NEWS - 2006

Marubeni, BP among Colombia refinery qualifiers

February 09, 2006

Marubeni Corporation, Glencore International AG, BP Corp North America and Petrobras have qualified to bid to be partners in an $850 million expansion of Colombia's Cartagena oil refinery. Ecopetrol plans to choose a partner in the first half of this year for the project, which could take until 2010 and aims to double the capacity of Colombia's second-largest refinery to 140,000 barrels per day. The pre-qualified companies will be invited to submit detailed bids.

Fogafin aims to sell 10 financial institutions in 2006

February 09, 2006

Colombia's deposit insurance fund Fogafin expects to sell at least 10 financial institutions currently subject to liquidation proceedings this year. The government's industrial development institute IFI and Caja Agraria, whose loan portfolio was later handed to state-owned Banco Agrario, and Banco Andino are among these banks. Fogafin supervises the liquidation processes of some 45 financial institutions in Colombia, all of which will go under the hammer in future. Fogafin and Colombia's regulator for banking cooperatives are likely to sell liquidated microlending bank Megabanco in this year's first half.

 Colombia GDP to Grow 4.5% in 2006

February 8, 2006

Colombia's economy probably will expand 4.5 percent in 2006 led by investment and exports, Santiago Montenegro, head of the National Planning Department, said. Colombia's economy grew at an annual rate of 5.75 percent in the third quarter, its fastest pace in a decade, as President Alvaro Uribe's fight against insurgency helped restore business and consumer confidence.