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As the US and European economies recover, some foreign infrastructure and property investors in Latin America may be tempted to invest back into the stronger economies. However, Federico Restrepo Posada, Chief Executive Officer at Autopistas para la Prosperidad, believes that the opportunities in the developed countries will not be better than what Colombia and some other countries in the region already have on the table. “There is a perception that investing in some emerging markets is risky, but over the last ten years, they have provided very attractive investment opportunities,” he says.
What opportunities for growth do you predict for the next few years? How can developers in the region take advantage of them?
As the developed countries emerge from the crisis with very strong economies, the emerging countries are waiting to see what investors will do. Many will look for opportunities to invest in the US, but those opportunities will not necessarily be better than what the Latin American countries have been providing in the past five years. Most developed countries do not lack as much infrastructure as some developing countries do. Colombia is investing USD 25 billion on roads. The opportunities in the US will not be better than that.
Could Latin American countries beat a trend of investors returning to developed economies? How?
One of the challenges with some countries in Latin America, including Colombia, is security. That is very important for attracting foreign construction companies. There is a perception that investing in some Latin American countries would be far riskier than investing in the US, but that is incorrect. It is all a matter of better understanding the potential risks.
In the case of Colombia, the country is well managed from an economic point of view, laws and norms are reasonable and stable, and social and security conditions are always improving. The government is spending a lot of money on building new infrastructure projects to make the country more competitive.
What mistakes do foreign investors make that they could easily avoid?
In their focus to win the bidding process, they underestimate the real conditions of the project which lead to problems in the construction phase. They must be very responsible in the way they calculate costs. It is not a matter of winning the bid then when the project is underway, making claims because they supposed another condition different to the real one. They must study the technical aspects of the project in detail, how the financial aspects have been designed, how the project was conceptualized, and have a good understanding of the culture of the country and how people behave.
Interview by: Sarin Kouyoumdjian-Gurunlian, Press Manager
For more information, contact: Jennifer Keljik, marketing manager
Tel: +1.312.540.3000 x6592
Email: [email protected]
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