Colombia Sponsored by Proexport Colombia
Why Us
For at least ten reasons:
1. Macroeconomic Stability
Colombia is one of the most stable economies in Latin America, as shown by its above average steady economic growth that last year reached 6.8%.
Macroeconomic indices also reflect the country’s stability. The inflation rate has been substantially reduced over the last few years to reach 4.5% in 2006. Foreign debt has been reduced by more than 20% of the GDP in the past few years.
2. Political Stability
Colombia is known as the Latin American oldest and most stable democracy. All presidents have been elected democratically, except for a short period, between 1953 and 1957, when there was a military dictatorship.
According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006, Colombia ranks number-one in the Latin American region in terms of consistent and transparent government policies.
President Alvaro Uribe Vélez was reelected for a second term in office (2006-2010) with over 62% of the total votes. This shows the consistency of government policies supported by the majority of the population.
3. Foreign investors’ trust in Colombia
Foreign direct investment has grown significantly; in 2006 it stood at US$ 6,295 million.
More than 700 multinational companies have investments in Colombia. Of note among them are Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Jonson, 3M, SABMiller, Telefonica and Nestle.
Recently, other multinational companies such as Falabella, Millicom Internacional Celullar and Glencore have put their vote of confidence in Colombia.
The country provides investors with the possibility of entering into 3- to 20-year legal stability agreements which ensures that rules related to investment determinants will remain unchanged and will continue to apply for the duration of the agreement.
4. Competitive and highly qualified human resources
Colombia’s workforce is considered to be the best within Latin America, and one of the most qualified, at management level, in the region. The literacy rate in Colombia is 94.2%, one of the highest rates in Latin America.
According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook, Colombia ranks number one among the leading economies in Latin America in terms of availability of skilled labor and ranks second in terms of qualified managers.
Salaries on services sector and hourly wages for the manufacturing sector are highly competitive when compared to other developing and developed countries.
5. Flexible labor system
Colombia has one of the most flexible labor systems in Latin America.
- The extended workday from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. enables the employer to hire two working shifts without having to pay overtime or night surcharges.
- Companies may hire internship students from the National
- Learning Service (SENA in spanish) through a special service rendering contract with no labor ties.
- Reduced compensation for wrongful termination of employment.
6. Strategic Location
Colombia is strategically located at a middle point between North and South America.
- Colombia has coastlines on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and has a modern port infrastructure.
- Easy access to North American, European, Asian and Latin American markets.
- Colombia is in the same time zone as the East Coast of the United States which is an advantage compared to other countries as it facilitates Call-Center activities and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) from Colombia to the entire continent.
7. Export Platform and Privileged Access to World Markets
Due to various Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and some unilateral tariff preferences, Colombia has access to a 1.2 billion-people market and will have soon free access to 72 million people more:
Free Trade Agreements
- FTA with the United States, currently in the ratification process
- G-3 (Colombia and Mexico)
- Andean Community of Nations -CAN (Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru)
- Venezuela
- Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela -MERCOSUR.
- FTA Colombia - Chile
- FTA Colombia – Central America (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador), currently in the ratification process
- With the United States: ATPDEA.
- With the European Union: SGP Plus
- Colombia - CARICOM
8. Special Foreign Trade System
- 10 duty-free zones that provide customs, exchange and fiscal benefits.
- New law for single company duty-free zones to encourage foreign trade, providing tax incentives.
- Incentives for large exporters
- Special import/export systems
9. Multiple development poles
With a population of over 42 million, Colombia has the second largest population in South America:
- 1 city with population over 7 million
- 3 cities with population over 2 million
- 4 cities with population over 500,000
- 23 cities with population over 100,000
10. Infrastructure and Communications
- 6 main seaports on the Caribbean and 2 main seaports on the Pacific Ocean
- 5 international airports
- 91% of the national roads are paved
- Access to 3 submarine communication cables, which ensures stable and reliable communications.
- Two additional submarine cables will be put in service soon
Among others...
