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REASONS TO INVEST

AMERICA’S BEST STRATEGY TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT

REASONS TO INVEST

Cartagena was chosen from a list of 481 cities around the continent as the city with the best strategy to attract investment in America in the Top Large American Cities of the Future 2017-2018 ranking, published by the Financial Times’ FDi Magazine. The city was part of this version ranking, under the “Large City” nomination, surpassing North American cities such as Ottawa, Orlando, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Nashville, and La Paz in South America.

TOP LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2017/18 - FDI STRATEGY
RANK
CITY
STATE
COUNTRY
1
CARTAGENA
Bolívar
Colombia
2
Ottawa
Ontario
Canada
3
Orlando
Florida
US
4
Cincinnati
Ohio
US
5
Las Vegas
Nevada
US
6
Nashville
Tennessee
US
7
La Paz
La Paz
Bolivia

Strategic location

Cartagena and Bolívar share a privileged geographical location which makes them a strategic intercontinental connection hub.

  • Located at the heart of the American continent
  • Placed in one of the Caribbean Sea safest locations
  • Only 265 nautical miles from the Panama Canal
  • Warm weather all year round

Connectivity

Cartagena and Bolívar connect to the world in a quick manner through a continuous land, air, maritime, and inland waterway connectivity flow.

  • The highest flight connectivity of the Colombian Caribbean region with international flights to 7 destinations.
  • Only 2 hours from Florida and 1 hour from Panama.
  • Seamless maritime and inland waterway connectivity, just 3 days by ship from Florida and 5 days from the East Coast of the United States.
  • Four entry-and-exit routes connect them to the north and the center of the country.
  • The Magdalena River, Colombia’s main waterway, crosses Bolívar from south to north with access to Cartagena through Canal del Dique.

INDUSTRY

Cartagena and Bolívar are home to one of the country’s most powerful and important industrial sectors, which include first-level clusters such as the petrochemical-plastic, metal mechanic, and logistics-port sectors.

First industrial city in the Colombian Caribbean region

Headquarters of Latin America?s most modern refinery

Colombia?s first producer and exporter of petrochemical products

Headquarters of Colombia’s main shipyard

WORLD-CLASS PORT

Colombia’s main port zone is located in Cartagena and Bolívar, which is also Latin America’s fifth most important in terms of cargo movement.

26 public and private port concessions.

Colombia’s most efficient, safest, and modern port infrastructure.

Local ports move over 60% of the country’s cargo and over 50% of customs operations.

Bahía profunda y segura, con capacidad de recibir barcos tipo New Panamax.

SPACE AVAILABILITY

Cartagena and Bolívar have the country’s highest number of free trade zones, in addition to accessible lands perfectly located for any type of investment.

16 free trade zones (6 multiuse + 10 single-company areas).

Large infrastructure storage sites

Wide range of industrial and logistics complexes

WORKFORCE

We have a highly qualified and bilingual workforce, and professional, technical and technology training centers driven to harness the region’s productive projects.

+85 thousand graduates in different training levels to satisfy the needs of the productive sector.

+500 higher education programs in several training areas. Wide range of higher education institutions.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Cartagena and Bolívar are the key destination for modern investors who are not only seeking for specific competitive advantages for their businesses, but who also demand quality of life for them and their people.

Varied gastronomic offer; rich and permanent cultural and entertainment agenda.

Latin America’s most traditional film festival venue and one of the continent’s most important.

One of Latin America’s most important music festivals venue.

Wide Real Estate offer, suitable to all budgets

52 hospitals offering different service and specialty levels

SERVICES FOR INVESTORS

Exploratory Phase

  • General and sector-specific information (Custom Made).
  • Institutional and commercial contact logs.
  • Public authorities and university contacts.
  • Public and private networking.
  • Property search accompaniment.

Start-Up Phase

  • Advice to create the company.
  • Support with formalities and regulations during start-up.

Consolidation Phase

  • Tracking, accompaniment, and linkage with local and regional government.
  • Productive supply chain.
  • Enhancement of business climate.

