The Right Way & The Wrong Way to Do Business in Panama...

The Right Way & The Wrong Way in Panama Banking

EVER THOUGHT OF VISITING PANAMA?

... "YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL YOU GO"

... BUT HOW DO YOU ACHIEVE THE MOST IN LIMITED TIME?

... THE RIGHT WAY AND THE WRONG WAY TO DO BUSINESS IN PANAMA

As I wrote on the Q Wealth blog this week, we still believe Panama
is one of the best bases for those of you considering a move
offshore. A lot of other newsletters, service providers and the
like also recommend Panama, and with good reason. Panama has the
canal - possibly the world's most important asset from a
geopolitical point of view - maintaining a unique equilibrium
between the rising powers of the east and the waning powers of the
west.

Panama has never attempted to tax income earned outside its
borders, has always been financially stable, and is also easy to
get to and quite a pleasant place to stay.

Panama is an efficient place to do business by Latin American
standards, but there are still things you should watch out for.
Things are done differently here than in the US or Europe. And if
you just get off the plane and start to do business, there's a
significant risk that you could make some costly mistakes.
Especially if you deal with some of those offshore service
providers who are very good at search engine optimization... but
their only aim is to sell you an overpriced company, get you out
the door and move on to the next sucker.

A British friend of mine who is in this business in Panama talks of
helping the 'walking wounded' - nearly every week he sees Americans
and others who have bought a Panama structure but don't have the
faintest idea what they are supposed to do with it. These
structures are worse than useless, because what they have been
advised to do could literally land them in jail back home!


THE RIGHT WAY AND THE WRONG WAY

There is a right way and a wrong way to do business in Panama.
Above I've mentioned the wrong way. I'm just about to tell you
about the right way.

Because we've come across this problem so often, and we have more
and more clients who prefer to fly down in person rather than
setting up a Panama company over the net, we thought it was time to
formalize a solution.

It's a very smart idea to fly down to Panama in person before
jumping in at the deep end. It's a good idea to sit down with
professionals, bankers and the like. But, we do appreciate that
most clients have businesses to run and are not in a position to
spend weeks on the ground doing all the background research, due
diligence and the like.

Therefore we've put together a service where you can hire an
experienced and bilingual on-the-ground representative who will
take care of you, directly through the good offices of Q Wealth
Report.

This person will be like your concierge, but with an important
difference. While hotel concierges know about restaurants, tours
and the like, this lady knows about things like banks, company
registers, insurance companies, real estate and safe deposit
operations. She can tell you where to buy or sell gold coins or
exchange money. She can walk you through getting a prepaid debit
card or merchant account. She can get you direct access to the
higher echelons banks, even if you are a US citizen who might well
be turned away at the main entrance these days.


HOW IT WORKS

I have personally put together a basic itinerary based on my years
on the ground in Panama. The vision is something like this.

You fly in one evening. Our liaison will already have helped you
book a hotel - whether you want the Marriott, the Bristol or a
cheaper B&B with a more Panamanian fee.  There are also plenty of
private apartments available for rent by the day, with high speed
internet, for those who prefer a little more independence.

A trustworthy English speaking taxi driver will meet you at the
airport, for no extra charge above the cost of a regular taxi (you
therefore avoid taxi scams). He will hand you a local cellphone
that you can borrow for the duration of your visit, and put you
straight on the phone with our liaison lady.

The next morning our liaison lady will pick you up at the door or
sit down for a coffee and spend a little while talking about your
requirements and answering your initial questions. Then you jump in
a cab and head over to one of our recommended banks, where an
appointment has been set up so you can talk through your banking
requirements and get to know what services are on offer - both in
Panama and at the bank's other offices in other countries if
applicable.

We have several recommended banks - depending whether you want a
discreet private banking relationship, or whether you are more
interested in things like e-commerce, or borrowing money to buy
real estate, or a big international bank that might be better for
international trade and high-flying finance deals. If you want to
visit a bank that we don't normally deal with, that's fine too. If
you want to open a brokerage account, another short taxi ride will
take you to meet our recommended brokerage.

You'll also get a chance to do all the necessary paperwork for
setting up your corporation or Foundation via my own firm, Peter
Macfarlane and Associates. You'll already have been informed what
you need to bring with you, and anything that is unclear (for
example if you don't have certain documents that are normally
requested) that will have been worked out in advance. You are
basically there to meet your partners and formalize the agreement
with your signature. Everything nice and smooth.

If you want to open a high security safe deposit box to store
documents or precious items, our liaison lady will help you with
that too. You'll be given a full VIP tour of the facility -
naturally with the chance to ask questions.

The aim is that by the end of the day, you'll have got everything
done that you needed to do. It will be time to head off to a nice
restaurant for dinner before retiring for the evening or sampling
Panama City nightlife.

The following day you can head home - or if you have time you can
head out of the city on one of the excellent tours that our liaison
can recommend, based on her in-depth knowledge of the country.


BUT IT'S MORE FLEXIBLE THAN THAT

This is a kind of suggested itinerary that I put together in
conjunction with our lady on the ground. But it's by no means fixed.

Everyone has slightly different interests. If you want to look at
properties, you will be introduced to several agents so you can
take your choice. If you want to go and check out various service
providers you have contacted on your own, our liaison can go with
you, help cross the language barrier if necessary, and give you an
impartial opinion.

If you already have something set up in Panama but need to bring it
up to date or make changes, that will be accommodated. Etc etc. The
possibilities are endless. And if after one or two meetings you
learn something new that makes you want to change your plans for
the rest of the day completely .... no problem at all!


GOOD PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS

This is obviously a fee-based service, and we want you to get the
best value for money. So before your trip, the liaison will be
available by Skype, phone or secure e-mail to plan your trip and
make sure everything runs smoothly. In particular, documents are
very important in Panama... so it's absolutely vital that you bring
the right documentation with you, or even send scans in advance.
Our service will take care of making sure you have all your papers
in order, to achieve what you want.


IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SETTING UP THIS SERVICE, WHAT NEXT?

We're planning to launch this service directly on our website soon (November 2010).
We're looking at the $500 price point - good value I think when you
consider the hourly rates charged by lawyers who are not nearly as
well connected as our people and don't have time to dedicate full
days to individual clients.

There are other concierge services in Panama City that handle
relocation, real estate and so on... but we don't know of any that
focus on the core competencies Q Wealth is good at.  By which I mean
asset protection, capital preservation, freedom, wealth and privacy.

That's why we talked at length to our reputable on the ground
partners in Panama City and tailor made this liaison service
specifically for people with our own mindset, who want to get
things done. The value of having like minded people help you, as
opposed to some clueless bilingual secretary, cannot be
underestimated!

For the moment we are looking for 'beta testers' from our existing
readership and we will offer a lower rate of just $395. Best of
all, if you subsequently decide to set up a Panama structure
(corporation, foundation or both) through Peter Macfarlane and
Associates, we'll apply this as a credit, so this high level of
personal service will end up costing you nothing.  (Once again,
there is absolutely no obligation or pressure to use our services
beyond the liaison).

 So if you've thought of visiting Panama but not yet got around to
it, or if earlier trips didn't yield the results you were looking
for, the opportunity is now open to you! Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to get
everything in motion.

For more Insider Musings like these, an affordable $87 per year

Q Wealth Report Membership is now available to you.

Kind regards,

Peter Macfarlane