colombian investment i - the caribbean

Colombian Investment I - The Caribbean

http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/colombian-investment-i-the-caribbean

/

http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/colombian-investment-i-the-caribbean/



• If you are thinking of Latin American Investment, and investing in Colombia in particular, remember the words of Baron Rothschild.


http://panama-repossessed-properties.com/latin-american-investments/



• This 18th century investor and banker said, “The time to buy [stocks] is when there is blood in the streets.




• .” He was talking about 18th century wars and rebellions but his words are pertinent today in the New World.

http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/investing-in-colombia-i-the-caribbean/


• Colombia is coming out of a half century long low grade and occasionally very hot civil war and many investors have not caught on.




• This article is number one of a four part set about Colombian investment.




• First a bit about the history of the Civil War in Colombia, and then investment opportunities on and in the Colombian Caribbean.




• This is the third of a four part series about Investing in Colombia.




• We will deal briefly with the history of the Colombian Civil War and then look at investment opportunities in the Colombian Caribbean.




The Colombian Civil War

• The current Colombian civil war has lasted from the mid 1960’s to the present. Rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the Colombian poor.




• The primary rebel group is FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia).




• The rebels primarily have occupied remote areas of the jungle, especially in the Amazon Basin with occasional forrays into the cities.




• An increasingly aggressive campaign by the Colombian government has driven FARC from the cities and forced them to cross borders into Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama in search of sanctuary.




• Despite the claim that FARC simply wants to improve the lot of poor Colombians they have been tied to drug trafficking.




• Many Colombian families can name a member of two who were assassinated by FARC for opposing extortion efforts by the rebels.




• On the other hand government allied paramilitary forces fighting FARC are also accused of drug trafficking and terrorism.




• The good news is that the conflict is settling down and Colombian Peace Talks have begun. The time has come for investing in Colombia.


http://robertgirga.com/RobertGirga/colombian-peace-talks/



The Caribbean Coast of Colombia

• Colombia is a nation of roughly 46million people. Its major exports are coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil.




• As the risk, and especially the perceived risk, of visiting Colombia diminishes expect to see tourism, retirement to Colombia, and purchases of vacation homes increase in Colombia.




• The most like beneficiary of the will be the Caribbean Coast.




• The Colombian ministry of tourism has developed a new slogan, “The only danger in Colombia is that you will not want to leave.




• Foreigners are visiting Colombia again and the “blood in the streets” is going away.




• Consider Cartagena, Santa Marta, and the Island of San Andres for investment opportunities.




Cartagena de Indias

• Cartagena is a Spanish Colonial city with an old fortress and beautifully restored old city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.




• Beaches are great and the people are friendly. The urban area boasts 900,000 people.




• Cartagena has a decided Caribbean influence and is already a tourist magnet.




• Cartagena is a great place for a first visit to Colombia and offers real investment opportunities in real estate and business when investing in Colombia.




Santa Marta

• Santa Marta is a city of 400,000 farther to the East of Cartagena, also on the Caribbean. It is also a colonial city, founded in 1525.




• . It is a tourist Mecca for Colombians and other Latinos with its spectacular beaches, nearby Santa Marta mountains, nature preserves, and colonial architecture.




• It offers the same mix of opportunity for investing in Colombia for tourism and real estate related businesses as Cartagena.




• However, Santa Marta has been more strongly affected by the armed conflict.




• On one hand this may lead to a concern about personal danger.




• On the other hand investment opportunities will likely multiply more strongly here than in Cartagena.




San Andres Island

• Although the island of San Andres is Colombia it is a coral island in the Caribbean Sea, closer to Nicaragua than to Colombia.




• Here the concern of armed conflict fades to nothing in the Caribbean sun.




• Although investing in Colombia in San Andres is certainly possible, don’t expect a jump in prices and economic activity when peace breaks out.




• The island is already peaceful!




The Rising Colombian Peso

• The Colombian peso has outperformed all other currencies versus the US dollar in 2012.




• For those interested in offshore investment and offshore banking, Colombia may well be the place to be as its economy takes off.




• Invest in Colombia and take advantage of the rise of Colombian business prospects.




• Bank your profits in Colombia and take advantage of the rising Colombian peso.




• For more about investing in Colombia, read Colombian Investment II - Bogota, Colombian Investment III – The Cafetero, and Colombian Investment IV – The Amazon.


http://panama-repossessed-properties.com/colombian-investment-ii-bogota/

http://panama-repossessed-properties.com/colombian-investment-iii-the-cafetero

http://panama-repossessed-properties.com/colombian-investment-iii-the-cafetero

http://panama-repossessed-properties.com/colombian-investment-iv-the-amazon


• For more questions about investing in Colombia, Panama, or throughout Latin America, visit www.RobertGirga.com.


http://www.robertgirga.com/




colombian investment i - the caribbean

News & Politics