HOW TO INVEST

PASO A PASO PARA CREAR EMPRESA EN CARTAGENA

GUIDE TO INCORPORATE A TRADING COMPANY IN CARTAGENA

Señor inversionista, a continuación encontrará un resumen práctico y metódico de los aspectos principales a tener en cuenta para invertir en Cartagena y Bolívar. Para obtener más detalles sobre cada trámite, lo invitamos a que consulte la Guía del inversionista.

GUIDE TO INCORPORATE A FOREING COMPANY BRANCH IN CARTAGENA

In Colombia, foreign companies are those incorporated under the laws of a foreign country and have a registered office overseas. Please note, that different recommendations must be followed when incorporating a completely new company or when opening a foreign company branch.

For a foreign company to conduct businesses on a regular basis in Colombia, it is necessary to open a branch within the national territory, and the following documentation is required:

  • Certificate of Incorporation and Legal Representation of the investing company issued in the country of origin.
  • Permission to operate in Colombia issued by the Superintendency of Companies or the Bank Superintendency.
  • Power of attorney authorizing an attorney or a natural person to act on behalf of the investing company.
  • Notarized parent company’s bylaws authorizing the opening of a branch in Colombia, indicating at least:
    • Business in which the branch will be engaged

    • Capital

    • Domicile

    • Duration

    • Grounds for terminating business transactions

    • Legal representative appointment

    • Statutory auditor appointment

INVESTING SECTORS

PETROCHEMICALS-PLASTICS

METAL MECHANIC

PORTS AND LOGISTICS

AGRO-INDUSTRIAL

CONSTRUCTION

TOURISM

RENEWABLE ENERGY

GAS AND OIL OFFSHORE

PETROCHEMICALS-PLASTICS SECTOR

The petrochemicals-plastic cluster was consolidated by August 2009, under the framework of Cartagena and Bolívar’s Regional Competitiveness Plan, to formalize the boom of this economic activity in the city.

These are the main reasons why Cartagena and Bolívar are a strategic part of this sector:

  • Colombia’s first producer and exporter of petrochemical products. 81.5% of Bolívar’s exports and 72.5% of imports are petrochemicals-plastic industry products.
  • The petrochemicals-plastics industry has become a characteristic cluster of the city, representing 63% of the added value of the local industry.

Latin America’s most modern refinery is located in Cartagena. Its expansion involved:

  • Double capacity production from 80,000 to 165,000 barrels of oil per day.
  • Implementation of cutting edge technology in transformation processes, complying with environmental regulations.
  • Minimization and reuse of waste.

The sector’s highest concentration activities in the city are:

  • Gas exploitation and oil refining.
  • Production of intermediate inputs such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, among others.
  • Production of basic petrochemical raw materials such as olefins and aromatic hydrocarbons.
  • Production of plastic processed and final goods.

Key players of the petrochemical-plastics industry in Bolivar

The table below shows Bolivar’s main exporting during year 2015 and their market share; most of them belong to the petrochemicals–plastics sector.

POLIPROPILENO DEL CARIBE S.A. (ESENTTIA)
MEXICHEM RESINAS COLOMBIA S.A.S.
DOW AGROSCIENCES COLOMBIA S.A.
AJOVER S.A.
AMERICAS STYRENICS DE COLOMBIA LTDA. (AMSTY)
COMEXTUN LIMITADA
PRODUCTOS AUTOADHESIVOS ARCLAD S.A.
BIOFILM S.A.
YARA COLOMBIA S.A.S. & CIA S.C.A.
LAMITECH S.A.S
TENARIS TUBOCARIBE LTDA
CABOT COLOMBIANA S.A.

METAL MECHANIC SECTOR

Este sector aportó el 23% del valor agregado del departamento de Bolívar entre 2010 y 2014. Es jalonado por la presencia en Cartagena del principal astillero nacional, Cotecmar.

