Capital Markets
From The Report: Colombia 2014
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In recent years the Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC) has made significant efforts to increase investment options and expand the capital markets, including the creation of the Colombian Global Market (Mercado Global Colombiano, MGC) and the derivatives market, incorporation into the Integrated Latin American Market (Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano, MILA), and the implementation of Colombia Capital, a programme focused on developing future issuers. The local capital markets are also gaining attraction abroad, with the participation of foreign investors in the stock market increasing significantly in the past two years, growing from 8% in 2011 to 20% in 2013. Positive reviews are likely to bring more capital flows and raise values. This chapter contains interviews with Juan Pablo Córdoba Garcés, President, Colombian Securities Exchange; and Carlos Raúl Yepes Jiménez, President, Bancolombia.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Increasing participation of foreign investors demonstrates growing attraction abroad
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Colombia’s capital markets are becoming more sophisticated by the day. The government’s decision to exchange external financing for internal financing has driven the development of the fixed-income market. The Colombian Securities Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC) has also made significant efforts to increase investment options and expand the capital markets. Programmes developed by the BVC include the creation of the Colombian Global Market ( Mercado Global Colombiano, MGC) and the…

Interview

OBG talks to Juan Pablo Córdoba Garcés, President, Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC)
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Interview:Juan Pablo Córdoba Garcés What changes or new developments can we expect from the domestic stock market in 2014? JUAN PABLO CÓRDOBA GARCES: The BVC is focused on making the market more accessible and attractive to international investors. The level of foreign investment in the market is growing and is between 25% and 28% of the total traded equity. Foreign participation in public debt has likewise been increasing. Around 10% of the stock of government bonds is now in hands of…

Interview

OBG talks to Carlos Raúl Yepes Jiménez, President, Bancolombia
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Interview:Raúl Yepes Jiménez Who benefits most from growth in banking penetration rates – the economy, banks or the people? RAUL YEPES JIMENEZ: While the banking penetration rate shows a positive evolution, there is still a vast market to be developed. In mid-2013, a total of 21.6m people, or 69.2% of the adult population, used at least one financial product, compared to 55.5% five years ago. There are opportunities in all socioeconomic and business sectors. Such development should…

Interview

OBG talks to Carlos Raúl Yepes Jiménez, President, Bancolombia
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Interview:Raúl Yepes Jiménez Who benefits most from growth in banking penetration rates – the economy, banks or the people? RAUL YEPES JIMENEZ: While the banking penetration rate shows a positive evolution, there is still a vast market to be developed. In mid-2013, a total of 21.6m people, or 69.2% of the adult population, used at least one financial product, compared to 55.5% five years ago. There are opportunities in all socioeconomic and business sectors. Such development should…

Analysis

Vibrant market: Fixed-income investments play an active role on the Colombian bourse
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The bond market in Colombia was the fifth-largest fixed-income market in the world in terms of traded value at the end of 2013, according to the World Federation of Exchanges. The market expanded dramatically between 2002 and 2011, when the number of outstanding titles grew by 249% and the total of traded volume doubled during the same period. During those years, inflation diminished from 6.4% in 2002 to 3.4% by 2011. This helped the Central Bank of Colombia (Banco de la República de Colombia,…

Analysis

The Colombian bourse is making efforts to gain more relevance and offer new opportunities to local investors
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The Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC) has promoted the internationalisation of the stock exchange through different programmes. Firstly, it has endorsed the placement of Colombian stocks in international markets through American depositary receipts. As of January 2014, nine Colombian stocks trade on US markets. The companies that trade internationally through this mechanism are large corporate groups such as Bancolombia, Ecopetrol, Avianca and Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana. To…

Analysis

Grupo Éxito: Retail
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The Company With more than 38,000 employees and over 6m customers, Grupo Éxito is the leading company in Colombia’s retail sector, and the largest in South America. It operates 470 stores directly, with a presence in 87 municipalities in Colombia. The company has been operating for more than a century and maintains a market share of 44%. In 2007 Casino Group of France acquired control of the company and currently holds an almost 55% stake. The company’s corporate focus is retail sales through a multi-format and multi-brand strategy that includes hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience and soft-discount stores with top-of-mind brands Éxito,…

Analysis

Electricity
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The Company Created in 1896, Empresa de Energía de Bogotá (EEB) is a utility holding with a presence in the segments of electricity generation, electricity distribution, gas transport and gas distribution in Colombia; gas distribution in Peru; and gas and electricity transmission in Colombia, Peru and Guatemala. EEB has implemented a successful internationalisation strategy and is well positioned to continue its organic and inorganic growth in the segments of gas and electricity in Latin America. EEB’s main shareholder is the city of Bogotá, which holds a 76.2% stake. Other significant stakes in EEB are held by Ecopetrol and Colombian…