Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, is pitching to become a leading destination in Latin America for FDI, with its economy recently recording growth levels of 6.4%, one of the fastest in the region.

At a seminar in London on June 10, Invest in Bogotá, the city’s inward development agency, told investors about opportunities in value-added sectors such as technology, software development, green technology, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

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"Bogotá is a thriving, multicultural and creative city that has become one of the main business centres in Latin America and an attractive destination for foreign investment,” said Juan Gabriel Pérez, the chief executive officer at Invest in Bogotá.

The Colombian economy has continued to perform strongly in 2014, supported by high levels of investment, particularly in the construction sector, which posted year-on-year growth of 17.2% in the first quarter of this year, according to the country’s central bank. This has resulted in a year-on-year expansion of the overall economy by 6.4% in the first quarter and led Barclays to raise its 2014 GDP growth forecast for the country from 4.8% to 5.3%.

Bogotá, with a population of 7.7 million people representing 24% of the country’s GDP, is the main beneficiary of this strong economic growth. The city offers investors a workforce of 4 million young professionals with a high level of technological expertise.

With a GDP per capita of $11,918, Bogotá has a robust local marketplace and is considered a key destination within the whole Andean region. The city has 100,000 tertiary education students graduating every year, one-third of which are at post-graduate level.

The UK is the second largest investor in Colombia after the US, with recorded investments of $6bn in the past 10 years. The city’s favourable economic climate has attracted more than 1500 foreign companies, including the UK firms RSA Insurance Group, GlaxoSmithKline, British American Tobacco, Royal Dutch Shell, Diageo, Compass Group, Wood Group, Experian, Aon and BT Group. In July, Colombian airline Avianca will start non-stop flights from Bogotá to London four times a week. If the service proves successful, it is expected to become daily.

One of the most important infrastructure developments in Bogotá is a $3.2bn metro system (originally starting with three lines) that will open in 2020. This is expected to be a turnkey project and will be put out to tender next year.

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