Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Colombia has brought in a total of $7 billion in the first half of 2011, reported economic magazine Portafolio.
The figure, reported by the Colombian Central Bank, represents a 91.4% increase from the same period in 2010 and highlights the increasing attention that Colombia has been receiving in recent years from international businesses and investors.
The majority of the foreign capital that entered Colombia between January and June 2011 was linked to mining and oil, representing an investment of $4.5 billion dollars.
However, other sectors such as transportation, communications, and Colombia’s manufacturing industry have also seen an increase in foreign direct investment.
Information from the Central Bank re-affirmed that the official estimate of this year’s FDI will reach a total of $13 billion dollars, breaking the 2008 record of $10.6 billion.
The president of the South American Investment Group, David Bojanini, recently said that the Colombian economy has performed well amid global difficulties and is a favorite destination, among the Latin American countries, for investors.
Investment guru Sam Zell of private equity firm Equity International has been quoted saying “Colombia is a rising phoenix and has been off the radar for much time.”