BOGOTA, Colombia – Export Development Canada ( EDC ), Canada’s leading provider of trade financing and insurance, today opened a new permanent representation in Bogota.
EDC will use the representation to expand its presence in the Andean region towards helping Canadian companies take advantage of Colombia’s anticipated infrastructure boom.
EDC provides financing and insurance products to help Canadian companies grow their international business. Part of that offering includes financing for Central and South American buyers and project owners where there are Canadian suppliers involved, or where there is potential for Canadian involvement.
“EDC is deepening its roots in Colombia now so that it can help Canadian companies link into the supply chains of upcoming infrastructure, oil and gas, and mining project opportunities,” said Rajesh Sharma, Senior Vice-President and Group Head, Global Business Development, EDC.
“The capital-intensive demands of large infrastructure projects present a number of opportunities for EDC to bring its significant financing capacity to the region, to the benefit of Canadian companies operating there.” EDC helped facilitate more than CAD 5.7 billion in business in Central and South America in 2012.
“EDC will be focusing on the so-called “multilatinas”, regionally based corporations with operations that expand throughout Latin America,” added Mr. Sharma. “Colombian multilatinas, in particular, have excellent geographic reach into markets like Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, among others, and they are aggressively expanding into new ones.”
Key sectors of interest for this segment of the market include power, gas transportation, road concessions, water supply and sanitation, and telecommunications, areas where Canadian expertise matches up well with local demand.
“Canada’s expertise in smart grids in the power sector, clean technologies and cost-efficient supply for the oil and gas sector could spur greater trade, given the natural match between what Colombia wants and what Canada is very good at providing,” explained Mr. Sharma.
Canada is the fifth largest source of global investment in Colombia, with Canadian investments reaching CAD 1.7 B in the country with the largest growth occurring between 2011 and 2012.
Merchandise exports from Canada to Colombia reached a value of CAD 785 M in 2012 and are focused in the resources and oil/gas sectors. Merchandise Canadian exports with the greater Andean region exceeded CAD 2 billion in 2012.
Major Canadian merchandise exports consist of cereals (mainly wheat), machinery, paper and paperboard, fertilizers and electrical machinery. Canada’s top merchandise imports from Colombia include mineral fuels and oils (including coal), coffee, edible fruits and nuts, live trees and plants (mainly flowers) and sugar.
The Canada – Colombia Free Trade Agreement came into force on August 15, 2011.
EDC now has permanent representations in Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Lima, Mexico City, Monterrey, Santiago, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, and Düsseldorf.
About EDC
EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, providing financing and insurance solutions locally and around the world to help Canadian companies of any size respond to international business opportunities.
As a profitable Crown corporation that operates on commercial principles, EDC works together with private- and public- sector financial institutions to create greater capacity for Canadian companies to engage in trade and investment.
For more information about how EDC can help your company, visit www.edc.ca
Source: Export Development Canada
