International BCC Newsletter # 32

1. GUEST COLUMNIST:

Summit of the Americas opened the doors to internationalization for 800 MSMEs.

For three days, Bogotá was the epicenter of the business world, commercial academia and the union of leaders in the sector. It is with pride and gratitude that I share with you that the Summit of the Americas, organized by the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and the World Federation of Chambers of Commerce, concluded with great success. This meeting not only consolidated the importance of Bogota as an epicenter of business and opportunities in the region, but also underlined the crucial role of chambers of commerce in fostering cooperation and sustainable economic development to strengthen MSMEs and facilitate their access to international markets. My sincere thanks to all.

Visionaries, businessmen, government, chamber leaders, great speakers and industry experts met in this beautiful city of Bogota. We come together to explore the transformation of the business world, achieving proposed goals. We learned about the different dynamics that are taking place in international markets, and the measures and policies that both countries and companies are implementing to facilitate access to international markets.

The Summit of the Americas: Business Beyond Borders: MSMEs Going Global became a true universe of opportunities, where 33 countries, from Argentina to Venezuela, 68 delegates from 34 International Chambers and more than 800 MSMEs came together to explore the current landscape of international markets and strategies to conquer new horizons.

Talks on trends and recommendations for MSMEs were the highlight of the first day, in which nearly 1,000 entrepreneurs participated. We had the privilege of hearing from more than 20 renowned speakers and industry leaders, who shared their valuable perspectives on current issues and emerging tendencies in international trade. The keynote speeches and panel discussions offered an enriching space for all attendees with the exchange of ideas, including the importance of digitalization, the preponderant role of the financial sector for the expansion of MSMEs, global experiences to expand markets and tools to access international trade for MSMEs, the backbone of our economies. I can assure you that all our visitors, in addition to getting to know a great country, a joyful, enterprising, and resilient culture, generated value in knowledge, relationships and, of course, business.

One of the highlights of the summit was the first international business matchmaking of its kind, which facilitated countless meetings between entrepreneurs and allowed the realization of strategic alliances that will undoubtedly boost the growth of MSMEs in our region. The second day of the summit was marked by 1,427 business meetings between companies from Bogota and the region and countries such as Ukraine, Israel, Kenya, the United States, Argentina, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, among others. 70 international buyers from 15 countries and 624 national bidders participated, achieving a business expectation of more than USD$ 21,000,000. Among others, medical equipment, textiles and apparel, health food, and construction supplies were some of the local products of international interest that stood out for their quality in the round and that entered the global market.

This event was a very important effort for the region and for the Chamber, but without a doubt, only a grain of sand of what remains to be done. This is a relentless work, where we must keep ourselves constantly updated, holding more summits of this type and maintain our relationships close, and so, be the expert channel to connect governments, companies, and consumers between different continents. Provide support to our entrepreneurs in aspects such as regional integration and generating new business opportunities, in the search for financing, in the correct application of regulations, in the increase of education and training, in the implementation of digitalization and access, inclusion and access to international markets.

From my experiences at the summit, I cherish the smiles and great moments shared by all the visitors, but above all with the global entrepreneurial spirit and teamwork for a just cause.

I am infinitely grateful for the effort and commitment of all the attendees, the internal team of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, the World Chambers Federation and all the participants and interested groups. I hope that the inspiration and motivation to continue this work has been achieved to reach a more prosperous, equal and peaceful world.

Ovidio Claros Polanco Executive President – Bogota Chamber of Commerce

2.

GOOD NEWS FROM COLOMBIA AND BOGOTA-REGION

GOOD NEWS FROM COLOMBIA

 The Land of Beauty commemorates the Day of Biological Diversity and celebrates the People's COP, the COP of the regions. This universal remembrance commemorates the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of 22 nd of May 1992 and provides a unique opportunity to foster broad support for the Convention (COP16), its Protocols and related frameworks for action. For more information, please consult the following link

 35 million tons of cargo were mobilized on the country's roads during the first quarter of 2024. In that period, more than 2,000 companies registered their information in the National Cargo Registry, and the report of municipal trips grew 1,100%. In the last year, the cargo transported exceeded 135 million tons, 6% more than in the previous period. For more information, please consult the following link

