Interview:David Bojanini What impact will recent reforms have on the country’s financial services sector? DAVID BOJANINI: While the recently passed tax reform reduced the corporate rate, it also applied a surcharge on financial institutions for a minimum of three years. Details on how this will affect different industries like banking or insurance are still needed. Furthermore, we are waiting…
Interview:Javier Díaz Fajardo What is being done to support the growth of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises? JAVIER DÍAZ FAJARDO: It is important to distinguish between each segment, as businesses face different challenges depending on their size. For example, our strategy for micro-enterprises involves partnerships with more than 86 micro-finance institutions, many of which are…
Interview:María Fernanda Suárez What specific measures are necessary to develop Colombia’s hydrocarbons reserves? MARÍA FERNANDA SUÁREZ: Regarding hydrocarbons, we want to invigorate the industry to ensure we maintain self-sufficient energy production. This is under threat because we currently have only 5.7 and 11.7 years of oil and gas reserves, respectively. Projections show that if…
Interview:Juan Pablo Córdoba How would you assess the development of Colombia’s capital markets in recent years? JUAN PABLO CÓRDOBA: The equities market has not fared well in recent years. However, there has been growth across other segments, including bonds and derivatives. The market has faced headwinds from a number of factors in the last few years, including an overly complex fiscal…
Interview: Astrid Álvarez Hernández In which areas of energy transport and transmission is there potential for investment? ASTRID ÁLVAREZ HERNÁNDEZ: Colombia boasts a developed and efficient transmission system, with 15,000 km of network and a 97% coverage rate. It reaches most of the country, and the remaining remote areas are supplied by independent generators. Moreover, Colombia has one of…
Interview:Kelvin Dushnisky How competitive is the local mining industry, and what reforms are necessary to boost activity? KELVIN DUSHNISKY: We believe that Colombia has an opportunity to encourage diversification in largescale mining, which until now has largely been focused on coal. While Colombia is a relatively new location for large-scale mining projects, the country is making steady progress…
Interview:Ángela María Orozco Gómez What challenges does Colombia’s urban transport face, and what is being done to overcome them? ÁNGELA MARÍA OROZCO GÓMEZ: The biggest challenge we face under our current urban mobility model is sustainability. Many of the projects in progress were designed with the assumption that they would be self-sustainable, which has not been the case, resulting…
Interview: Roberto Moreno How is Bogotá responding to the challenges of urbanisation and densification? ROBERTO MORENO: Bogotá is one of the densest cities in the region, and indeed the world. In addition to densification, we are also experiencing a population shift, a growing middle class and new trends in family planning. As a result, we require smaller but more numerous housing options. In this…
Interview:José Manuel Restrepo How can Colombia boost international trade? JOSÉ MANUEL RESTREPO: Our strategy to boost productivity includes a push to actively participate in global value chains by capitalising on our free trade agreements and strengthening the country’s export capacity. We are reaching out to business owners across the country to support them in their export development…
Interview:Ignacio Roman Vila; Fabián Hernández; Marcelo Cataldo How has the sector adapted to new technologies, and how will it benefit the broader economy? IGNACIO VILA: A reduction in the prices of telecoms services would increase GDP by two percentage points through increased connectivity. A 10-percentage-point increase in connectivity could result in a 1.3-percentage-point increase in…
