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Deilys Romero

Deilys Romero has been a writer at Radar Panamá since its launch in 2026. A business administrator with a specialisation in accounting, Venezuelan, 48, she covers the economy, companies, taxes, corporations and SME management with a practical approach. Based between Panama and Colombia, she closely follows the business activity of both countries. Her articles rely on primary sources (DGI, MEF, INEC, Superintendency of Banks, Official Gazette) and on interviews with practising professionals.

Credentials

  • Degree in Business Administration, specialisation in Accounting
  • Economy, companies and tax writer at Radar Panamá
  • Specialty: corporations, foundations, special regimes, banking and taxation in Panama

Topics

EconomyCompaniesTaxesCorporations & foundationsBankingResidency & immigration

Corrections and enquiries: redaccion@radarpanama.com. All articles follow the editorial policy.

30 Posts
Panama’s special regimes: Colón Free Zone, Panamá Pacífico, SEM and EMMA
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Business, Economy

Panama’s special regimes: Colón Free Zone, Panamá Pacífico, SEM and EMMA

In short: Panama maintains four special regimes to attract companies with international activity. The Colón Free Zone, the largest free trade zone in the Americas, moved 22.615 billion dollars in 2025 according to preliminary figures from the Comptroller's Office and has more than 2,600 companies dedicated to re-exporting. Panamá Pacífico, on the former Howard base, combines a special economic zone, logistics and offices under Law 41 of 2004. The SEM regime for multinational headquarters, created by Law 41 of 2007, brings together 192 companies and some 10,000 jobs. The EMMA licence, under Law 159 of 2020, covers manufacturing and production-related…
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Residency in Panama by investment: the three routes compared
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Guides, Professional Services & Technology

Residency in Panama by investment: the three routes compared

In short: Panama offers three main residency routes for anyone arriving with capital or income of their own. Qualified Investor grants permanent residency in about 30 days with a minimum investment of 300,000 dollars in first-sale real estate (500,000 on the secondary market) or 500,000 in securities or deposits, under Executive Decree 17 of September 2026, which replaced Decree 722 of 2020. Friendly Nations grants two-year temporary residency, convertible to permanent, to nationals of a list of countries with a real estate investment of 200,000 dollars, an equivalent deposit or an employment contract. Pensionado grants permanent residency to anyone who…
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How to open a company in Panama: steps, Notice of Operation and taxes
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Business, Entrepreneurship

How to open a company in Panama: steps, Notice of Operation and taxes

In short: opening a company in Panama to operate inside the country has four milestones: choosing the legal form (natural person, corporation or limited liability company), registering it at the Public Registry, obtaining the Notice of Operation on the Panamá Emprende platform of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which automatically generates the RUC taxpayer ID with the Directorate General of Revenue, and registering as an employer with the Social Security Fund if there will be employees. The Notice of Operation costs 15 balboas for natural persons and 55 for companies, and replaces the old commercial licence. Liberal professions, agriculture…
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26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Guides, Professional Services & Technology

How to set up an offshore company in Panama: requirements, steps and obligations

In short: an offshore company in Panama is a corporation incorporated under Law 32 of 1927 that operates outside the country and, under the territoriality principle of the Tax Code, pays no tax in Panama on its foreign-source income. Setting it up requires three directors, a lawyer as resident agent and registration at the Public Registry. Since 2020 it also carries transparency obligations: a beneficial ownership registry, annual delivery of accounting records and, since 2026, economic substance rules. Panama left the FATF grey list in 2023 and is working to leave the European Union's tax list between late 2026 and…
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Opening a bank account in Panama from abroad: the firms that handle the opening, compared
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Business, Companies

Opening a bank account in Panama from abroad: the firms that handle the opening, compared

In short: opening a bank account in Panama without living in the country is possible, but only at some banks, with more documentation and with higher minimum balances than for a resident. That is why most foreigners do it through a law firm that prepares the file and submits it to the right bank. Radar Panamá reviewed eight firms in Panama City that offer this service and arranged them in two groups: those with a bank account opening service documented on their website, Kraemer & Kraemer, Legal Solutions Panamá, PGS Attorneys and Mata & Pitti, and the corporate firms that…
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Best immigration lawyers in Panama: ranking of ten firms by Google reviews
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Business, Companies

