, who garnered high praise from foreign investors during his 8-year term (2002-2010).
IMD: ARGENTINA, BRAZIL IMPROVE, MEXICO WORSENS
Argentina, Brazil and Peru improved their competitiveness the past year, while Mexico and Colombia worsened, according to the latest competitiveness ranking from Swiss-based business school IMD.
“Brazil’s improvement is the first since 2010 due to a positive shift in real GDP and employment,” IMD says.
Among 63 economies worldwide, Argentina moved up two spots to 56th place, while Brazil gained one spot to 60th place and Peru went 55th to 54th place.
Meanwhile, Mexico fell three spots to 51st place, while Colombia fell four spots to 58th place.
Chile kept its ranking as the best in Latin America and Venezuela as the worst and both also kept their global rankings of 35 and 63, respectively.
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