Bogota 2014 Blog: Panel - Colombia in the Eyes of Wall Street

By
Rachel Glickhouse

Panelists gave an overview of Colombia's economic progess in the context of other Latin American markets.

Speakers:

  • Mauro Leos, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Moody’s Investors Service         
  • Marcos Buscaglia, Head of LatAm Economics, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
  • Victor Traverso, Director and Representative, CAF, Colombia (moderator)

Panelists gave an overview of Colombia's economic progess in the context of other Latin American countries, showing that while Colombia has had steady growth, challenges remain.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Marcos Buscaglia explained that the economies of emerging markets like Colombia depend on three factors: exposure to the United States and China, macroeconomic policies, and political change. "In Latin America, these factors lead us believe Mexico will be the best performer in Latin America in the next few years," he said. He also pointed out that the Colombian peso has the highest appreciation rate of emerging-market countries.

Mauro Leos of Moody's explained that Colombia received a positive investment grade in July 2013, and compared the Andean country's performance to that of other Latin American countries. He cautioned that these ratings are based on the medium-term. "There can be good or bad years; what matters is where [the country] is going and where it's been."

In Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay have higher ratings, but Colombia still has advantages over other countries. For example:

He also explained that Colombia's GDP per capita is just slightly higher than Peru's, though it is lower than Brazil's. He noted that Colombia could benefit by diversifying its exports, looking to Uruguay as an example.

Watch the video below.