Companies

EPM Successfully Places US$764 Million Bond Offering

Medellin Herald November 1, 2017

Medellin-based multinational utilities giant EPM announced October 31 that it successfully placed a COP$2.3 billion (US$764 million) 10-year bond offering at 8.375% interest. “This is the third international issue denominated in Colombian pesos,” according to the company. Wall Street bond

Companies

Bancolombia 3Q 2017 Net Profit Dips 1% Year-on-Year; 2.5% GDP Growth Seen in 2018

Medellin Herald October 28, 2017

Medellin-based banking giant Bancolombia – Colombia’s biggest bank and now a growing multinational – reported October 26 that its third quarter (3Q) 2017 net profit dipped 1% year-on-year, to COP$1.7 trillion (US$564 million). However, Bancolombia’s gross portfolio grew 6.5% year-on-year to COP$158 trillion (US$52 billion), of which 25% corresponds to its international

Companies

PharmaCielo Wins 1st ‘Unrestricted’ Colombia License for Medical Marijuana

Medellin Herald October 24, 2017

Toronto, Canada-based PharmaCielo announced October 24 that it has become Colombia’s first medical-marijuana producer to win a license to cultivate cannabis with “unrestricted” percentages of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) alike. As a result, PharmaCielo becomes “the world’s largest licensed producer,” according to the company, which has its marijuana

Companies

USAID, European Buyers Team-up on ‘Better Gold Initiative’

Medellin Herald October 18, 2017

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced October 18 that it’s teaming-up with European-based gold buyers to promote environmentally, economically and socially responsible gold mining in Antioquia specifically and Colombia generally. Noting that gold production in Colombia is up year-on-year — and development projects underway are expected to

Companies

Avianca Hails Court Decision Declaring ACDAC Pilots’ Strike Illegal

Medellin Herald October 7, 2017

Avianca – Colombia’s biggest airline – hailed an October 6 decision by a District Court Tribunal in Bogota declaring a strike by some 700 pilots belonging to the Asociacion Colombiana de Aviadores Civiles (ACDAC) labor-union as illegal. ACDAC– the smaller of two unions representing Avianca pilots — represents a tiny fraction of the more than […]

Colombian economy

Coffee Helps Colombia’s 2017 Exports Rebound, but Manufacturing Lags

Medellin Herald September 29, 2017

The latest report from Colombia’s national economic statistics agency (DANE – Departamento Administrative Nacional de Estadistica) shows that Colombian exports through August 2017 are up 15.7% year-on-year and 19.5% for the first eight months of 2017. Antioquia once again leads all departments in the nation with an 18.8% share in total dollar value of exports […]

Economy & Finance

Power Generators, Transporters, Utilities Warned of Big Changes Coming at Medellin Event

Medellin Herald September 27, 2017

At a September 26 event celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Medellin-based ISA — Colombia’s national electric-power transmission operator and power-market trading hub – speakers praised ISA for revolutionizing and rationalizing Colombia’s power industry. In a speech here at Medellin’s Plaza Mayor convention center, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos recounted

Profiles

Alliances Growing for Medellin Expat Exporters; Specialty Niches Key to Success

Medellin Herald September 25, 2017

Thirty-five-year-old New Zealand expat Dan Cardiff and 47-year-old Dutch expat Ronald de Hommel seemingly would have little in common — aside from both now living in Medellin and both having launched separate, Colombian-export businesses here. But despite having been born and raised on opposite sides of the planet — and with wildly different careers prior […]

Companies

USAID, Mineros SA Boost Beekeeping Project to Convert Irregular Miners to Legitimate Business

Medellin Herald September 20, 2017

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Medellin-based gold-mining giant Mineros SA jointly announced September 20 that they’re boosting funds and technical aid to formerly artisanal or illegal miners in the Bajo Cauca region of Antioquia. “The productive and commercial capacity of beekeepers of Bajo Cauca will be strengthened thanks to the agreement

Companies

Gran Colombia Gold Hails Strike Settlement; Continental Gold Launches Ag Aid

Medellin Herald September 5, 2017

Toronto, Canada-based Gran Colombia Gold announced September 5 that a violent strike by illegal gold miners in the Antioquian municipalities of Segovia and Remedios is finally over – benefitting more than 2,500 legal miners affiliated with the company. The 42-days-long strike resulted in several deaths, widespread vandalism and economic suffering for thousands of residents