What have you heard

or what do you “know”

about COLOMBIA?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/24/Juanvaldez.svg

VIDEO(click here)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em0SCicZQhw

OUR “ONLY”

PROBLEM…

…is corruption!

The

BASICS…

LOCATION:(SURROUNDED by 2 oceans)

NAME:

Republica de

COLOMBIA

FLAG

MEANING:

>“GOLD”/

“RESOURCES”

“TWO OCEANS”

“HEROE‟S BLOOD”

MAIN LANGUAGE:

Español de Castilla>500.000.000 speaks „Castellano‟

DEMONYM:

Colombian

POPULATION:

45,586,233 (29th globally)

MIGRATIONTO COLOMBIA

RELIGION…

90% CATHOLIC

ETHNICS…How a typical colombian looks like?

(Think twice… is hard to Know!)

…

> 58% Mestizo

> 21% African-Colombian

> 20% Caucasian-Colombian

> 1% Indigenous

CULTURE

DID YOU KNOW…

In 2008, COLOMBIA was

ranked 1st according to a

“Happy Planet Index”?

(YES, such things actually exists)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index

CAPITAL:

Bogotá [boɣo‟ta]LARGEST CITIES:

•Bogotá

•Medellin

•Cali

•Barranquilla

[32 “STATES”]

AREA:

1,141,748 km2 (26th. globally)**US is almost 9 times larger

A Desertin the North

The ATLANTIC(or the Caribbean)

The PACIFICon the west

Our “Heart”3 Mountain Ranges

PLAINS (“Llanos”)in the East

Amazonas Tropical Forrestin the South

HIGHER EDUCATION:

Over 70 Universities

CURRENCY:

PESO Colombiano*

*1U$ = 1800 COP (Aprox.)

GDP (purchasing power parity): $395.4 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $240.7 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,800 (2008 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 38.1% services: 52.9% (2008 est.)Labor force: 21.3 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 22.4% industry: 18.8% services: 58.8% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 11.3% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line: 49.2% (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.8% highest 10%: 45.9% (2006)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 53.8 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (2008 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 24.3% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget: revenues: $83.22 billion expenditures: $82.92 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2008 est.)

Public debt: 42.8% of GDP (2008 est.)Central bank discount rate: 11.5% (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 15.6% (31 December 2008)

Stock of money: $21.58 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of quasi money: $26.57 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of domestic credit: $89.69 billion (31 December 2008)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $87.03 billion (31 December 2008)

products: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp

Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds

Industrial production growth rate: 0.8% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production: 53.6 billion kWh (2007)Electricity - consumption: 52.8 billion kWh (2007)

Electricity - exports: 876.7 million kWh (2007)

Electricity - imports: 38.4 million kWh (2007)

Oil - production: 588,000 bbl/d (93,500 m3/d) (2008 est.)

Oil - consumption: 267,000 bbl/d (42,400 m3/d) (2007 est.)

Oil - exports: 294,000 bbl/d (46,700 m3/d) (2008 est.)

Oil - imports: 12,480 bbl/d (1,984 m3/d) (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 1,323,000,000 bbl (2.103E+8 m3) (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production: 7.22 billion cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 7.22 billion cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 122.9 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance: $-6.761 billion (2008 est.)

Exports: $38.55 billion (2008 est.)

commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, emeralds, apparel, bananas, cut flowers

Exports - partners: US 32.1%, Venezuela 16.8%, Chile 4.8% (2008)

Imports: $37.56 billion (2008 est.)

commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricitypartners: US 30.5%, China 8.5%, Mexico 8.5%, Brazil 6.5%, Venezuela 4.3%, Germany 4% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt - external: $46.4 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $67.23 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: $13.08 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Exchange rates: Colombian pesos (COP) per US dollar - 2,243.6 (2008), 2,013.8 (2007), 2,358.6 (2006), 2,320.75 (2005), 2,628.61 (2004)

Fiscal year: calendar year

GDP (purchasing power parity): $395.4 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $240.7 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,800 (2008 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 9% industry: 38.1% services: 52.9% (2008 est.)

Labor force: 21.3 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 22.4% industry: 18.8% services: 58.8% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate: 11.3% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line: 49.2% (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.8% highest 10%: 45.9% (2006)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 53.8 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (2008 est.)Investment (gross fixed): 24.3% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget: revenues: $83.22 billion expenditures: $82.92 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2008 est.)

