Sources

In Bogotá and Colombia, the significant increase in the annual variation is explained by spending divisions such as food, rentals, services, and restaurants that, due to the reactivation, are affecting price dynamics, causing a rise much higher than recorded in pre-pandemic periods. Inflation in January 2022

Inflation is a factor impacting the economy since, by January 2022, 12-month inflation of 6.94% is the highest growth in prices recorded since 2016. Likewise, the variation in the CPI between December 2021 and January 2022, whose value was 1.67%, is the highest value of any monthly variation registered since 2003 that DANE publishes the CPI information.

Graph 2. Monthly variation of the CPI for January of each year for the national total between 2016 and 2022

Source: DANE, CPI.

The Central Bank expects that, between January 1 and December 31, 2022, inflation will be 4.3%; this means that January already contributed 1.3 percentage points, equivalent to 38.8% of the annual goal.

To understand how much the five divisions that grew the most impact prices, the importance of each one on the total CPI is analyzed: Clothing and footwear weigh 3.98%, food, and non-alcoholic beverages 15.05%, Articles for the home and the ordinary maintenance of the home 4.19%, restaurants and hotels 9.43% and transportation 12.93%. Between the five, they determine 45.6% of the CPI.

Finally, Food and non-alcoholic beverages accumulated a price increase of 19.94% in the last 12 months. In the same period, Restaurants and hotels had general price growth of 10.73%. 1,67%

1,29%

1,02%

0,63% 0,60%

0,42%

0,41%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

3.3 Employment2

In December 2021, the National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE, published the labor market figures that showed that the unemployment rate in the national total was 11.0%, which meant a decrease of 2.4 percentage points in comparison to the same month of 2020, when it stood at 13.4%, but remained at levels higher than in October 2019, the time before the pre-pandemic, at 1.5 pp, when unemployment stood at 9.5%.

The preceding shows that the unemployment rate continues to fall steadily, which shows that the business sector is creating more jobs. Within the same period of 2021, there was an increase of 200 thousand employed people, compared to the same period of 2020, going from 21.4 to 21.6 million. However, the country still has 1.2 million fewer employed people than in October 2019, when it stood at 22.8 million. Graph 3. Colombia unemployment rate May 2019 – December 2021

25,0

20,0

15,0

10,0

5,0 9,5% 13,4% 11,0%

0,0

May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dic Ene Feb Mar Abr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dic Ene Feb Mar Abr May Jun Jul Ago Sep Oct Nov Dic 2019 2020 2021 TD 10,5 9,4 10,7 10,8 10,2 9,8 9,3 9,5 13,0 12,2 12,6 19,8 21,4 19,8 20,2 16,8 15,8 14,7 13,3 13,4 17,3 15,9 14,2 15,1 15,6 14,4 14,3 12,3 12,1 11,8 10,8 11,0

Source: DANE - Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH).

In the case of Bogotá, the unemployment rate in December 2021 was 10.3%, which shows a drop of 6.2 p.p. compared to the same month of 2020 when it stood at 16.5%, however, it is higher by 0.3 p.p. to what was observed in December 2019 when it was 10.0%. It is important to note that this is the first time since the pandemic that Bogotá's unemployment rate is below that of the nations. On the other hand, those employed in the capital in December 2021 were 3.77 million, lower than what was reported in 2020 when they were 3.86 million, and even lower than what was reported in 2019 when they were 4.23 million. Likewise, there were 434 thousand unemployed in the Capital District, representing a decrease of 331 thousand people compared to the same period in 2020.

Unemployment continues to affect women to a greater extent: in the national total, the unemployment rate for men in the moving quarter October-December 2021 was 8.4%, and for women, 15.1%, which represents a gap between men and women of -6.7 pp, higher than the gap presented in 2019 which was -5.4 pp.

2 Source: DANE, Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH). Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/mercado-laboral/empleo-y-desempleo

3.4 Business Dynamic

During 2021, 85 thousand companies were created in Bogotá and the 59 municipalities of the jurisdiction. The creation of companies increased by 13% compared to the same period in 2020. Of the total number of new companies registered, 68% correspond to individuals and 32% to enterprises. The behavior of the creation of simplified stock companies stands out, which increased 10% compared to 2020, going from 24,253 to 26,753 companies. On the other hand, enrollments of individuals went from 50,485 to 58,033, which represents a positive variation of 15%.

As for the economic macro-sectors, the one that presented the greatest growth was the service sector growing by 18%, followed by industry, which increased by 15%, and commerce, which raised its enrollment by 6%.