Somos sede del principal sector metalmecánico y asyillero de Colombia porque:

  • 9.3% of this sector employment in Colombia is generated in Bolívar.
  • Local work productivity in this sector is 25.6%, in comparison to the 5.3% national average.
  • Bolívar’s business fabric hosts 7.1% of the metal mechanic production chain companies; meaning that, 51 companies out of the 720 metal mechanic companies in Colombia are in Bolívar.  

Shipyard

  • Colombia’s most important shipyards are in Cartagena de Indias.
  • Ships and leisure boats designing, building, and repair works are conducted there.
  • High I+D content sector.

Dynamic products of the production chain

The following products are highlighted as part of the dynamic production chain, in terms of global trade:

  • Rods
  • Profiles and other alloy steel
  • Iron and non-alloy steel
  • Iron and steel pipes and profiles

The first place in the ranking of total exported products during 2015 is for “Other tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (iron or steel)” with a market share of 59.13% followed by “Iron or steel tubes, pipes and non-welded hollow profiles” with 27.84% of market share, obtaining the highest focus of the exporting market.

Key players of the metal mechanic industry in bolivar

TENARIS TUBOCARIBE LTDA
FERROALQUIMAR
SERVIMECA INDUSTRIAL S.A.S.
INDUSTRIAS ASTIVIK S.A SIGLA ASTIVIK S.A
COTECMAR
PANELMET S.A.S.
BOCCARD PIPING COLOMBIA SAS
INVERSIONES CASCABEL S.A.

PORTS AND LOGISTICS SECTOR

Cartagena and Bolívar are Colombia’s main port zone and Latin America’s fourth most important port zone in terms of cargo movement.


The department is Colombia’s exporting platform as it has:

Logistics and Industry Infrastructure

  • Over 60% of the country’s foreign trade cargo movement
  • Over 50% of foreign trade formalities
  • 93% of the international transit
  • The best industrial and logistics complexes in and out of the free port regime
  • Caribbean region department and Colombia’s co-leader with the highest number of free trade zones: 6 multiuser free trade zones and 10 single-company zones
  • Expansion of ongoing projects and over 600 hectares of new ones
  • Cartagena handles:
  • 26 public and private port concessions

World-Class Port Zone

  • Bay located in one of the Caribbean’s safest zones
  • Optimal and navigable depth 365 days a year
  • Capacity for Neo Panamax ships
  • Serving over 25 shipping lines, it is the main transfer hub for Hamburg Sud, CMA – CGM, CSAV (Maersk Line)

Free Trade Zones

Cartagena de Indias has six multiuser free trade zones (FTZ) that offer lands and warehouses to establish companies, which are customizable to satisfy the needs of users and harness the many benefits of the free trade regime.

  • Parque Central FTZ
  • La Candelaria FTZ
  • Puerta de Las Américas FTZ
  • Zofranca FTZ
  • Santelca FTZ
  • Monsú FTZ

Cartagena and Bolivar’s Most Important Ports

  • Sociedad Portuaria Regional Cartagena
  • Contecar
  • Compas : Terminal El Bosque
  • Compas : Terminal Buenavista
  • Puerto de Mamonal
  • Puerto Bahía
  • Sociedad Portuaria Mardique
  • Oiltanking Colombia S.A. Terminal Cartagena
  • Sociedad Porturia El Cayao

Port Connections

Cartagena connects to:

  • Over 596 maritime terminals in 136 countries
  • The center of the country through its main inland waterway –the Magdalena River– and roads to the most important inner-country production and consumption centers.

AGRO-INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

Bolívar is the ideal department to develop a wide diversity of agro-industrial products, thanks to great agro-ecological conditons, such as sufficient and optimal water and soil resources suitable for plantations. Our agro-industrial potential is represented by:

  • Agriculture, livestock, and fishing activities represent 4.2% of the GDP
  • Bolívar holds 3.3% of the national agicultural GDP
  • The exports of the agricultural sector of Bolívar are approximately USD $98 million, which is 7.3% of the non mining-energy exports of the department