 In the first quarter, Colombia sold US$4,970.7 million in non-mining goods to the world. With an overall increase of 2.5%, these products included tilapia fillets, with an increase of 115.5% compared to the first quarter of 2023; bananas, +84.9%; cargo and passenger vehicles +74.4% and Tahiti lemons, with a positive variation of 60.3%. For more information, please consult the following link

GOOD NEWS FROM BOGOTA-REGION

 The Invest in Bogota Convention Bureau celebrates the Global Meetings Industry Day. This event aimed to promote the relevance and economic, social and cultural impact of the meetings industry, to continue positioning Bogotá as the epicenter of world-class meetings and events and a leading destination for doing business in Latin America. For more information, please consult the following link

 In Bogota, nearly 20,000 women found employment this quarter. Gender gaps in the capital's labor market are narrowing. According to the most recent information from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), the unemployment rate for women decreased by 1.8%. For more information, please consult the following link

 'Visit Bogota', the mobile application and guide to get to know the capital of Colombia. Bogota continues to bet on consolidating itself as a world-class international destination. The app, available for free on the AppStore and Google Play, is a window into the vibrant heart of Bogota, offering travelers a wide range of resources to explore and enjoy the city to the fullest. For more information, please consult the following link

 Tourism: International visitors to Bogota increased by 22.9% in 2023. This sector reflects the post-pandemic recovery and, in turn, Bogota's ability to attract national and international tourists, which has been vital for Bogota's economic revitalization. For more information, please consult the following link.

 Invest in Bogota was awarded as the best investment promotion agency in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the prestigious Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) event in Abu Dhabi, it was awarded for the generation of new opportunities (355), attention to new and established companies (332), materializing 41 investment projects valued at USD 231 million, the creation of more than 6,000 direct formal jobs and the support of 12 strategic infrastructure projects for the city. For more information, please consult the following link

3. BCC NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

 The Bogota Chamber of Commerce launches a virtual tool to measure the sustainability management impact of companies in the Bogota-region. It is a free technological tool that allows companies of all sizes and sectors to assess their level of commitment to sustainable practices and receive suggestions to improve their management. For more information, please consult the following link

 The success of the first-of-its-kind Business Round at the Summit of the Americas shattered expectations. Following the celebration of the Summit of the Americas of the World Federation of Chambers in Bogota, agreements were reached for business proposals worth more than US$21 million. For more information, please consult the following link

 The Bogota Chamber of Commerce held Bogota Fashion Week at the Agora Center in Bogota. BFW is a commercial and promotional platform to turn the city into a fashion business capital of international stature, focused on design. It seeks not only to highlight the excellence and variety of Colombian fashion, but also to promote essential values such as gender equality, fair employment and conscious consumption. For more information, please consult the following link.

4. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

4.1 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT – GDP

In the first quarter of 2024, Colombia's GDP grew by 0.7%, a reduction of 2 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2023 in which the country grew by 2.7%. This result is close to the growth of the fourth quarter of 2023 (0.3%).

1. Annual GDP growth rate, by quarter, between 2019 and 2024 Colombia and Bogota

Source: DANE-SDDE.

The value of GDP in the first quarter of 2024 was slightly higher than the first quarter of previous years until 2019, reaching 237.2 billion pesos.

The low GDP growth for the first quarter is largely explained by the contraction of several sectors, in particular, the fall in manufacturing industries out with - 5.9%, a sector that has registered reductions since the second quarter of 2023. The Construction sector stands out, registering a growth of 0.7% after having registered 5 consecutive periods of decline.

2. Total value of the Gross Domestic Product, in billions of pesos, and growth rate between 2019 and 2024 in Colombia

Source: DANE

Graph

Graph

In the April 2024 monetary policy report, the technical staff of the Central Bank projects economic growth of 1.4% by 2024.

4.2 ECONOMIC MONITORING INDICATOR (EMI)

According to the Economy Monitoring Indicator (EMI), in March 2024 there was a variation in the EMI of -0.8%, compared to February 2024, a month in which a fall of -0.3% was recorded, after having grown 1.6% in January.

