1. Guest Columnist 2. Good news from Colombia and Bogotá-Region 3. BCC News and Upcoming Events 4. Economic Developments
4.1. Gross Domestic Product - GDP
4.2. Economic Monitoring Indicator
4.3. Inflation
4.4. Business Dynamics
4.5. Labor Market
5. Evolution of Foreign Trade
5.1. Exports
5.2. Imports 6. Foreign Direct Investment 7. Sources
As part of foreign policy strategy, trade diplomacy promotes opening of new markets and strengthens international economic relations through different tools, including: the negotiation of trade and investment agreements, the identification of opportunities to position the country in fairs, events and business rounds, as well as promoting the country as a destination for foreign branches. These actions contribute towards boosting the economic growth of Guatemala, the country with the largest economy in Central America, with a GDP of US$ 102 billion in 2023, and 4 out of 10 products manufactured in the region are made in the national territory.
Promoting the nation necessarily implies recognizing interdependence with other countries: Guatemala maintains trade relations with around 150 countries, of which it has trade agreements with 43. There are 14 Trade Agreements in force, among which I would like to highlight the one in force with Colombia since November 2019, which has diversified the exchange of goods between both nations, facilitating the trade of rubber, sugar, as well as plastic materials and products, among others.
In order to carry out trade diplomacy, we have the Network of Trade Counselors, which is made up of 21 offices in 17 countries, located in diplomatic and consular offices in North America (6), Latin America (5), Europe (5) and Asia (5). In particular, the role that these offices play in nearshoring stands out, which can be taken advantage of by foreign companies by opening branches in Guatemala to export goods and services to other markets. Colombian companies brought in capital equivalent to 10.53% of the total foreign direct investment captured by Guatemala during the period between 2008 and 2023. Companies from that nation, linked to the confectionery industry, have taken advantage of the possibility that Guatemala offers to install subsidiaries and trading their products within a single customs territory shared with El Salvador and Honduras, as the three countries are part of the Central American Customs Union.
In conclusion, business participation is essential for trade diplomacy, since businesses are the main interested party. Through diplomatic actions that illustrate how Guatemala is an ideal location to produce and exchange goods and services, we contribute towards the socioeconomic development of our nation.
JULIO EDUARDO OROZCO PEREZ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala
Colombia takes on the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Andean Community. The country has drawn up a roadmap that involves 8 thematic axes, half of them on the foreign trade front, including building supply chains, digitalization and interoperability of customs entities. In 2023, exports within the Andean Community were close to US$9.5 billion. For more information, visit the following link
Exports of non-mining goods between January and July increased by 7%. Total trade in these products reached US$12.4 billion. Agricultural products such as Hass avocado, Tahiti lemon and tilapia continue to gain global market share (increases of 15.9% in July). For more information, visit the following link.
During the first half of the year, there was a record in Colombian investment abroad, with US$2.1 billion, and of that figure a little more than a quarter went to neighboring Panama, with US$556 million, according to the Balance of Payments figures consolidated by Banco de la República. For more information, visit the following link.
Bogotá, the third best destination for startups in Latin America, and is only surpassed by São Paulo and Mexico City. The Colombian capital has consolidated itself among the three best cities for startups in Latin America, according to StartupBlink. The capital is home to 59% of Colombia’s total startups, a figure that underlines the city’s leadership in the country and its consolidation as the best-ranked startup ecosystem nationwide. For more information, visit the following link.
Invest in Bogotá carried out a multi-sector investment mission in China in search of investment for the city. With an intense agenda of work meetings in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, the aim is to attract foreign investment from China. By 2023, 3.6% of foreign direct investment projects in Bogotá – Region come from China, a country that has also become Asia’s main trading partner for Colombia. In fact, between 2020 and 2023, its foreign direct investment grew by 138% in our country. For more information, visit the following link
Bogotá promoted the digital competitiveness of its entrepreneurs at the eCommerce Summit Colombia 2024. It took place on September 19 and 20, where Bogotá entrepreneurs were transported into the digital and e-commerce ecosystem for their international promotion and positioning. For more information, visit the following link.
The BCC is pleased to support "Bogotá de Gala", an event organized by the Mayor's Office and FONDETUR, a space where key players and entrepreneurs who have promoted the positioning of #BogotáTuCasa on the global stage will be recognized and who, through their efforts, have attracted tourists, investors, businesses and major events, contributing to the development and competitiveness of our city. For more information, visit the following link.
