Latinex: Expanding Panama’s Capital Market Beyond Borders.
By By Olga Cantillo, Executive President & CEO, Latinex Group
Thirty-five years after its founding, Latinex, Panama’s stock exchange and central securities depository, stands as a bridge between Latin America and the global capital markets. What began as a local market, has evolved into a fully digital platform where issuers, intermediaries, and investors connect seamlessly across borders, driven by technology, regulation, and innovation.
A New Chapter: The First International Listing
This month, Latinex marked a major milestone with the first international fixed-income issuance listed under its new International Listing segment. This framework provides issuers with a streamlined pathway for listing securities offered under Rule 144A and/or Regulation S, with pre-admission in as little as three business days and documentation in English or Spanish.
The success of this inaugural listing signals growing demand for transparent and efficient alternatives for regional issuers seeking international visibility, while investors benefit from secondary-market access in Panama’s modernized trading environment.
Connecting Markets: iLink and Euroclear Bank
Global access remains at the core of Latinex’s strategy. Through iLink, the operational bridge between Latinclear and Euroclear Bank, eligible securities can become Euroclearable, allowing international investors to hold Panamanian instruments in their global custodian accounts. With more than US$9 billion in securities already available through iLink, the mechanism simplifies placement, settlement, and safekeeping across jurisdictions. For issuers and dealers, it delivers streamlined post-trade operations; for investors, it offers the familiarity and efficiency of global settlement standards.
Integration Across Central America
Latinex continues to champion regional market integration, connecting Panama with El Salvador and Nicaragua under a remote-operator model. This arrangement enables licensed intermediaries to trade across markets under mutual recognition, expanding investor access while maintaining regulatory oversight.
The initiative, complemented by correspondent arrangements with Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras, now represents over US$1.5 billion in traded securities, with 61% of those transactions taking place in Panama, highlighting the region’s growing appetite for cross-border diversification.
Technology as a Strategic Enabler
At the foundation of Latinex’s evolution lies a commitment to technological modernization. The exchange operates on Nasdaq’s Matching Engine, delivering high availability and robust execution standards.
Meanwhile, Latinclear is upgrading its post-trade infrastructure to a new core platform powered by DEPEND and HUBBLE messaging, enhancing automation, interoperability, and cyber-resilience. These advancements ensure that Latinex’s market infrastructure meets international benchmarks in efficiency, transparency, and operational resilience, a critical advantage for global investors seeking reliability in emerging markets.
Sustainability as Market Infrastructure
Beyond technology and connectivity, sustainability is embedded in Latinex’s market development strategy. The exchange promotes thematic financing, green, social, and sustainability-linked bonds, and works closely with issuers to align reporting practices with evolving global standards.
Sustainability also extends inward, with robust governance, enterprise risk management, and cyber-resilience frameworks that reflect Latinex’s integrated approach to long-term market stability.
Looking Ahead: Data, Scale, and Inclusion
Latinex’s next phase centers on scaling internationalization and expanding digital and data services to provide investors with real-time analytics and issuers with tools that enhance visibility, disclosure, and investor engagement.
Through technology, Latinex aims to make data more accessible, empower evidence-based decision-making, and promote inclusion across the regional financial ecosystem.
In essence, Latinex is building a gateway for sustainable and connected capital flows, where investors, issuers, and intermediaries meet in a market purpose-built for transparency, efficiency, and growth.