Optimal Characteristics for the Agro-Industrial Sector

  • One of the region’s main characteristics is its large water resources resulting from the presence of the Magdalena River that surrounds the city to the east, from south to north, and that flows into the Cartagena Bay through the Canal del Dique.
  • Likewise, the Cauca River and the San Jorge River join into the Mompox Depression with the Magdalena River, and several creeks and gutters which derived from it, carrying water into the swamps of the department.
  • Bolívar also has mangrove areas in the bays, inlets, and swamps of Cartagena and Santa Catalina.
  • Considering the geographical diversity and potentials, Bolívar is divided into six Economic and Social Development Zones or ZODES (Acronynm in Spanish):
    • Dique Zodes
    • Montes de María Zodes
    • Mojana Zodes
    • Mompox Depression Zodes
    • Loba Zodes
    • Magdalena Medio Zodes
  • Each Zodes have several agroindustrial development potentials to be considered.

Products

  • Bolívar produced 4.6 million tons of agricultural goods between 2010 and 2014.
  • At national level Bolívar ranks as:
    • 1st producer of yam
    • 1st produce of cassava
    • 2nd producer of melon
    • 2nd producer of loquat
    • 3rd producer of avocado
    • 4th producer of mango
    • Transitory crops: 1,096,831 tons
    • Permanent crops: 3,520,440 tons
  • Cocoa: 400% increased production between 2008 and 2014 (2.6% of the national production).
  • Important fruit species: avocados, pineapples, sour sops, lemons, oranges, guavas, and watermelons.
  • Fresh fruit are a potential exports opportunity to international markets such as:
    • The United States of America
    • Spain
    • South Korea
    • The UK
    • The Caribbean

Aquaculture

  • Wide potential for aquaculture activities: large fresh and salt water resources.
  • 3rd place in exporting fish farming products.
  • 2nd place in shrimp farming: 27% of domestic production.
  • 240,000 m2 of water mirrors dedicated to fish farming.

TOURISM SECTOR

The region offers a wide variety of tourist options, boosted by Cartagena de Indias, which holds the first place as the main touristy, holiday, and corporate destination of Colombia.

Cartagena de Indias

  • In 1984, the city was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
  • 11 international hotel chains are established in the city.
  • Between 2009 and 2016, the arrival of visitors by air increased almost three times, from 808,110 to 2,207,366 passengers.
  • 9th place in the ICCA Ranking (international events and conventions) of the Americas and 57th place at international level.
  • Wide range of rooms and convention centers with the best technology infrastructure and the highest quality services.
  • During the 2016-2017 cruise season, over 530,000 people visited the city.
  • Tax incentives for tourims investors.
  • Commerce, restaurants, and hotels lead the employment generation ranking in Cartagena, representing 32.4% of the employment rate of the city.
  • 90% of cruise ships visiting Colombia stop in Cartagena.
  • 4 undersea optical fiber cables enter Colombia through Cartagena and keep the country connected to the Internet.

Air Connectivity

  • Airport in the Colombian Carribean region with the highest international connectivity to countries in Latin America, the USA, and Europe.
  • Double-lane road systems in place to connect the north and the interior of the country.

Security

Cartagena and Bolívar have strategic national security points such as the ARC Bolívar Naval Base, which is the main integrated logistics support base and home to the main surface units of the Colombian Navy.

Bolívar

  • Mompox is a municipality located in the south of the department and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • San Basilio de Palenque is located in Mahates, to the north of the department, and it is also a UNESCO Word Heritage Site.
  • Two of the twelve touristy corridors boosted by the National Government to promote new destinations include Bolivar municipalities.
  • El Carmen, San Jacinto, and San Juan, in the sub region of Montes de María, are some of the municipalities that offer ecotourism, general tourism, and cultural tourism services.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR

Bolívar has a great potential to develop renewable energy sources, and that is why Invest in Cartagena and Bolívar is currently developing a promotion and investment attraction portfolio for this sector, in order to foster alternative energy sources and harness the great advantages offered by the region.

The national government promotes the development of this sector. Law 1715 and Decree 2143, issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, promote the production of alternative energy, and one of the benefits is VAT and tariff exemption on equipment, machinery, and necessary tools to develop renewable energy sources.

