Colombia's Economic Boom

morphus says on May 26, 2007, 07:19:

. ""You going there to get some kilos?" asks the driver as he drops me off at Newark's international airport for my six hour flight to Bogota. He grins at me in the rear-view mirror as if he cracked the most original one-liner in history. "Like scarface," he continues, shifting to his Pakistani/Latino gangster accent: "say hello to my little friend! Pow! Pow!" He hands me my bags and reminds me to call my mom and make peace with the Almighty before I embark for certain death. "You are crazy, my friend."
Traveling to Colombia to chronicle the investment miracle unfolding there seemed perfectly reasonable a few weeks earlier. The stats all screamed "GO! Go! Go!": Colombia's stock market has soared fourteenfold since October, 2001. Foreign direct direct investment and capital inflows have more than doubled, while real estate prices have tripled in many areas. Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince even kicked of his February "world tour" in Bogota, where the bank is building branches and a Latin America call center. But when most Americans hear the name Colombia they think about the late Medellin drug lord, Pablo Escobar. And roving paramilitary death squads. And speedboat-loads of cocaine headed for Miami."

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morphus says on May 26, 2007, 07:35:

. "On a continent whose economic history is the stuff of a blooper reel, Colombia's strong fundaments stand out. Its $130 billion economy, a world leader in the production of coffee, petroleum, textiles, and flowers, is growing at 6.8% a year, two full points faster than the Latin America average. In the past 10 years, Colombia has slashed its inflation rate from 18% to 5%, and since Uribe was elected, unemployment has dipped from 16% to 13%. The nation has never defaulted on its debt or experienced hyperinflation. And the entrepreneurial thinking is spreading. Run a Google geographical-hit query, and you'll see that, per capita, nowhere in the world are there more searches for the words "Peter Drucker," the late management guru, than in Bogota. No.2? Medellin.
Yes, Medellin. Once the murder capital of the world, this city of 2.4 million is regaining its status as a commercial hub, hosting regional offices for a growing roster of multinationals including Philip Morris, Toyota, and Renault, as well as globally minded Colombian companies that make up 70% of the country's stock market value. More high-rises are under construction here than in Manhattan and Los Angeles combined"

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morphus says on May 26, 2007, 07:41:

. " But all of it - the stock market gains, the development, the rising living standards - rests on confianza. Foreigners' view of Colombia as a lawless, violent, riven land won't change quickly. As Commerce Minister Luis Guillermo Plata acknowledges, "Why would I invest in a country if I can't go there?"

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morphus says on May 26, 2007, 07:51:

. " As I get into a cramped cab that's taking me to my hotel, I can't help thinking about the fabled "millionaire's tour of Bogota," a stretch of road where colluding cabbies and theives once drove passengers from ATM to ATM to drain their bank accounts. And then theres the drugs. Colombia still produces the majority of the world's cocaine, an ongoing crisis that draws steady supply of U.S. military and financial aid. Even corporate crime here takes on a deadly overtones: Cincinati-based Chiquita Brands International was in the news recently for admitting to having paid $1.7 million in protection money to a Colombian paramilitary group on Washington's list of foriegn terrorist organizations."

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thur says on May 26, 2007, 10:33:

Hello? You stumbled across the article that was already posted twice on this board...
http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/24242
http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/24264
Greetings,

~ Sights & Sounds ~
www.pbase.com/thur

- www.pbase.com/thur

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goin_south says on May 26, 2007, 10:41:

where is that post from yesterday... which thread? someone, I think Miamimike, compared Colombia's economy to that of the state of Iowa.
GNP? GDP? what was that?

Voy por del Sur

'what does it mean, when one of you (colombians) tell another: YOU WERE NOT/ARE NOT. 'COLOMBIAN ENOUGH'?? jejeje..a mixture, I think, of stupidity mixed with a false sense of arrogance.. How 'colombian' do you have to be? to be 'colombian enough

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Lostgringo says on May 26, 2007, 10:43:

May 28? This is only May 26th and you are quoting something from May 28? How does that work? Also, the export of flowers is down right now. How do you explain all of this...or you just simply cutting and pasting with no input of your own????

Your Home Away from Home:http://www.welovebogota.com http://www.apartmentinbogota.com "Luxury apartment and rooms Cheap" Only 2 blocks from the American Embassy!

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morphus says on May 26, 2007, 11:10:

Thur, I guess I don't have all day to weed through all the posts. At least I made your day.

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morphus says on May 26, 2007, 11:13:

Lostgringo, the issue of Newsweek magazine is dated May 28 in case anybody were to look for a copy.

You guys are real ball breakers. Stop being so petty!

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goin_south says on May 26, 2007, 12:46:

he is lost-gringo; easy morph; we know a guy with a name like morphocito has to be thinkin futuristico! (did ya make yer instant coffee in a microwave oven, too?)

Voy por del Sur

'what does it mean, when one of you (colombians) tell another: YOU WERE NOT/ARE NOT. 'COLOMBIAN ENOUGH'?? jejeje..a mixture, I think, of stupidity mixed with a false sense of arrogance.. How 'colombian' do you have to be? to be 'colombian enough

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scotty says on May 27, 2007, 03:43:

are they really is Colombia having a economic boom or are they just now getting up where they should have been all along.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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flatworld says on May 27, 2007, 08:25:

All of south America is being eyed by the corporate world. There's an untapped wealth of cheep labor to be had. The problem for Colombia is exactly what morphus posted above. 'If I'm being warned against traveling there, why the hell would I invest?' Like it or nor that's a cultural problem that needs to be resolved from within. There's a new game in town and those that get in will prosper, those that don't will slip still further into economic despair. It is a race and with respect to SA Brazil is looking like the fastest runner.

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