Medellin Improves Rankings among ‘Best Cities to Do Business’

Two new studies show that Medellin continues to move-up in regional rankings of Latin American cities that are described as especially good for doing business.Two new studies show that Medellin continues to move-up in regional rankings of Latin American cities that are described as especially good for doing business.

One of the rankings — by fDI Markets (a division of London-based Financial Times) – now puts Medellin in first place for “inward” foreign direct investment (FDI) among Ibero-American cities for the period 2010 to 2014, and tied for first with Lima for “outward” FDI.

The “outward” FDI growth is the result of continuing expansion of Medellin-based multinationals including EPM, ISA, Bancolombia y Grupo Nutresa, as noted by Agencia de Cooperacion e Inversion de Medellin y el Area Metropolitana (ACI), the Medellin-based investment-promotion agency.

The “inward” growth meanwhile is the result of companies coming to Medellin with new investments. Outstanding examples of “inward” FDI include those by Renault, Chile-based Falabella, Brazil-based Algar Tech, U.S.-based Team International and global call-center giant Teleperformance, according to ACI.

For the entire 2005 to 2014 survey period, Sao Paolo (Brazil) took fDI Markets’ top honors for the greatest total number of “inward” FDI projects in Ibero-America, while Bogota came in second, according to the survey.

On a similar note, Medellin also just moved up by two places (to 15th out of 52) in the 2015 edition of the AmericaEconomia survey of “Best Cities to Do Business in Latin America.”

Taking first place (once again) was Miami, which AmericaEconomia considers to be part of “Latin America” — even though Miami is actually in the USA. Violence, repression and inflation-wracked Caracas, Venezuela, came in last in the survey, for the second year in a row.

Other Colombia cities that improved their 2015 rankings included Bogota (fifth, from sixth last year), Cali (21st, from 29th last year) and Barranquilla (29th, from 31st last year), according to the survey.

Medellin’s improved ranking is the result of “continuity in its bet on the environment, which it has been realizing for several years with its [electric-powered] Metrocable and Metro [public transit] services,” both of which result in avoidance of air pollutants such as particulate matter and carbon dioxide, according to AmericaEconomia.

ACI added that “the rise of Medellin is due to the economic dynamism that considers aspects including wealth creation, investment capture, economic stability and human capital, among other factors.”

Over the past four years, Medellin has climbed five places in the AmericaEconomia rankings, thanks to improvements in social and political areas, business services, executive services, human capital and global public image, ACI noted.

From 2012 to 2015, 43 new foreign companies have installed themselves in Medellin and surrounding areas, according to ACI. In addition, 30 other foreign companies have reinvested financial resources in order to fortify their Medellin-based operations, according to ACI.

On a related front, ACI recently joined with representatives of investment-promotion agency ProColombia and Medellin-based high-tech development center Ruta N at business-development events in Sao Paulo and Miami, according to the agency.

At those events, some 60 representatives of companies involved in service, technology and innovation explained to potential investors their reasons why Medellin excels as a business investment opportunity, according to ACI. Similar events are planned for Milan, Italy and Montreal, Canada, according to the agency.