Bolívar is in an Equatorial area that guarantees the optimal supply of solar radiation and winds all year round.

Galerazamba, to the north of the department, is the best place in Colombia where wind power can be generated, according to Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (Ideam) and its Winds and Wind Power Atlas of Colombia.

Cartagena has a specific plan in place for climate change and is developing funding solutions to promote specific actions and investment initiatives through the 4Cs Plan –Climate Compatible and Competitive Cartagena- or within the framework thereof that allow achieving a resilient and committed city to the climate change by 2040.

Currently, Cartagena is home to several companies providing renewable energy technology solutions. One of them has 15 projects ready to be approved by the hotel, petrochemical, and food industries, which will decrease around 2,500 tons of CO2/year with an approximate investment of USD $3 million.

Action lines for clean energy production are based on:

1 - Energy consumption reduction:

  • Technological renovation
  • Energy efficiency technology

2 - Smart reutilization:

  • Energy cogeneration
  • Biogas or biofuel production

3 - Renewable energy:

  • Solar production energy: solar thermal and solar photovoltaic energy
  • Conventional and offshore wind power
  • Microgrid: small and smart supply networks.

KEY PLAYERS OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR IN CARTAGENA

CELSIA
ECOEFICIENCIA
CODENSA
SERVIPARAMO
IDOM

GAS AND OIL OFFSHORE SECTOR

Cartagena and Bolívar emerge as an impressive and attractive option to become Colombia’s offshore exploration hub in the Caribbean, thanks to a consolidated industry sector, a strengthened supply chain, and their geographical proximity to concession-awarded blocks.

¿Why are we the best choice?:

CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

  • Construction is the third sector that most contributes to the GDP of Bolívar’s economy
    • Construction is the third sector, representing 12.8% of the GDP of Bolívar’s economy
  • In 2016, the construction sector grew 8.15% in comparison to 2015
  • In Bolivar, the Construction sector reached the highest average dynamism in the past 5 years with a 19% growth.
  • Increasing trend in the licensing area during the past 11 years: 25% is the average annual growth.
  • Cartagena grew 216% in the licensing area between 2006 and 2016.
  • The construction area distribution according to the type of building for 2016 was as follows:
    • Housing: 70%
    • Office: 3%
    • Trade: 2%
    • Other: 25

    Source: DANE. Building Census. * Other: warehouses, education facilities, hotels, hospitals, public administration facilities

  • 28.9% total growth in new housing units between September 2016 and August 2017
  • Between September 2016 and August 2017, Bolívar grew 149.3% in VIS (social interest housing) in comparison to the previous year.
  • Housing construction licensing grew 139.7% in 2016 in comparison to 2015.

    Bolívar is the Caribbean Coast department with the highest infrastructure investment

    Department
    New Rooms
    Investment Amount (USD millions)
    Bolívar
    4,472
    305.3
    Atlántico
    2,438
    102.0
    Magdalena
    2,127
    93.1

    Source: Cotelco – Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism.

  • In Bolívar, sales increased 48.6% in the past 12 months (between September 2016 and August 2017) in comparison to the previous term. Sales by market segment with the best behavior correspond to VIS sales which increased 77.8% and Non-VIS with an increase of 6%.
  • The pre-sale available and under construction units offer has increased 31.8% in Bolívar.
  • Between September 2016 and August 2017, project kick offs have positively increased 41% due to the construction of VIS (58.6%) and Non-VIS which have grown 58.6% and 119.4%, respectively.

WORKFORCE

  • In Cartagena, during 2016, 79 projects were identified with a market share of 5% on the national total; out of which 32.9% are linked to the construction sector with 26 projects.
  • Most demanded occupations in Cartagena are related to the construction sector:
    • Construction labor
    • COO in construction

KEY PLAYERS OF THE DE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN BOLÍVAR

COMPANY
KMA CONSTRUCCIONES S.A.
O-TEK (Grupo Orbis)
ARGOS
LHOIST COLOMBIA S.A.S.
GRUPO OCEAN S.A.
GRUPO OCEAN S.A.