As part of the long-term measures adopted by the government to develop Colombia’s infrastructure, the country has undertaken certain material legal reforms which aim to promote public-private partnerships (PPPs), increase and diversify financing sources for infrastructure projects, and create a more attractive framework for foreign investors and lenders who take an interest in Colombia’s key assets.…
Grupo Éxito is a subsidiary of Groupe Casino, a long-standing French mass retailer with operations around the world. Through its subsidiaries, it is the largest retailer in Latin America as a whole and specifically in Colombia and Brazil. Groupe Casino holds a stake of about 54% in Grupo Éxito. Before its September 2015 acquisition of retail stores in Argentina and Brazil, the company had a network…
Ecopetrol is the largest corporation in Colombia, one of the 50-largest oil and gas companies in the world, and one of the four largest in Latin America. Its controlling shareholder is the Colombian government with an 88.5% stake. It plays a key role in the economy, since oil and gas represent more than half of the country’s exports, and its payments of dividends and taxes are critical to the nation’s…
Grupo Aval is the largest and most profitable financial group in Colombia and Central America. It operates through four banks in Colombia: Banco de Bogotá, Banco de Occidente, Banco Popular and Banco AV Villas; one bank in Central America, Banco de América Central (BAC) Credomatic; a pension fund manager, Porvenir, and a merchant bank, Corficolombiana, both in Colombia. Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo,…
Promigas is a Colombian company focused on the transport and distribution of natural gas, with 40 years of experience and operations in Colombia and Peru. During 2014, 50% of the natural gas sold in Colombia was transported through Promigas’ grid. Its extensive network of more than 2900 km of gas pipelines is one of the country’s main energy backbones. Throughout its history, Promigas has been…
Though Colombia has achieved impressive economic growth over the last decade, the benefits of this remain unequally distributed. The government has acknowledged this issue and made a commitment to pursue equitable policies. The OECD defines inclusive growth as “economic growth that creates opportunities for all segments of the population and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity, both…
Mauricio Cárdenas, minister of finance and public credit, has acknowledged that the Colombian budget for 2016 is under pressure. In November 2015 in a statement to the press he calculated that as a result of the drop in international oil prices the government would face a revenue shortfall of COP20.3trn ($7.5bn) in the period between 2013 and 2016. Then, in December 2015 he told Reuters that Colombia…
In late October 2015 the World Bank released its report “Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency”, which ranked a total of 189 countries worldwide for the ease with which 10 specific business processes can be performed. They are: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting access to credit, protecting minority…
Colombia has launched what is known as the fourth generation (4G) road concession programme, which is a major public-private investment initiative. Work on designing the programme first began in 2011. The first 4G concessions were awarded four years later in 2015, with the first construction work commencing in November 2015. According to Luis Fernando Andrade, president of the National Infrastructure…
Ecopetrol is the largest corporation in Colombia, one of the 50-largest oil and gas companies in the world, and one of the four largest in Latin America. Its controlling shareholder is the Colombian government with an 88.5% stake. It plays a key role in the economy, since oil and gas represent more than half of the country’s exports, and its payments of dividends and taxes are critical to the nation’s…