Public debt: 42.8% of GDP (2008 est.)Central bank discount rate: 11.5% (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 15.6% (31 December 2008)

Stock of money: $21.58 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of quasi money: $26.57 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of domestic credit: $89.69 billion (31 December 2008)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $87.03 billion (31 December 2008)

Agriculture - products: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest p

Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeraldsIndustrial production growth rate: 0.8% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production: 53.6 billion kWh (2007)

Electricity - consumption: 52.8 billion kWh (2007)

Electricity - exports: 876.7 million kWh (2007)

Electricity - imports: 38.4 million kWh (2007)

Oil - production: 588,000 bbl/d (93,500 m3/d) (2008 est.)

Oil - consumption: 267,000 bbl/d (42,400 m3/d) (2007 est.)

Oil - exports: 294,000 bbl/d (46,700 m3/d) (2008 est.)

Oil - imports: 12,480 bbl/d (1,984 m3/d) (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 1,323,000,000 bbl (2.103E+8 m3) (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production: 7.22 billion cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 7.22 billion cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 122.9 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance: $-6.761 billion (2008 est.)

Exports: $38.55 billion (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, emeralds, apparel, bananas, cut flowers

Exports - partners: US 32.1%, Venezuela 16.8%, Chile 4.8% (2008)Imports: $37.56 billion (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electri

Imports - partners: US 30.5%, China 8.5%, Mexico 8.5%, Brazil 6.5%, Venezuela 4.3%, Germany 4% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt - external: $46.4 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $67.23 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: $13.08 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Exchange rates: Colombian pesos (COP) per US dollar - 2,243.6 (2008), 2,013.8 (2007), 2,358.6 (2006), 2,320.75 (2005), 2,628.61

Fiscal year: calendar year

ECONOMIC

GROWTH:

GDP:

U$401.966 billionManufacturing 14.2%

Agriculture 13.5%

Financial services 17.2%

Commerce 11.4%

Transportation/communications services 8.2%

Mining and quarrying 4.8%

Construction and public works 5.3%

Government, personal and other services 19.5%

Electricity, gas, and water 3.0%

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

8

10

2004 2005

US Exports US Imports Trade Balance

$US Billions

Colombia Ranks #31 trade partner with US.

3rd largest market for US goods in Latin America (after Brazil and Mexico).

American exports to Colombia – industrial machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, grains, .

Colombian exports to US – hydrocarbon products, gem stones, coffee, cut flowers, clothing, fruits, .

TRADE BALANCE [US-COL]:

CIVETS* “the new BRICM”:Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam,

Egypt, Turkey and South-africa

*Countries with reasonably sophisticated financial systems,

controlled inflation and a soaring young population.

INDUSTRY:•Leather, textiles and clothing (particularly lingerie)

•Processed foods and beverages,

•Paper and paper products

•Chemicals and petrochemicals

•Cement, iron/steel products and metalworking

> Hotter Regions/Sea Level: Cacao, Sugarcane, Coconuts, Bananas /

Plantains, Cassava, Rice, Cotton, Tobacco, Beef Cattle.

> Temperate Regions: Corn, Citrus, Pineapples, Tomatoes.

> Cooler Regions/Mountains: Potatoes, Dairy Cattle and poultry.

AGRICULTURE:

COFFEE

FLOWERS

PETROLEUM

COAL

EMERALDS

GOLD

SOME

MULTINATIONAL

COMPANIES

with presence

in COLOMBIA

•Oil & Gas.• Emphasis on exploration and production, offshore.

• $3 billion refinery expansion/modernization and Petrochemical Projects. Increase of Ecopetrol investments

• Natural gas market development.

•Energy• Thermal (33%) to supplement hydro (67%)

• Renewables, wind power projects.

OPPORTUNITIES for

SPRINGFIELD, MO (I):

•Safety and Security• Residential and commercial alarm systems

• Biometrics

• Transportation and logistics security

•Food Processing and Packaging Equipment• Rapidly expanding export market is driving need for

state-of-the-art food processing equipment

•Telecommunications

• Broadband technologies, services and equipment

OPPORTUNITIES for

SPRINGFIELD, MO (II):

•Healthcare Services and Medical Equipment

•Hospital upgrades

•Preventative care & early diagnosis

•Business and other Services

•Legal, real estate, franchising

•Processed Foods

•Cotton/yarns

•Wheat/corn/soy/oilseeds

OPPORTUNITIES for

SPRINGFIELD, MO (III):

“COLOMBIA ES PASION” STORE

ANDRES VELASQUEZ

Business Fellowat the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce

•Nacionality: Colombian

•Specialty: Research

•Main Feature: 100% Curiosity

•Favorite Food: Beans… really spicy

Email: andres.velasquez@yahoo.com