Colombia, first in Latin America for investor protection
Bogota, April 18, 2012.- Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Sergio Diaz-Granados, called on Spanish investors to seize the momentum of the Colombian economy and enjoy legal certainty, nationwide.
This was stated by the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Tourism, Sergio Diaz-Granados, before an audience of Spanish investors that were participating at the forum, "Investing in Colombia."
Colombia can be an export platform for Spanish products destined for the United States, given the coming FTA with that country.
The investors were participating in the forum, “Investing in Colombia,” which was organized by the newspaper, El Pais, in Spain. This effort was a prelude to the official visit of the President of the Government of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, who will be in Bogota tomorrow.
The Minister gave a message of reassurance to the Spanish investors, noting that "there is no expropriation." Colombia has a model that does not discriminate against foreign capital, but rather gives equal treatment to foreign investors, as that it would provide to domestic entrepreneurs. This means that it rejects the notion of expropriation without compensation, the Minister explained.
What is sought, the official said, is to provide the best environment for business to flow and to be profitable. "To be profitable, to create jobs, that is what this government is committed to," he stated.
The senior official stressed the importance of having the trade agreement with the European Union, which will become an institutional structure to increase investment volumes, especially from countries like Spain. Last year, Spain ranked as the second largest provider of FDI to Colombia in the sectors outside of mining and energy. This was the case for the sectors of manufacturing, trade, finance, and services.
In addition to the FTA, Colombia and Spain have a bilateral investment agreement, which has been in force since 2007, a Supplementary Trade Agreement, which details the standards of investment protection and provides an opportunity for businesses to access international arbitration if they consider that their rights have been violated.
"We have sent a clear message for many years, that security covers not only physical aspects but legal one as well," explained Minister Diaz-Granados, who was highlighting the progress the country has achieved in this area. In the World Bank’s report, Doing Business, Colombia has improved from position 79 to position 42, in terms of business climate. Also, according to the same organization, Colombia is now the first country in Latin America for investor protection and the fifth best nation in the world for the same indicator.
Furthermore, the Minister stressed that Latin America is an economic leader and a region of growth. "We must break the cliché that developing economies are poor, stagnant, and not buying. That was the trend for 40 years, but this has been transformed. And we are now receiving 46% of foreign direct investment in the world," the Minister said, pointing out that Latin America was no longer a “backyard” continent.
Why invest in Colombia?
At the opening of the first panel of the seminar, "Investing in Colombia," Minister Diaz-Granados stated six reasons why to invest in Colombia, as well as in which sectors and where to begin.
As a first step, he said, Colombia is a country of different regions and opportunities for investment.
Second, the Government is making efforts to continually improve the investment climate, both in terms of regulatory reform and the creation of a network of bilateral investment agreements.
Colombia currently has 8 agreements in force, 7 in process of ratification, and 8 under negotiation. As a result of this work, the investment flows for 2011 reached USD 15 billion and the first quarter of 2012 exceeded USD 4 billion.
A third reason that the Minister gave for considering Colombia as an investment destination is that of labor market efficiency. Colombia's human capital is one of its best assets, which was a point that has already been highlighted by the director of El País, Javier Moreno.
A fourth reason is that Colombia has space available to expand it free trade zones Currently, there are over 4 million square meters for this purpose.
As a fifth point, the Minister referred to the work being carried out to identify key areas where progress can be made in exports. To this end, he pointed out the efforts being done to convert the 16 sectors of the Productive Transformation Program into world-class players.
For example, he said, Spain has opportunities in health tourism, beef, publishing, and communications, as well as auto parts and vehicles. All of which are enrolled in this innovative program.
The Minister stated that the sixth reason why Colombia is a superior investment destination is that investors can make use of the nation’s network of free trade agreements with other economies. "Colombia can become an export platform for Spanish products that are destined for the U.S. market," he explained. (RCF) Edition: Lucy Samper OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