In March 2024, the activities that showed the greatest annual reduction in the EMI were Manufacturing Industries; Construction (-7.5%) and Financial and Insurance Activities (-6.8%). In terms of annual growth, Public Administration and Defense Activities were the most noteworthy, with an annual variation of 5.2%, followed by Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply and Real Estate Activities, with growth of 4.1% and 1.7%, respectively.

4.3 INFLATION

Colombia and Bogota experienced a decrease in the monthly price variation in April 2024 compared to the same month of the previous year. In April 2023, the monthly variation in Colombia was 0.78% and in Bogotá 0.89%, while in April 2024, it was only 0.59% and 0.64%, respectively. This decrease indicates lower inflationary pressure on the Colombian economy.

Source: DANE - Consumer Price Index (CPI).

For its part, Colombia's annual price variation decreased from 12.82% in April 2023 to 7.16% in April 2024, while the annual price variation in April 2024 in the capital shows a reduction of 5.71 percentage points compared to the same month in 2023, from 12.82% to 7.11%.

Table 1. Monthly and annual inflation in Colombia and Bogotá during April 2023-202411

In Colombia's spending divisions, for April 2024 it is observed that the Accommodation, Water, Electricity, Gas and other Fuels division ranked first in Bogotá with a variation of 1.35%. It was followed by the divisions of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages, with 1.16% and Furniture, Household Goods and Ordinary Household Maintenance, with 0.45%. On the other hand, it was the Recreation and Culture division that presented the greatest negative variation, this being 0.28%, followed by the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco division, with a variation of 0.03%.

Graph 3. Relationship between the interest rate of the Banco de la República and inflation at 12 months

Tasa de intervención Inflación anual %

Source: Banco de la República de Colombia – DANE.

As for the intervention rate, the main monetary policy intervention mechanism used by central banks to control inflation, the Banco de la República continues with a strong policy and keeps the intervention rate high. However, it can also be seen that between 2023 and so far in 2024 there has been a significant deceleration in inflation thanks to this policy. Based on this result, the board of directors of Banco de la República on April 30, 2024, decided to reduce the interest rate to 11.75%. In addition, the monetary authority in its April monetary policy report projected total and basic inflation of 5.5% and 5.1%, respectively, for 2024.

4.4 LABOR MARKET

Employment has shown a decline compared to the previous year; however, at the national level, the unemployment rate in March 2024 was 11.3%, 1.3 p.p. higher than March 2023; on the other hand, the employment rate has decreased by 1.2 p.p. in the last year, standing at 56.7% by March 2024. The overall participation rate varied by 0.4 p.p. and stood at 63.9% in March 2024, a lower figure than the same period of the previous year, 64.3%.

Source: Large Integrated Household Survey - GEIH (DANE), March 2024.

In the case of Bogotá and its metropolitan area, the unemployment rate stood at 10.6% for the JanuaryMarch 2024 quarter, a figure lower than the 11.9% of the national total for the same periodicity; For the same mobile quarter, the capital shows an occupancy rate of 63.4%, 7.3 p.p. above the national occupancy rate for the same quarter, which stood at 56.1%. The data show that more people of working age are participating in the labor market in the capital (70.9%) than in the country (63.7%).

The number of employed grew by 285,000 from March 2023 to March 2024, likewise the number of unemployed fell by 10.9%, which means 61,000 fewer people in non-employment status (previously, called "unemployed").

Table 2. GPR, OR and UR, Colombia

5. EVOLUTION OF FOREIGN TRADE EXPORTS

In March 2024, Colombia experienced a decrease in its exports of 14.2% compared to the same month of the previous year, Bogota showed a growth of 7.9%, and Cundinamarca registered a drop of 16.8%.

Graph 4. Annual variation of Colombia's exports in Bogotá and Cundinamarca 2021-2024

Jan-21Mar-21May21 Jul-21Sep21Nov-21Jan-22Mar-22May22 Jul-22Sep22Nov-22Jan-23Mar-23May23 Jul-23Sep23Nov-23Jan-24Mar-24

Source: DANE, International Trade.

In March 2024, Colombia presented exports of $3,830.7 million FOB dollars. Bogota, on the other hand, maintained positive growth, reaching $356.7 million FOB dollars for this month. Finally, Cundinamarca experienced a drop in its exports, reaching $214.6 million.

