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Investing in Colombia II – Bogotá

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• When one considers investing in Latin America and investing in Colombia in particular the famous words of Baron Rothschild come to mind.


http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/investing-in-latin-america/



• This 18th century investor and banker is credited with saying that “The time to buy [stocks] is when there is blood in the streets.




• .” He was talking about 18th century wars and rebellions but his words are pertinent in the New World today.




• Specifically, Colombia is coming out of a half century long rebellion and many investors have not yet caught on.




• This is the third of a four part series about Investing in Colombia.




• We will deal briefly with the history of the Colombian Civil War and then look at investment opportunities in the 8 million person capital city of Bogotá.




The Colombian Civil War

• The current Colombian civil war has lasted from the mid 1960’s to the present. Rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the Colombian poor.




• The primary rebel group is FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia).




• The rebels primarily have occupied remote areas of the jungle, especially in the Amazon Basin with occasional forrays into the cities.




• An increasingly aggressive campaign by the Colombian government has driven FARC from the cities and forced them to cross borders into Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama in search of sanctuary.




• Despite the claim that FARC simply wants to improve the lot of poor Colombians they have been tied to drug trafficking.




• Many Colombian families can name a member of two who were assassinated by FARC for opposing extortion efforts by the rebels.




• On the other hand government allied paramilitary forces fighting FARC are also accused of drug trafficking and terrorism.




• The good news is that the conflict is settling down and Colombian Peace Talks have begun. The time has come for investing in Colombia.


http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/colombian-peace-talks/



The Capital City of Colombia

• Affect the accent of someone from Madrid when telling a story and a Latin American will often laugh, just at the accent.




• The same is true about a Bogotá accent for Colombians from outside of the capital city.




• Bogota lies at 8,600 feet above sea level making it the third highest city in Latin America after La Paz and Quito.




• One in every six Colombians lives in the Bogota municipal area.




• Bogotá is the seat of the Colombian national government and the economic and industrial center of Colombia.




• Bogotá accounts for a fourth of Colombia’s GDP. It is one of the largest centers of industry in Latin America.




• The city is centrally located making logistics relatively easy in this mountainous country.




• A large number of multinational companies have located in Bogotá.




• A downside to its central location is that Bogotá is not a port city, so transport of finished goods for export can be difficult.




• Telecommunications and service industry provide three fourths of all jobs in Bogotá.




• Bogota is high, cold, and not a tourist destination.




• Foreigners will not come to retire there.




• However, it is a bustling center of commerce and could be a profitable place to do business.




The Rising Colombian Peso

• The Colombian peso has outperformed all other currencies versus the US dollar in 2012.




• For those interested in offshore investment and offshore banking, Colombia may well be the place to be as its economy takes off.




• For more about investing in Colombia, read Investing in Colombia I – The Caribbean, Investing in Colombia II - Bogota, and Investing in Colombia IV - The Amazon.


http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/investing-in-colombia-i-the-caribbean/

http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/investing-in-colombia-ii-bogota

http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/investing-in-colombia-iv-the-amazon


