Dubai World eyes investment possibilities in Colombia

billyb says on May 5, 2008, 14:16:

bump

rocinante says on May 5, 2008, 14:27:

I'll say it again: Colombia and other LA coutries are India 10 years ago.

The potential of Colombia is not really a secret and this reflects in the growth of the country and the strength of the peso - not just because other currencies are weak or because of interest rate yield differentials. There are some solid fundamentals in Colombia that are not just accounting smoke and mirrors and technical charts. This MUST be taken into consideration when discussing FX rates. Yet folks here are US-Centric and attribute the exchange rate ONLY to the economy of the US - which once recovered the COP/USD will be back to 2300. ¡Sobre todo!

When the US recovers slowly and the peso continues to remain strong they will see that there is more than just the US in this equation. I have solid faith in the US and I am still bullish on the peso over the long term.

Thanks for posting this. There is obviously a sizable interest in Colombia buy smart entities all over the world. Don't some top Israeli bankers own two of the largest banks in Colombia as of the past 3 years?

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

billyb says on May 5, 2008, 14:34:

The people running the investment arms for the gulf states are certainly no dummies. I had not heard about the Israelis buying colombian banks, interesting.

rocinante says on May 5, 2008, 14:49:

It happenend about 2- 3 years ago and I heard it second hand. I didn't discount it. I believe the words were "Israelis own two of the three largest banks in Colombia". This was from a Colombian American born here, lived in the US for 20 years and returned and now works here for Israelis.

I can't substiantiate his claim but at the time it didn't seem to be outrageous so I bought it. Maybe majority shareholders are Israelis or the board of directors. Again I'm not sure.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

adrimm says on May 5, 2008, 15:06:

Very interesting. Good for the economic interests in Colombia to be diversified.

billyb says on May 5, 2008, 15:15:

Along those lines, Canada said it is close to concluding its trade pact with Colombia.


Canada's Emerson Says He's `Optimistic' on Colombia Trade Pact

By Theophilos Argitis

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson said government officials are close to completing negotiations for a free trade agreement with Colombia.

``I'm cautiously optimistic,'' Emerson, 62, said in an interview in Ottawa. ``Could that be done by summer? Sure it could.''

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made building ties with Latin American countries a priority as he tries to secure markets for the country's commodities and reduce dependence on a slowing U.S. economy. Harper says the trade accord will encourage Colombia to stem violence against labor leaders.

Emerson said the two countries still need to resolve some disagreements on agricultural products.

To contact the reporter on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis at bloomberg.net

Tinto (Moderator) says on May 5, 2008, 15:26:

I'm skeptical about the Israeli connection, but maybe they are big investors in some of the 2nd tier Colombian banks.

Bancolombia is the largest and Banco de Bogota is (or was) the 2nd largest Colombian bank. Bancolombia's ownership is no secret and it looks like Sr. Sarmiento owns the vast majority of publicly traded Banco de Bogota as part of his Grupo Aval holdings (Banco de Bogota and Grupo Aval both trade on the Colombian stock exchange but maybe the public float is quite small).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupo_Aval_Acciones_y_Valores,_SA

rocinante says on May 5, 2008, 16:06:

I know how to reach the guy. Now I'm intrigued as well and hopefully I can find more out. I've been spouting this information when in the US as a way of showing global support and confidence in Colombia.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

CatGirl says on May 5, 2008, 16:36:

BillyB - Good post

ooops! ....Did I say that?

bickerss says on May 5, 2008, 19:18:

Thanks for the post - what are some of the ways people have invested in colombia other than property and ie hostels? Anyone bought shares or invested in the market here ?

adrimm says on May 5, 2008, 21:27:

I'd venture to say that many are indirectly invested in Colombia via multinationals operating there. I can think of several Canadian mining companies opertating in Colombia.

Tinto (Moderator) says on May 6, 2008, 08:24:

Here's a Canadian company that trades on the US and Canadian stock exchanges. It's a tiny oil exploration and production firm with the majority of its business in Colombia. It's highly speculative but it's been a good one to own recently - they're finding oil and every barrel they find is more valuable. FYI, if any of you know the name Argosy Energy from Colombia, they bought Argosy.

