Colombia

THE COMPANY: Grupo Éxito is the lead retailer in Colombia. It has been operating for more than a century and has a local market share of over 40%. Currently its majority shareholder is Casino Group from France. The company has 418 stores and is present in 68 Colombian towns and cities.

Largely shielded from the ill effects of the global financial crisis, Colombian banks have gone from strong to stronger. The sector is among the most stable and profitable in the region. Building on the solid domestic financial performances that have been seen in recent years, domestic institutions are increasingly looking towards regional expansion...

THE COMPANY: Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana (Group Sura) is a holding company listed on the Colombian bourse. It has an investment portfolio grouped into two main segments: the first, called Strategic Investments, integrates financial services, pensions, insurance and social security, as well as...

While Colombia began to open its economy to international trade slightly throughout the 1990s, the country did not truly put itself on the map until the early 2000s. At that time, the government made a great effort to overcome the nation’s security problems that had created Colombia’s negative perception abroad.

A significant milestone was reached in 2012 when Colombia finally surpassed 1m barrels per day (bpd) in crude oil production. However, this achievement masks the fact that at 2012 production levels, the country will run out of oil reserves in less than six years, despite its new status as the third-largest producer of crude in South America....

The past decade has been something of a reawakening for the mining industry, as improved security and political support have resulted in increased investment and mineral production. A polymetallic country with robust resources of coal, gold, copper, nickel and emeralds, Colombia is also relatively unexplored. A 2012 Ministry of Mines and Energy (...