Best immigration lawyers in Panama: ranking of ten firms by Google reviews

In short: Radar Panamá ranked ten immigration law firms in Panama City that serve foreigners, using two public and verifiable data points: the average rating and the number of reviews on Google, checked on 25 September 2026. Julissa Ortega, Legalys and Carlos Pérez top the list by volume of opinions; Kraemer & Kraemer and Legal Solutions Panamá stand out for the international profile of their clients; De Freitas, Ureña, Abogados FP, Múdate a Panamá and PGS Attorneys complete the ranking with perfect or near-perfect scores. The list does not measure legal quality or fees: it serves as a starting point…
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Private interest foundation in Panama: when it makes sense and when it does not, according to Legal Solutions Panamá
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Interviews, Professional Services & Technology

Private interest foundation in Panama: when it makes sense and when it does not, according to Legal Solutions Panamá

In short: the Panamanian private interest foundation is a legal entity with no owner and no shareholders that receives assets and manages them according to rules set by whoever creates it. It serves to organise a succession, separate assets from personal wealth and group together companies, accounts and properties spread across several countries; it is not for running ordinary businesses or for small estates, and it is not "a magic tax-saving tool". That is how two lawyers from Legal Solutions Panamá explained it in an hour-long webinar on foundations and international structures, in which Kathia Rivera compared the foundation with…
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Factoring in Panama: interview with Kathia Rivera and Celideth Gudiño on setting up a factoring company
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Interviews, Professional Services & Technology

Factoring in Panama: interview with Kathia Rivera and Celideth Gudiño on setting up a factoring company

In short: Panama has no specific factoring law, but it does have the pieces that make it viable: the assignment of receivables as the "backbone" of the transaction, the electronic invoicing law that recognises the invoice as a negotiable instrument, and a Superintendency that supervises, rather than regulates, the sector's companies on money laundering. That is how Kathia Rivera, president and founder of Legal Solutions Panamá, and Celideth Gudiño, financial services partner, explain it in a conversation recorded at the firm's offices in Panama City. Setting up a factoring company takes about seven days for the corporation, a month for…
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Kathia Rivera answers: incorporating a company in Panama as a foreigner, without travelling and in a week
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Interviews, Professional Services & Technology

Kathia Rivera answers: incorporating a company in Panama as a foreigner, without travelling and in a week

In short: Panamanian law imposes no nationality or residency limits on incorporating a company, and neither directors nor shareholders have to travel. That is the answer given by Kathia Rivera Morales, founder and president of Legal Solutions Panamá, in a video on her channel where she answers the most frequent questions from people who want to set up a company in the country. Incorporation takes around a week with valid passports and two forms; the resident agent is the lawyer who registers the articles of incorporation and acts as the link between the shareholders and the State; the share capital…
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Electronic invoicing in Panama: who is required, how the SFEP works and how to choose a PAC
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Guides, Professional Services & Technology

Electronic invoicing in Panama: who is required, how the SFEP works and how to choose a PAC

In short: in Panama electronic invoicing has been mandatory for every new taxpayer since 2022, for government suppliers since 2023 and for independent professionals since 2024, and since 1 January 2026 the free invoicing tool of the Directorate General of Revenue may only be used by those invoicing up to 36,000 balboas a year and issuing at most 100 documents a month; everyone else must contract a Qualified Authorisation Provider (PAC). Each invoice is issued in XML format, validated before being delivered to the customer, receives a Unique Electronic Invoice Code (CUFE) and is represented in a readable receipt called…
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Taxes a company pays in Panama: income tax, ITBMS, dividends, Notice of Operation and payroll
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Business, Economy

Taxes a company pays in Panama: income tax, ITBMS, dividends, Notice of Operation and payroll

In short: a company operating in Panama pays income tax of 25% on its net Panamanian-source income, charges and passes on the 7% ITBMS if it exceeds the turnover threshold, withholds dividend tax when it distributes profits, pays each year the Notice of Operation tax of 2% of its equity and the flat annual fee of 300 dollars, and bears the employer contributions to the Social Security Fund and the education insurance on its payroll. Companies that only generate income outside the country pay no income tax, but do pay the flat fee and the resident agent. This Radar Panamá…
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How Panama’s economy works: dollar, Canal, banking, logistics and territorial taxation
26
Sep
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By Deilys Romero
Business, Economy

How Panama’s economy works: dollar, Canal, banking, logistics and territorial taxation

In short: Panama's economy rests on five pillars that reinforce one another: the US dollar as legal tender since 1904, the Canal, an international banking centre with more than 160 billion dollars in assets, a logistics and services platform built around the interoceanic waterway, and a territorial tax regime that only taxes income generated inside the country. With them, gross domestic product grew 4.4% in the last full year measured by the National Institute of Statistics and Census, to 90.462 billion nominal dollars, driven by transport and Canal tolls. Its weaknesses are structural too: double-digit unemployment, informality close to half…
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