Total exports of the Bogota-Cundinamarca region reached a value of $658.1 million FOB dollars. The United States stood out as the main export destination, with a total of $249 million FOB dollars, equivalent to 37.8% of the overall total. Ecuador ranked second on the list with $50 million FOB, representing 7.6% of the total, while Mexico came in third with $31 million FOB, a share of 4.8%. Spain and Peru also stood out as relevant destinations with $30 million (4.5%), and $28 million (4.2%) respectively. Venezuela contributed $21 million (3.1%), and Turkey contributed $20 million (3.0%); Chile, the Netherlands, and Canada contributed $18 million (2.8%), $17 million (2.6%), and $14 million (2.2%), respectively, to the region's exports.

Exports to other countries, grouped under "Other Countries", accounted for $180 million FOB dollars, which constitutes 27.4% of the overall total, a significant contribution in terms of share in the month of March 2024.

Colombia Bogotá Cundinamarca

Source: DANE, International Trade.

IMPORTS

In March 2024, Colombia's total imports reached $4.757 billion CIF dollars, experiencing a decrease of 18.8% compared to March 2023. Similarly, Bogota showed a reduction in its imports of 20.5% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching $2.379 billion CIF dollars. Likewise, Bogota's share of domestic imports decreased, from 51.1% in March 2023 to 50.0% in March 2024.

The Bogota-Cundinamarca region reached $331 million CIF in March 2024, which is a drop of 25.3% compared to March 2023. Cundinamarca's share of domestic imports also drops from 7.6% in March 2023 to 6.9% in March 2024.

Graph 5. Exports according to destination countries. Bogotá – Cundinamarca, March 2024

Source: DANE, Imports.

The region's main trading partners were the United States and China. The United States led with $733 million CIF, representing 27.0% of the total, followed by China, which contributed $556 million CIF, representing 20.5% of the total. These two countries account for almost half of all imports (47.5%).

Mexico, with $151 million CIF, ranked third in importance, contributing 5.6% of the total. France and the Netherlands also played a relevant role, contributing $150 million (5.5%) and $148 million (5.5%) respectively. Germany and Nigeria reached $123 million and $66 million CIF respectively, while Argentina and Canada submitted contributions of $61 million and $56 million CIF. Finally, "Other Countries" contributed $666 million CIF, representing 24.6% of the total imports, highlighting the diversity of import origins beyond the main partners mentioned.

Graph 6. Imports by country of origin. Bogotá – Cundinamarca, March 2024

6. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

After reaching an eight-year record in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first quarter of 2024, in April, as well as in its cumulative figure so far this year, registered declines.

According to the records of the Exchange Balance of the Banco de la República, in April there was an FDI of US$ 1,544 million, a figure that represented a drop of 21% compared to the same month of 2023, when US$ 1,956 million were reported.

FDI in the first quarter of the year reached US$ 3,144 million, a figure that represented an increase of 9.5% compared to the same period in 2023 and was also the highest in the last 8 years, according to statistics from the Colombian central bank. On the other hand, in the accumulated of the first four months of the current year, there was an FDI of US$ 4,697 million, which is also lower, but by 2.64%, compared to the same period in 2023.

It is relevant that, when discriminating the figures of the Exchange Balance, the mining and oil sector registered an FDI of US$3,095 million, with a drop of 21.36% compared to that reported in the first four months of 2023, when it was US$3,936 million.

7. SOURCES

 For more information, please contact the Observatory of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota. https://www.ccb.org.co/observatorio

 DANE. National accounting. Retrieved from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/cuentas-nacionales/cuentas-nacionales-trimestrales

 DANE. Labor market. Information retrieved from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticaspor-tema/mercado-laboral/empleo-y-desempleo

 Commercial Registry, CCB, 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024. Retrieved from: https://www.ccb.org.co/Inscripciones-y-renovaciones/Matricula-Mercantil/Boletines-del-RegistroMercantil

 DANE. Social Pulse Survey. Retrieved from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/encuesta-pulso-social

 DANE, International Trade. Retrieved 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