Bogotá and Cundinamarca continued with a stable recovery process in the number of active companies, having 470,579 by the end of 2021. Likewise, 404,054 active companies were registered in Bogotá, accounting for 85.9% of the total in the region. The number of active companies increased by 5% compared to 2020. However, some challenges remain to reach the levels observed in the same period of 2019 when there were 501,086 companies in the jurisdiction, which indicates that 30,507 companies still need to be recovered to restore the existing business fabric in 2019.

Table 2. Companies active in 2021 (comparison 2021 with 2020 and 2019)

Municipality Jan - Dec (2019) Jan - Dec (2020) Jan - Dec (2021)

Variation 2019 - 2021

Variation 2020 - 2021

Bogotá D.C.

Jurisdiction 59 municipalities of Cundinamarca 436.942 384.352 403.816 -8%

64.144 61.722 66.487 4% 5%

8%

Total, (Bogotá and Cundinamarca Jurisdiction) 501.086 446.074 470.579 -6% 5%

Source: Registro Mercantil, CCB, 2019 - 2020 - 2021. La consulta de la información empresarial del Registro Mercantil se realizó el 1 de enero de 2021-Qlik Sense.

3.5 Social Pulse Survey

Consumer Confidence Indicator (ICC)

This indicator comprises five (5) questions that seek to know the behavior of the household economy, the behavior of the economy in general, and the consumption capacity of durable goods. The results are for the national total.

Graph 4: Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) - Monthly series - 23 cities (July 2020 – December 2021)

32,5% 33,5%34,0%34,4%33,7%

31,9% 33,6%34,4%

30,6% 37,7%38,5%37,6%37,7%

35,0%

35,9%

31,7%

28,9%

Julio Agosto Septiembre Octubre Noviembre Diciembre Enero Febrero Marzo Abril Mayo Junio Julio Agosto Septiembre Octubre Noviembre Diciembre

2020

27,6%

2021

Source: DANE, (2021). Encuesta Pulso Social, octubre 2021.

• In December 2021, the ICC stood at 37.7% in the total of the 23 cities, increasing by 0.1 percentage points (p.p.) compared to September 2021 (37.6%). Notably, this indicator grew again after a fall of 0.9 p.p. between October and November, which shows an increase in consumer confidence.

• Regarding gender, for men, in December 2021, the ICC was 37.8% in the total of the 23 cities, increasing 4.1 percentage points compared to December 2020 (33.7%). For women, the ICC was 37.6% in December 2021, an increase of 3.9 pp compared to December 2020, when it stood at 33.7%.

4. Evolution of Foreign Trade

Exports3:

Dynamic of Colombian exports: Exports in the country have shown a significant recovery in recent months, managing to reach growth rates above that recorded before the pandemic. In December 2021, Colombia's exports reached US$41,223.9 million FOB, which represents an increase of 32.7% regarding the US$10,168.2 million registered in 2020. However, even more important is the fact that exports exceeded the levels observed before the pandemic, showing a US$1,734.8 million growth compared to that registered in December 2019, which implies a value 4.4% higher. Dynamic of exports from the Bogotá - Cundinamarca region: Exports originating from Bogotá, without considering oil and its derivatives, were higher by US$140 million when comparing December 2021 to the same month in 2020. This represents a 65.0% growth. On the other hand, exports in Bogotá grew by 96.2% compared to December 2019, which represents a biennial increase of US$174 million.

As for Cundinamarca, there was a 25.4% increase in exports in December 2021 compared to the same period of 2020, going from US$147 million in 2020 to US$184 million in 2021. Cundinamarca's exports in 2021 exceeded the levels of foreign sales in the pre-pandemic period when in December 2019, these amounted to US$ 141 million. When analyzing the accumulated for January-December 2021, Bogotá's exports increased by 45.7%, going from US$2,283.8 million in 2020 to US$3,326.5 million in 2021. Compared to the same period in 2019, exports registered an increase of 36.2%.

In the case of Cundinamarca, when comparing the period from January to December 2021 with the same range of months in 2020, exports increased by US$ 395.7 million, which represents a growth of 24.2%. However, Cundinamarca reduced its exports when compared to the pre-pandemic period. Comparing January-December 2021 with the same period in 2019, the variation in exports was -0.8%, going from US$ 2,049.4 million in 2019 to US$2,033.8 million in 2021.

3 Source: DANE, Exportaciones. Diciembre 2021. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticaspor-tema/comercio-internacional/exportaciones

Imports4:

Dynamic of Colombian imports: In the January-December 2021 period, Colombian imports amounted to US$ 61,101.4 million, showing an increase of 40.5 %, compared to the same period in 2020. Of the total imported, 77 .1% are manufactures, 14.7% agricultural products, food, and beverages, and 8.1% fuels and products from the extractive industry.

