Colombian mining and oil companies may sell shares in initial public offerings next year as integration with Peru and Chile boosts investor demand, Juan Pablo Cordoba, president of the nation’s stock exchange, said Wednesday.
Investors in Peru and Chile, who will be able to buy shares on all three exchanges in January, have also expressed interest in Colombian banking stocks, Cordoba said in an interview in Lima.
“We have good momentum in gold, oil and gas in Colombia, so there’s a lot of investor interest in that area,” Cordoba said. “There’s a significant portfolio of companies looking to list on the Colombian market, which is a very attractive and deep source of financing.”
Colombia has lined up $50 billion in mining and energy projects through 2015, according to the Mines and Energy Ministry. Mining companies, including South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and Canada’s Greystar Resources Ltd., are exploring for gold in Colombia, while London-based Rio Tinto Group is studying an aluminum project.
Central American companies seeking lower costs and access to a deeper investor base may also try to list shares on the integrated exchange, Cordoba said.
The integrated Andean market will have a value of $661 billion, second in Latin America behind Brazil’s $1.75 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The IGBC Index fell 2.5 percent to 15,830.63, while the Colcap Index dropped 2.5 percent to 1,889.62. (Alex Emery / Bloomberg)