More money will be spent on Colombia’s infrastructure as a result of Standard and Poor’s credit upgrade, Reuters reported Thursday.
The energy and mining sectors as well as transport will see the result of new investment, but with a three year time lag. “It’s going to take time as people get accustomed…in the medium term, three years, we are going to see results” said David Felipe Perez, vice president of structured finance at Bancolombia.
Standard and Poor, one of the three major international credit rating agencies, upgraded Colombia to investment grade on March 16 due to the country’s strong growth and economic resilience.
Other ratings agencies are expected to follow suit. Moody’s and Fitch currently rate Colombia just below investment grade, however Moody’s said it would reassess Colombia’s rating in a few months.
Analysts say that the upgrade will likely spur the most investment in the construction sector, as well as electricity, mining and energy. However Colombia’s deficient transport network and port capacity have been cited as impediments to growth.