Our newly disovered financial guru, Ivanka Trump, says that Panama’s real estate market is the strongest in the world. Ivanka, the executive vice president of development and acquisitions her fathers Trump Organization, impressed us mightily when she appeared on SquawkBox last week. It wasn’t so much that a pretty young thing turned out to be smart that caught us off guard. Lots of pretty girls are smart. But we had kind of figured that a scion of a celebrity family like the Trump’s would be a bit dim. In fact, she shines. “I have projects all over the world [and] have a unique sense of the global real estate climate and submarkets,” she tells Latin Business Chronicle. “With great conviction, [I can say that] Panama is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, real estate market. Our biggest problem is not having enough inventory. We only have a small percent of the building left.”
Apparently, Panama is pouring huge tax incentives into real estate development. She contrasts this with America, where taxes are going up. And the Panama Canal is still going strong.
Of course, both factors raise red flags. The Panama Canal is heavily exposed to international trade and shipping, both of which are looking at huge downturns as the world slips deeper into a recession. And tax incentivized building can often lead to unsustainable bubbles.
She also may be talking her book here. The Trumps have a major development underway in Panama. That said, this also gives her a unique perspective on the opportunities in Panama. So perhaps we shouldn't make too much of the conflict of interest.
John Carney - Wall Street Journal
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