Dynamics of imports from the Bogotá – Cundinamarca region: Imports from the Bogotá and Cundinamarca region increased by 34.7% and 38.2%, respectively. Foreign purchases from the region amounted to US$34,593.1 million in 2021.

The Bogotá-Cundinamarca region, as is traditional, is the first in the country's imports, representing 56.6% of the total. Bogotá recorded imports for US$29,414.1 million and Cundinamarca for US$5,179 million.

Electrical recording or imaging equipment and material (mainly telephones and televisions) are the main products imported by the Bogotá-Cundinamarca region, followed by machines, pharmaceutical products, and motor vehicles.

5. Foreign Direct Investment

According to the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stood at US$7,165 million in the accumulated for 2021, which meant an increase of 4.8% compared to 2020. In total, the FDI that reached the mining-energy sectors in 2021 amounted to US$4,811 million, presenting an increase of 22.7% and a participation in the total FDI of 67%. On the other hand, FDI in different sectors, other than oil and mining, stood at US$2,354 million in 2021, showing a reduction of 19.3% compared to 2020 and a share of the total of 33%.

Colombia's direct investment abroad was negative by US$ 267.2 million in the accumulated for 2021.

4 Source: DANE, Comercio internacional importaciones. Diciembre 2021. Recuperado de: https://dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/comercio-internacional/importaciones

Graph 5. Foreign Direct Investment. Period January – December (2013-2021)

Source: Banco de la República-Balanza cambiaria For its part, for January 2022, FDI stood at US$ 962 million, which means an increase of 62% compared to the same month in 2021. 5

For this same month, FDI in the mining-energy sectors stood at US$629 million, which represents an increase of 42.1% compared to January 2021 and a 65% share of the total for the month. For its part, FDI in other sectors, other than mining-energy, stood at US$ 333 million, which meant a reduction of 19.3% compared to January 2021 and a participation of 35%. Finally, Colombia's direct investment abroad was negative by US$40 million for the month of January.

6. Behavior of the pandemic

With a cut-off date of February 26, 2022, a total of 77,248,506 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been applied nationwide in Colombia. In total, 35,188,391 first doses have been applied, 27,391,350 have been second doses, 8,516,629 booster doses, 6,152,136 single doses and 33,543,486 complete schemes have been recorded. According to the above, more than 67% of the Colombian population already has its complete schedule, and more than 70%

5 Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism. Recovered from: https://www.mincit.gov.co/getattachment/estudioseconomicos/estadisticas-e-informes/informes-de-inversion-extranjera/informes-de-inversion-extranjera-(balanzacambiari/2021/septiembre/oee-mab-informe-cambiario-a-septiembre-2021.pdf.aspx

have received a first dose of the vaccine. Through the following graph you can see the rate of vaccination, by date, for the period between November 14, 2021, and February 23, 2022. 6

Graph 6: Doses applied by date. Period November 14, 2021 - February 23, 2022

Source: Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social

For its part, in Bogotá, with a cut-off date of February 23, 2022, a total of 13,827,382 doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 have been applied. This means that more than 61% of the population of the capital has a first dose of the vaccine and that more than 55% have the complete vaccination schedule.

At the same time, with a cut-off date of February 23, a total of 2,073,771 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been applied in the department of Cundinamarca. The above means that more than 32% of the population of the department has a first dose of the vaccine and that more than 26% have the complete vaccination schedule.

Regarding the number of infections, as of February 27, 2022, a total of 6,062,701 cases have been registered since the pandemic began in the country, 5,888,474 recovered, 13,867 active cases and 138,693 deaths. The following graphs show the evolution of infections and deaths registered in the country due to COVID 19:

6 Source: Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social. Recovered from: https://www.minsalud.gov.co/salud/publica/Vacunacion/Paginas/Vacunacion-covid-19.aspx

Graph 7: Daily reported trends of infections and deaths in Colombia

Source: Covid 19 tracker. Reuters. Recovered from: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-andmaps/countries-and-territories/colombia/

7. Business Perception

In the same way that consumer confidence is measured, DANE began in June 2020 the publication of the Business Confidence Indicator (ICE for its name in Spanish). In January 2022, the indicator stood at 65.0, which meant a decrease of 0.1 p.p. compared to the immediately preceding month. The sectoral results are as follows: Services (66.4), Manufacturing Industry (64.7), Commerce (64.5) and Construction (61.4).7 .

7 Source: DANE. Encuesta Pulso Empresarial (Ronda no. 18: septiembre-octubre, 2021). Recovered from: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/comercio-interno/encuesta-pulso-empresarial

Graph 8: Business Confidence Indicator, Results for the national total June 2020 – January 2022

Source: DANE, Encuesta Pulso Empresarial, (Round no.21: December 2021 – January 2022)

Also, in December 2021, the percentage of companies that operated normally reached 97% at the national level, a value that did not present any variation compared to the immediately previous month. By sector, Commerce, with 98.4%, registered the highest percentage of companies with normal operation, while the Construction sector presented the lowest proportion with 85%.

