By Monica Usuga

During the last decade, Colombia has presented a large growth in the sector which is referred to as foreign investments, due in large part to the dynamism of the economy and the security of the country. This is probably the factor which at the moment attracts the most attention for investing in the country which presently has the lowest and most constant inflation rates of Latin America.

At the same time, an increase in the creation of small and medium businesses has been observed; this offers a large amount of direct and indirect job offerings, which denotes an increased economic growth. As a rule, these are small businesses that believe in their own country and are betting on the viability of foreign investment.
Colombia is strategically located, an intermediate point between North America and South America, its coasts are on both the Pacific as well as the Atlantic Oceans and reckons with a modern harbor infrastructure. It is easily accessed by the North American, European, Latin American, African and Asian markets.
The Colombian government has promoted investments by offering incentives such as free ones, special economic zones (ZEE) and special customs areas. So, in this sense, the investor can count on a series of privileges and prerogatives such as tax benefits, special systems for foreign commerce and exportation incentives. Foreign investments are permitted in most financial sectors, and the income and capital that have been invested and reported may be re-exported without limitations. Furthermore, Colombia offers protection that has been toasted by commercial treaties with various countries, bilateral investment agreements and international treaties such as the one undersigned by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). In addition, the country is living in a phase of security that ensures businessmen the certainty that their investments will be protected and that they can obtain excellent benefits.
Colombia also offers:
-   A better business environment: during the last 5 years, the economy has risen at a rate of more than 4% each year. In 2008 the GDP of Colombia recorded a growth of 2.5%, a positive growth during a world crisis.
-   Human resources: the Country is the regional leader for the number of new businesses and has the largest growing work force according to the IMD 2009; according to the World Bank in 2008 it has the second most flexible work system of Latin America; it has the ideal platform for exporting; it has the advantage of agreements that been signed with various countries giving it a preferential access to a wider market of more than 1,200 million consumers—a situation that is favored by the strategic position of the country.
-   Incentives for investors: Colombia is the Country with the second best business environment in Latin America, according to Doing Business 2009. Among the advantages are: the most competitive Free Zones in Latin America which give a 50% discount on income taxes, thereby permitting sales in the local markets as well as setting up establishments in any part of the country.
-   Contracts for legal stability.
-   A 40% deduction from income taxes for the cost of new machinery.
-   Exemption from income taxes on projects in the tourism sector and for slowly rendering cultivations.
-   Quality of life: three of the Universities in Colombia are among the top 30 in Latin America, 26 Colleges are enrolled with the SAT Reasoning Test, 19 with the Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) and there are more than 45 18-hole golf courses.
In only two years Colombia had advanced 26 positions in the Doing Business 2009 ranking.
In the following links you will find the steps for investing in Colombia, and learn what’s new on the subject of facilitating investments:
Steps for establishing yourself: in this section you can follow the steps for getting installed in the country.
Taxes and Deductions: the basic information on the Colombian taxation system and the explanation of one of the most attractive deductions for investors is in this section.
How to contract: in this section you will find the basic points to keep in mind when putting your personnel under contract.
Residency permits and the list of countries that don’t require an entrance visa.
How to buy Property and recommendations that will render your purchase as simple as possible.
How to import to the country: with this lost your import processes will be easier and faster.