War is over – it’s time to head back to Colombia

The peace deal with war lords and drug gangs is just one of the many reasons why Colombia is set to prosper. Smart investors should buy in now, says James McKeigue.

810-cover-1200

Last week, pictures of Colombian government negotiators posing awkwardly with ex-guerrillas in matching shirts were beamed around the world. The photo shoot was clumsy, but it got the message across: Colombia, long synonymous with armed insurgents and violent narcotics gangs, wants the world to know it is on the road to peace. It was also a distraction from depressing headlines produced by a slowing economy. Over the last two years the Colombian peso has lost 40% of its value against the dollar amid falling oil prices. For Colombia's new middle class, born of an economic boom that started around 2000, imported gadgets and foreign holidays are becoming prohibitively expensive. The fall in the value of oil exports has widened the current-account deficit, while a smaller tax take has left the government with a budget shortfall.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Explore More
James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.