Gofest 2024: business and innovation ideas were the highlight of the event. With more than 24,000 participants, the event was created by the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce to make Colombian entrepreneurship visible. It was attended by more than 120 speakers, and participants including investors, academics, startups and accelerators from the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Latin America. For more information, visit the following link
The BCC presents VITRITUR 2024, to be held on October 3; the largest tourism fair in Cundinamarca that supports businesspersons and entrepreneurs in the sector, promoting and encouraging the consolidation of tourism products in the territory, as well as cultural, gastronomic and artistic expressions. For more information, visit the following link
The BCC is part of the initiative “Support for the sustainable development and internationalization of SMEs in the fashion sector in Peru and Colombia” co-financed by the AL INVEST VERDE Program of the European Union. It is led by Fundación Finnova España, the Sustainable Fashion Cluster of Peru and the Fashion Cluster of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, who seek to promote sustainable growth and job creation by supporting the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and more circular economy. For more information, visit the following link
In the first quarter of 2024, Bogotá's GDP grew by 0.9%, a figure close to the 0.8% recorded for the first quarter of Colombia's GDP; Bogotá's GDP fell by 2.3 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2023, when the city grew by 3.2%.
The city's GDP growth for the first quarter of 2024 is largely explained by the increases in several sectors, in particular, the increase in Construction stands out with 23.1%, which was the sector that grew the most in the last period and which in previous periods had registered several reductions, specifically between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2023. On the other hand, the manufacturing industries sector presented the largest reduction: 4.6%; this sector had also registered a reduction of 1.4% in the same quarter of the previous year.
According to the Economic Monitoring Indicator (EMI), the EMI rose by 2.5% in July 2024, compared to June 2024, when it fell by -1.6%. This is the month (in 2024) that has seen the largest monthly rise in the EMI.
Source: DANE. ISE, 2023.
In July 2024, the activities that showed the greatest annual increase in the EMI were Public administration and defense (7.7%) and Agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing (7.5%). On the other hand, the activity that registered the lowest growth was Professional, scientific and technical activities, which showed an annual increase of 0.2% during the analysis period.
Bogotá experienced a low increase in monthly price variation in August 2024 compared to the same month of the previous year, while in Colombia the monthly variation was zero. In August 2023, the monthly variation in Colombia was 0.70% and in Bogotá 0.69%, while in August 2024 it was 0.00% and 0.02%, respectively.
Source: DANE - Consumer Price Index (CPI)
For its part, the annual price variation in Colombia fell from 11.43% in August 2023 to 6.12% in August 2024, while the annual price variation in August 2024 in the capital shows a reduction of 5.25 percentage points compared to the same month in 2023, going from 11.67% to 6.42%.
As for the Consumer Price Index for economic sectors, it shows an annual increase of 6.01% for the poor, 6.08% for the vulnerable, 6.12% for the middle class and 6.15% for high-income people. At the same time, in terms of the year-to-date, the trend is progressive. In August 2024, high-income people showed the greatest price variation, with an increase of 4.46%, while vulnerable people registered increases of 4.24% and people living in poverty of 4.22%.
In the period from January to August 2024, the data show a slight drop in the number of companies created in the jurisdiction of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce compared to the previous year. An overall decrease of 3.6% is observed in the total number of companies, from 63,115 to 60,856. Taking into account the same periodicity, the companies created in Bogotá decreased by 2.9%, from 45,195 in 2023 to 43,863 companies in 2024 and in the 59 municipalities they decreased by 4.3%, from 10,307 in 2023 to 9,860 companies in 2024.
When analyzing the participation of companies by legal status for the period January-August 2024, it can be seen that more than 50% of the registered companies are Natural Persons, with a total of
40,857 companies, representing 67% of the total. On the other hand, companies under Legal Person reach a total of 19,999, which represents 33% of the total companies created in the same jurisdiction.
Table 2. Evolution of companies created between 2023 and 2024 for the period January – August, by size
Source: Commercial Registry, CCB, 2023 - 2024
Employment has shown a decrease in occupation compared to the previous year; at the national level, the unemployment rate in July 2024 was 9.9%, 0.3 p.p. higher than July 2023. Similarly, the employment rate has decreased 0.8 p.p. in the last year, reaching 57.8% in July 2024. The overall participation rate showed a negative variation of 0.6 p.p. and stood at 64.2% in July 2024, a figure lower than that presented in the same period of the previous year, 64.8%.
Source: Large Integrated Household Survey - GEIH (DANE), July 2024.
In the case of Bogotá and its metropolitan area, the unemployment rate was 10.0% for the May - July 2024 mobile quarter, a figure slightly higher than the 9.9% of the national total for the same period.
