ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT CONFERENCE

Panama Canal Executives Discuss Expansion Benefits at Economist Intelligence Unit Conference

Date: 24-OCT-2007

INDUSTRY LEADERS MEET AT THE BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF PANAMA IN PANAMA CITY

CANAL CEO AND BOARD CHAIR SPEAK ABOUT PANAMA'S GEOGRAPHIC ADVANTAGE AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EXPANSION

PANAMA CITY, Panama, October 24, 2007 - The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), along with the Government of Panama, participated in The Business Roundtable today, organized by Economist Conferences, a division of the Economist Intelligence Unit in Panama. Conference attendees included senior government and global business leaders from the maritime, financial, technology and construction industry.

The Government Roundtable was inaugurated Tuesday, October 23 by Panama's President Martín Torrijos and continued today with the opening session Reaping the Benefits of the Panama Canal Expansion. During the forum, Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Lewis Navarro, ACP Board of Directors Chairman and Minister of Canal Affairs Dani Kuzniecky, ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta and Coyne et Bellier's Executive Vice President for Strategy and Development, Jean Binquet discussed the importance of the Canal's expansion as one of the main projects for the country's economic development.

Panama is leveraging its two primary assets, its natural geographic position and the Panama Canal, to create an aggressive development strategy. Key to Panama's strategic location is the waterway, whose expansion, is promoting development in sectors such as tourism, logistics, construction, and insurance.

The expansion will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a third set of locks, which will double capacity and allow more traffic, longer and wider ships.

About the Panama Canal Authority. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal. The ACP is governed by its organic law and the regulations approved by its Board of Directors. For more information, please refer to the Panama Canal Authority's Web site: http://www.pancanal.com/.

For Panama Canal video, please visitwww.thenewsmarket.com/panamacanal.

CELLULAR CONCESSIONS

American Mobile is on two concessions in Panama

José Meléndez

El Universal

Wednesday October 31, 2007

Source: http://estadis.eluniversal.com.mx/finanzas/60919.html

The company America Mobile, owned by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, will face beginning today to firms from Jamaica, France, Luxembourg and Panama to fight for two concessions from the Panamanian cellular market by 20 years from 2008, with a price of about 70 million. The system of Panamanian cellular until now controlled by firms Cable & Wireless, Britain, and Telefonica of Spain suffer an extension with the invitation to tender the two concessions. Companies aspiring to be presented today before the Public Service Authority of Panama (ASEP) to obtain all documentation.

Horacio Hoquee, deputy director of fixed networks of ASEP, said recently that America THE UNIVERSAL Field "has always been at the table and we know that he is interested in coming." The competition will run companies with Digicel, Jamaica, Orange of France and Millicom of Luxembourg, as well as Cable Onda and Telecarrier, both of Panama.

For his part, Manuel Troitiño, director of Telecommunications ASEP, explained that the submission of bids and the announcement of the winners will be announced between 5 and 7 March next year. The contracts will be signed on March 17 next and the service should be available to Panamanians beginning in October 2008.

The process will become the second opening the market for cellular telephony in Panama since 1996, when Bellsouth Corporation in the United States, and Cable & Wireless paid 72 million dollars each for a foray to cellular telephony. The rights of Bellsouth, which is in the process of disappearance to merge with AT & T, USA were then obtained by Telefonica Moviles Panama, a subsidiary of Telefonica of Spain and operates the Nissan brand. The two new concessions imply an expansion of technical service, as it will operate with different frequency ranges that Telefonica and Cable & Wireless, which has about a million users, according to sources Panamanian. Any of the companies that win will have to pay a minimum of 36 million dollars each (Google translation)