Doing Business in LATAM (Colombia)

Colombia – A profile

Investor Considerations

• Colombia has one of the most stable economies in Latin America, keeping a steady growth rate over the last decades.
• Colombia is perceived as the only Latin America country that repays its foreign debt on a timely basis.
• Colombia is considered to have a great asset, such as its human capital, acknowledged by its high management capacity when compared to other countries of the Andean Community. Colombian labor force is considered to be one of the most qualified and competitive in Latin America in terms of costs at management and operative levels. Colombia has one of the most flexible labor regulations in Latin America.
• Colombia is strategically located at an intermediate point between North and South America: its coastlines run all along the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean and it has a modern port infrastructure.
• Colombia is the third market in size in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico, with a population of approximately 41 million of people.
• Colombia has access to a market of 1200 million people, as a result of various free trade agreements and preferential custom tariffs unilaterally granted.
• The country has 10 Free Trade Zones which offer exchange, tax and customs incentives. In addition, it has 5 special economic exportation zones that offer, besides those offered by Free Trade Zones, labor incentives.
• Colombia has one of the highest percentages of public utility coverage in Latin America. It has a modern telecommunications infrastructure and has performed growing investment in the transporting infrastructure.
• More than 400 multinational companies rely on the country and develop successful operations.

Colombia-Business Environment

Investor Considerations

• State intervention is moderate, and private ownership and free enterprise are respected.
• Some tax, credit and exchange incentives are available to investors in various economic sectors, particularly for export promotion.
• Considerable bureaucratic interference and regulation.
• High capability in human resource management.
• High access capacity to ports and infrastructure and industrial sites.
• Preferential access to more than 1,000 Million of consumers worldwide.

Colombia-Foreign investment and Trade opportunities

Investor Considerations

• The government is interested in attracting foreign investment.
• There are specific legal regulations regarding foreign investment.
• Foreign investors are entitled to equal privileges as natural investors regarding taxes and incentives.
• As a result of signing the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, investment options for both, Colombian and foreign investors, become significantly broadened.
• Non-developed industrial areas and the limited technical competition grant investment opportunities in the country.

Address:

Calle 98 No 8-28 Oficina 501  (Bogotá-Colombia) – www.domaneconsulting.com- Telephone: (57) 321 4517104