Colombia

website of the Embassy of India http://www.embajadaindia.org/

• Basic Information
• Overview of the Market
• India - Colombia Business
• Trade and Industry Contacts

 

Basic Information

• Map: http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/samerica/co.htm

• Capital : Bogotá
• International Airports: Bogota Medellin , Cucuta , Cartagena
• Seaports: Barranquilla, Cartagena (largest), SantaMarta Buenaventura
• Free Trade Zones : Medellin , Cali , Barranquilla , Bucaramanga , Cartagena , Manizales , Santa Marta .
• Language : Spanish
• Electric Current: 220 Voltage
• Main Cities : Medellin , Cali , Barranquilla , Bucaramanga , Cartagena , Manizales , Santa Marta .
• Indian Restaurants in Bogota: Calcutta - calle75 no 8-12, Surya - carrera 4 no 27-03, Tandoor - carrera 11 no 84-53
• Taxis: Please avoid taking from the street. Better to call a teletaxi, for security reasons
• Major Banks : Banco de la Republica,Bancafe, Banco Paciffico, Banco Colpatria, Banco Industrial, Banco de Bogota, Banco Nacional, Bancoldex, Banco Santander, Banco Tequendama, Banco de Credito

 

Overview of the Market

• population - 48 million
• GDP - 229 billion dollars in 2009
• GDP growth - 0.4 % in 2009

 

• Colombia has had political and economic stability in the last 70 years, unlike many other countries which had witnessed ditatorship and boom and bust. This stability is even more remarkable that it has gone on despite the guerilla war, narco traffick and violence.

• Manufacturing sector of Colombia is the most developed and diverse among the andean community countries.

• one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America with 92 %

• Has the largest population in the Andean Community and the third largest in Latin America

• Fifth largest economy in terms of GDP in Latin America

• gateway to the markets of Andean Community, G-3 ( Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela) and USA with whom it has a preferential trade agreement and is negotiating a FTA.

• largest exporter of coffee.

• world's second biggest exporter of fresh cut flowers,
• other agro exports : flowers, bananas, cacao, palm oil and fruits and vegetables. Colombia is the second largest exporter of flowers after Netherlands. Its export revenue in 2008 was 1.1 billion dollars.

• Colombian Emeralds are famous. Colombia produces 60 % of world production.

• other mineral resources are : Nickel, gold, coal ( largest reserves in Latin America)

• Colombia produces over 500,000 barrels per day of oil. Export of oil has overtaken the revenue from coffee exports. However, the oil production is declining in recent years, in the absence of adequate investment in new exploration.. Current estimates of reserves are 1.5 billion barrels. It is feared that Colombia might become a net importer of oil by the end of this decade, if new discoveries are not made. Ecopetrol is the state company for exploration and production of oil. Foreign companies are being invited to participate in oil exploration and production independently or in collab with Ecopetrol.

• FTA with USA signed in february 2006 but is yet to be ratified by US Congress.

• Colombia has emerged as one of America’s top players in ethanol
  production, being the second largest producer in South America, after Brazil. The
  Colombian Government has issued a decree that states that in 2012 at least 20 % of
  motor vehicles in Colombia must have an engine that are capable of work with a
  fuels mix that contains 85% of bio fuels
• Average annual oil production in 2009 was 760.000 barrels per day, while average annual Gas production in the same year was 1,130 million cubic feet per day. The country's current refining capacity is 323,000 barrels per day. Colombia had 1.36 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves in 2009, the fifth-largest in South America.
  Mining:

 

India - Colombia Business

Bilateral Trade (US $ million)

 

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Exports from India	65	73	88	131	181	248	346	476	529	504
Imports by India	3	3	3	-	7	5	63	80	16	449

 

• Principal items of India ’s exports: auto parts, vehicles, organic chemicals, cotton yarn and fibre , pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, machinery and equipments and plastics. 

