Colombia

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 (...

Rapid expansion in the insurance industry over the past decade has largely been focused on Colombia’s medium- and higher-income groups, which together make up a little more than 30% of the population. However, as competition is forcing premiums on some policies to unsustainable lows, industry players are eager to extend their reach into the large...

THE COMPANY: Grupo Nutresa is the fourth-largest consumer company in Latin America by market capitalisation. The firm has a well diversified portfolio of products with more than 122 brands, 15 of which are leaders in Colombia and neighbouring countries. It also has six different business units: cold cuts...

Compared to regional and emerging market peers, Colombians are under-banked. Despite more rapid credit growth in recent years and efforts to broaden access, the ratio of loans to GDP was still below 38% at the end of 2012, while only 66.5% of adults over the age of 15 use at least one financial product. By November 2012 there were 34.6m savings...