GRAN TIERRA ENERGY, AMEX: GTE

romy says on May 6, 2008, 08:29:

yeah, Schlumberger here in Calgary just took over a company that has major projects in Colombia. seems like congress here is going to be having a similar situation as that of the US in approving the Canada-Colombia FTA, though here it should be no problem to approve as the conservatives have a majority in the house.

romy says on May 6, 2008, 08:31:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/06/saxon-schlumberger-update-markets-equ...
Market Scan
Schlumberger Snaps Up Saxon
Miriam Marcus, 05.06.08, 12:18 AM ET

Schlumberger is reaching north of the border to gain assets in the south.

On Sunday, driller Saxon Energy Services announced that it had entered into an agreement to be purchased by Sword Canada Acquisition for 7 Canadian dollars ($6.87) per share, in a deal worth C$592.7 million ($582.1 million). Sword Canada Acquisition is indirectly jointly owned by oilfield services firm Schlumberger and First Reserve, an energy industry-focused private-equity firm.

“Saxon Energy is the jewel of Canadian drillers,� said BMO Capital Markets-Canada analyst Michael Mazar, adding that the C$7.00 price tag “is a little light.�

With oil prices and demand surging, global drilling activity has picked up dramatically. However, demand for drilling equipment in the heavily exploited North American market has been flat or even decreased slightly.

Saxon has drilling rigs in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru, as well as in the U.S. and Canada.

Based on Saxon’s Friday closing price of C$6.87 ($6.75), the agreed upon per share price of the acquisition agreement is “basically a zero premium on the deal,� Mazar said.

Saxon’s board and management, who own 14% of the 84.7 million outstanding shares, disagreed. The agreement was unanimously approved by the board, chaired by Walter A. Dawson, and a vote is expected in mid-July.

Mazar argued that Saxon should push to get as much as C$8.00 ($7.86) per share in the deal but, due to a lack of activist shareholders, it is unlikely to do so. Saxon agreed not to solicit or initiate discussions regarding an alternate acquisition.

Still, Saxon has been doing fairly well on its own which begs the question as to why it is selling at all. Its stock is up 34.0% over the last 12 months, and it reported a top line increase of 31.5% to revenue of C$72.2 million in its first quarter, ended March 31. Profits did not reflect the revenue increase however, and Saxon reported a 36.3% net income decline to C$5.1 million due largely to major repairs and unfavorable exchange rates.

Mazar suggested that Saxon could do as well as it’s been doing as a continuing entity, and questioned the company’s motive for selling. He offered that strict regulations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may have been making it too difficult to continue operating as a public company, and that if it goes private it would still be able to execute its growth plans.

For Schlumberger, acquiring Saxon is “just a drop in the bucket,� Mazar said. Schlumberger operates a joint venture with Saxon involving 11 drilling rigs in Mexico and Colombia, but does not wholly own any rigs.

Shares of Saxon Energy Services were up 10 Canadian cents (9.8 cents), or 1.5%, to close at C$6.97 ($6.85) in trading Monday.

romy says on May 6, 2008, 08:40:

On the Canada-Colombia FTA

http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAN0541066720080505
Canada says close to trade deal with Colombia
Mon May 5, 2008 4:48pm EDT

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is "very close" to concluding free trade negotiations with Colombia, Trade Minister David Emerson said on Monday, calling those opposed to the deal on human rights grounds as simply "dogmatic."

Emerson also presented legislation to Parliament to enact a free trade pact with the European Free Trade Association, comprised of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The EFTA accord, completed last June and signed in January, is the first substantial trade agreement signed by Ottawa in over a decade.

Emerson said several other bilateral negotiations were under way, of which those with Colombia were the most advanced.

"I would say that in the case of Colombia we're quite close, very close," Emerson told reporters.

But political approval could be a tougher task. At the request of the opposition parties critical of the deal, a parliamentary committee is now studying the environmental and human rights concerns surrounding the talks with Bogota.

A similar debate is raging in the United States, where the AFL-CIO labor organization is fighting a trade deal because it believes Colombia has not done enough to stop the assassination of trade unionists and to bring their killers to justice.

"There are people who, for dogmatic reasons candidly, do not want us to do a free trade deal with Colombia," Emerson said.

Withdrawing from the talks would punish not only the Colombian government, which he said was on the path to democratic and human rights reform, but ordinary Colombians who need jobs.

Emerson is also eager to get moving on a controversial trade pact with South Korea, which auto workers fiercely oppose.

(Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Rob Wilson)