8. BCC news and future events

• On February 2nd, the Executive President of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Nicolás Uribe Rueda, led a mission to Washington DC, capital of the United States, Colombia's first trading partner, to promote bilateral trade and investment and share results of the economic and social reactivation process of our country.

• In the company of H.E. Hamad Buamim, Executive President of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, on January 27, the President of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and Vice President for Latin America of the Federation of World Chambers of Commerce, Mr. Nicolás Uribe Rueda, presented, before more of 80 Chambers in the region, the innovation methodology of the business model of the Chambers. The foregoing in order that the

Chambers can continue to provide services in accordance with the needs of the companies of the future.

• The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce presented the results of the Entrepreneurship Survey of Bogotá and the Region, an x-ray of the most relevant data on the main problems and opportunities of businessmen and women. Among the main results, it is highlighted that, by size, 93% of the companies in the capital correspond to microenterprises, 5% refer to small and 2% are framed among medium-sized companies, while 0.7% corresponds to big enterprises. In addition, 56% corresponds to companies constituted as natural persons (individuals) and 44%

as legal persons (enterprises). For its part, the BCC has a total of 470 thousand active companies. Finally, the survey found that identifying the initiative as a business opportunity was the excuse of 59% of formal companies and 61% of informal ones. To consult the complete results of the survey, we invite you to visit the following link.

• The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce presented the results of the 2021 Bogotá Perception and Victimization

Survey. Since 1998, the BCC has carried out the Perception and Victimization Survey to establish the subjective factors that complement the official crime figures and analyze the different aspects that affect citizen security.

On this occasion, an increase of 3 percentage points in citizens who are victims of some type of crime stands out, going from 17% in 2020 to 20% in 2021. To consult the complete results of the survey, we invite you to visit the following link.

• In the framework of Mr. John Denton, ICC Secretary General´s visit to Colombia, the Bogotá Chamber of

Commerce launched the first Decarbonization and Climate Action Survey for the business ecosystem of Bogotá and the Region. Among the main results, it stands out that the concept of climate change and the measures to be implemented in this regard are known by 51%, a little more than half, of the companies surveyed. In addition, 48% of the companies surveyed are not aware of the incentives related to this topic. Also, in response to these challenges evidenced by the survey, together with the Corporate Environmental Corporation, CAEM, a subsidiary of the BCC, we designed a Decarbonization and Climate Action Guide to accompany companies to move towards models with low carbon consumption. To consult the complete results of the survey, we invite you to visit the following link.

9. Sources

• For more information, refer to the Bogota Chamber of Commerce´s Economic Observatory https://www.ccb.org.co/observatorio

• DANE. Cuentas Nacionales. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/cuentas-nacionales/cuentas-nacionales-trimestrales

• DANE. Mercado Laboral. Información recuperada de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/mercado-laboral/empleo-y-desempleo

• Registro Mercantil, CCB, 2019 - 2020 – 2021 - 2022. Recuperado de: https://www.ccb.org.co/Inscripciones-yrenovaciones/Matricula-Mercantil/Boletines-del-Registro-Mercantil/Boletines-ano-2021

• DANE. Encuesta Pulso Social. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/encuesta-pulso-social

• DANE, Encuesta Pulso Empresarial, (Ronda no.21: diciembre 2021 – enero 2022). Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/comercio-interno/encuesta-pulso-empresarial

• DANE, Exportaciones. Enero 2022. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/comercio-internacional/exportaciones

• DANE, Comercio internacional importaciones enero 2022. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/comercio-internacional/importaciones.

• Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo. Informes de Inversión Extranjera Directa. Recuperado de: https://www.mincit.gov.co/getattachment/estudios-economicos/estadisticas-e-informes/informes-deinversion-extranjera/informes-de-inversion-extranjera-(balanza-cambiari/2021/junio/oee-mab-informecambiario-a-junio-2021.pdf.aspx

• Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social. Recuperado de: https://www.minsalud.gov.co/salud/publica/Vacunacion/Paginas/Vacunacion-covid-19.aspx

• Covid 19 tracker. Reuters. Recuperado de: https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-andmaps/countries-and-territories/colombia/

• DANE. Encuesta Pulso Empresarial. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/comercio-interno/encuesta-pulso-empresarial

• Observatorio de Desarrollo Económico de Bogotá. Recuperado de: https://observatorio.desarrolloeconomico.gov.co/expectativas/indice-de-confianza-industrial-vuelve-terrenopositivo