The number of employed persons in the country grew by 21,000 from July 2023 to July 2024, and the number of unemployed persons grew by 4.1%, which is 101,000 more.
In July 2024, Colombia experienced an increase in its exports of 10.8% compared to the same month of the previous year, Bogotá showed a drop of 0.9%, and Cundinamarca registered an increase of 36.6%.
Colombia Bogotá Cundinamarca
Source: DANE, International Trade.
In July 2024, Colombia reported exports of $4.6 billion FOB dollars. Bogotá, for its part, maintained positive growth, reaching $386.7 million FOB dollars for that month. Finally, Cundinamarca experienced an increase in its exports, reaching $224 million.
In July 2024, total exports from the Bogotá-Cundinamarca region reached a value of $610.7 million FOB dollars (excluding oil and its derivatives). The United States stood out as the main export destination, with a total of $244 million FOB dollars, equivalent to 36.9% of the total. Ecuador ranked second on the list of export destinations with $55.3 million FOB dollars, representing 8.4% of the total, while Peru came in third with $30.3 million FOB dollars, and a share of 4.6%. Mexico and Venezuela also stood out as relevant destinations with $27.3 million (4.1%), and $26.4 million (4.0%) respectively. Brazil contributed with $25.7 million (3.9%) and Spain contributed with $24.5 million (3.7%); The
Netherlands, Chile and Argentina contributed $17.1 million (2.6%), $15.6 million (2.4%) and $15.2 million (2.3%), respectively, to the region's exports.
Chart 3. Exports from the Bogotá – Cundinamarca region, July 2022, 2023 and 2024
Source: DANE, International Trade.
Exports to other countries, grouped under "Other countries", accounted for $181 million FOB dollars, constituting 27.3% of the overall total, a significant contribution in terms of share in the month of July 2024.
Source: DANE, International Trade.
In July 2024, Colombia's total imports reached $5.7 billion CIF dollars, experiencing an increase of 12.9% compared to July 2023. Likewise, Bogotá showed an increase in its imports of 14.1% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching $2.8 billion CIF dollars in July 2024. Likewise, Bogotá's share in national imports increased, going from 49.5% in July 2023 to 50.0% in July 2024.
Cundinamarca also experienced an increase in its imports, reaching $457.2 million CIF dollars in July 2024, which is an increase of 12.6% compared to July 2023. Cundinamarca's share in national imports remained at the same value: 8.2% in July. 2023 and July 2024.
5: Imports from Colombia, Bogotá and Cundinamarca (July 2023 and 2024)
Source: DANE, International Trade.
The Bogotá-Cundinamarca region recorded imports worth $3.2 billion CIF dollars in July 2024, representing an increase of 13.9% compared to the same month of the previous year. The share of this region in national imports increased from 57.7% in July 2023 to 58.2% in July 2024.
Source: DANE, Imports.
The region's main trading partners were China and the United States. China led with $819 million CIF dollars, accounting for 25.2% of the total, followed by the United States, which contributed $717 million
CIF dollars, accounting for 22.1% of the total. These two countries account for almost half of all imports in the region (47.3%).
Finally, "Other countries" contributed $803 million CIF dollars, representing 24.7% of the region's total imports, underscoring the diversity of import origins beyond the main partners.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Colombia, other than for oil and mining, totaled USD 1.7 billion as of May 2024, which shows a 62% growth in this area compared to the first five months of 2023.
On the other hand, during the second quarter of 2024, the country received a total FDI of US$ 2.8 billion (provisional). These resources were US$ 2.4 billion lower compared to the same period in 2023, and US$ 1.03 billion lower than the immediately preceding quarter.
For more information, refer to the Observatory of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce. https://www.ccb.org.co/observatorio
DANE. National Accounts. Recovered from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/cuentas-nacionales/cuentas-nacionales-trimestrales
DANE. Labor Market. Recovered from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/mercado-laboral/empleo-y-desempleo
Commercial Registry, CCB, 2019 - 2020 – 2021 – 2022 – 2023 - 2024. Recovered from: https://www.ccb.org.co/Inscripciones-y-renovaciones/Matricula-Mercantil/Boletines-del-RegistroMercantil
DANE. Social Pulse Survey. Recovered from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/encuesta-pulso-social
DANE, International Trade. Recovered from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/comercio-internacional
Banco de la República. https://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/nota_de_prensa_inversion_directa.pdf
Ministerio de Hacienda https://www.minhacienda.gov.co/webcenter/ShowProperty?nodeId=/ConexionContent/ WCC_CLUSTER-249264
Diario La República https://larepublica.co