  2009 exports in million dollars

VEHICLES AND AUTOPARTS	195,35
ORGANIC CHEMICALS	52,75
MISCELLANEOUS CHEMICALS	50,31
COTTON AND COTTON YARNS	49,06
PHARMACEUTICALS	41,21
IRON AND STEEL	13,36
NON ELECTRICAL MACHINERY	13,13
MAN MADE STAPLE FIBERS	11,47
ARTICLES OF IRON AND STEEL	10,36
ELECTRICAL MACHINERY	8,01

• Principal items of India ’s imports crude oil,coal, teak wood and iron and steel products

• 2009 import figures in million dollars

MINERAL FUELS AND OILS	436,21
PLASTICS AND ARTICLES THEREOF	6,56
WOOD AND ARTICLES OF WOOD	1,95
SUGARS AND SUGAR CONFECTIONERY	1,09
COPPER AND ARTICLES THEREOF	0,80
LEAD AND ARTICLES THEREOF	0,59
ALUMINUM AND ARTICLES THEREOF	0,39
IRON AND STEEL	0,23
GLASS AND GLASSWARE	0,21
INORGANIC CHEMICALS	0,15

Reliance Industries Limited in 2009 imported 5.7 million barrels worth US$361 million from Colombia and from January- April 2010, has imported 3.8 million barrels worth approximately US$270 million. It is expected that Reliance will purchase 4 million barrels more from May – September 2010.

Reliance Industries announced in December that it has signed an agreement
with State oil company, Ecopetrol, to be the operator for two oil blocks in the offshore
Pacific area with a joint surface of 8000 square kilometres at the depth of 60-
1000 metres. Reliance will hold 80% stake and Ecopetrol 20%.

• Bajaj, Hero Honda, TVS and Royal Enfield have a strong presence in the two wheler market.
• Hyundai exports cars from India which are used as taxis in Colombia
• TCS, Arvind Mills, Pratibha Syntex, Ranbaxy, Torrent, Claris Pharma, Praj Industries are among the Indian companies having business in Colombia .
• raj has an office in Bogota looking after the whole of Latin America. They have got over 30 million $ contract for consultancy services for turnkey design and supply of six ethanol plants in Colombia.

• Bajaj has a two-wheeler assembly plant in Medellin. TVS has opened an Assembly plant in Cali to make motorcycles.

• Battery operated electric Indian car imported in Colombia: In September 2008,
  the first battery operated electric Indian car, REVA, arrived in Colombia. The
  Colombian Minister of Environment, Mr. Juan Lozano, welcomed the arrival of
  the car in Colombia noting that its use would significantly reduce pollution levels
  and help save increasingly costly non-renewable energy such as gasoline. The
  Government of Colombia eliminated customs duty for import of one hundred cars
  to promote its use in this country.

• OVL has bought a oil field for 420 million dollars in a joint venture with a Chinese oil company SINOPEC. The current production is about 20000 bpd. It is planned to increase this to 60,000 bpd.

• TCS has got a 4 million$ contract from the government for the tax management system.

• Infosys has got a contract in january 2008 from Bancolombia, the largest bank for a core banking solution project.

• Reliance has acquired the Borojo off-shore oil bloc in the Tumaco basin on the Pacific coast of Colombia.
• Indian pharma company IPCA has opened a subsidiary company in colombia

Reliance deal with Ecopetrol of Colombia - december 2009

Under this deal, Ecopetrol will take a 20 percent stake in the Borojo North Block 42 and the Borojo South Block 43, which together cover an area of about 8,000 square kilometres in water depths ranging from 60-1,500 metres.Reliance's unit will hold the rest of the stake in the blocks and will be their operator.

 

United Phosphorus company of India acquires a Colombian agrochemical company

United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) has purchased ( february 2008) 100% stake through its subsidiary of Evofarms group of Companies (Evofarms), a major Marketing Company of generic products in the crop protection industry headquartered in Bogota, Colombia. The share purchase includes all stocks, products registrations and all other property rights associated with the business of Evofarms.

Evofarms has several product registrations in Colombia and has a distribution network covering over 100 customers.

United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) is the largest Indian agrochemical player and among the top three generic players globally in this industry. It is engaged in research, manufacture and distribution of agrochemicals and specialty chemicals worldwide. They have already acquired four companies in Argentina.

United Phosporous Ltd( UPL) has acquired in June 2010 the global non-mixture mancozeb fungicide business and related assets from DuPont, including existing inventory, manufacturing and formulation production facilities in Barranquilla, Colombia.

FANALCA, a Colombian company in the auto and mass transit sector, started a second line of business in the field of home care services, particularly in collection and processing of solid waste. They have got a contract  for garbage collection in one third of the city of Chennai employing 2600 Indian workers.

 

Colombia posts investment promotion officer at their embassy in delhi

Colombia is the first Latin American country to open an office to attract Indian investment into their country.

Alejandro Peláez, who was Foreign Investment Advisor at PROEXPORT COLOMBIA has joined the Colombian Embassy from December 2008

 

 

Trade and Industry Contacts

Exports and investment promotion www.proexport.com

Trade www.coltrade.org

Federation of Chamber of Commerce www.confedecamaras.com