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Although the Colombian economy has been affected by a slowdown in recent years, the country’s banking sector has remained resilient. The majority of the impact has been felt in the external sector, particularly due to changes in the foreign exchange rate. Meanwhile, lending growth remained relatively strong until mid-2016, when the combined effects of weak investment and higher interest rates had a noticeable negative impact on commercial lending. Nonetheless, even as GDP growth slowed during 2016, the share of the financial intermediation sub-sector grew from 6% to 6.5%. Lending is expected to pick up as the economy accelerates through 2017, while other indicators – such as non-performing loans (NPLs), profitability and capitalisation – remain relatively robust. This chapter features an interview with Luis Carlos Sarmiento Gutiérrez, CEO, Grupo Aval.

Following congressional approval of a landmark peace agreement and a late-2016 tax reform package, 2017 looks to be a year of significant promise for the Colombian economy. Investment and infrastructure development are expected to be the key drivers of domestic demand, and the trade balance should continue to improve. Although growth has slowed as a result of the oil price shock, the Colombian economy has been resilient. With major developments in the pipeline, a historical peace agreement renewing optimism, as well as the recovery of non-oil exports and oil prices, the economy is expected to pick up in 2017 and accelerate in the years to come. This chapter includes interviews with Juan José Echavarría, Governer of the Banco de la República; Mauricio Cárdenas, Minister of Finance and Public Credit; Rosario Córdoba Garcés, President, Private Council for Competitiveness; Bruce Mac Master, President, National Business Association of Colombia; and Gerardo Corrochano, Colombia Country Director, World Bank.

This chapter provides an overview of Peru’s legal framework, covering a range of topics from public works for taxes to foreign investment law. In addition, it features an interview by Fernán Altuve-Febres Lores, President, Ontier Perú, on the impacts of new legal framework.

This chapter provides an overview of Peru’s tax regime, covering areas of particular interest to investors such as individual and corporate income tax, international tax transparency, double taxation treaties, foreign source income and other investor considerations. This chapter contains an interview with Paulo Pantigoso, Country Managing Partner, EY Peru.

Located in the south of Peru, the department of Arequipa shares its border with six other departments, including Ica and Ayacucho to the north-west, Apurímac and Cusco to the north, and Puno and Moquegua to the south-east. The population of Arequipa is set to reach a total of 1.3m people in 2017, representing 4.1% of the country’s population. In 2015 Arequipa had about 693,100 economically active people, down from an approximate 700,200 in 2014. In the third trimester of 2016 Arequipa’s economy grew by 29.3%, with the highest growth sectors including mining, which contributed 19.9%, followed by telecommunications and information services at 9.7%, other services (4.7%), and transport, storage, mail and messaging (3.9%). The outlook for Arequipa appears positive and the present government has taken measures to attract private investment. This chapter features interviews with Yamila Osorio Delgado, Regional President of Arequipa; Diego Muñoz-Nájar, President, Arequipa Chamber of Commerce; and Michael Michell, Executive President, Michell Group.

As the period of contraction of the commodity cycle continues to dampen Peru’s growth prospects, the education sector has become critical to the country’s ability to begin its transition to a knowledge-based economy. In a post-commodity cycle scenario, aligning vocational and technical training with labour market needs is expected to gradually rise to the top of the agenda in the medium term, as efforts to stimulate growth outside of natural resource-based sectors gain momentum. President Kuczynski hopes to expand access, improve quality and modernise Peru’s health system, a task that will demand increased levels of public spending at a time when the government grapples with a slowdown in economic growth. Meanwhile, though the private sector has not been immune to the deceleration of economic growth, the market continues to attract significant investor interest. This chapter includes interviews with Fernando D’Alessio, Director-General, Centrum Católica Business School, and Carlos Heeren, CEO, University of Technology and Engineering (UTEC)