- Tourism
- Foreign Investment
- Export Promotion
Investment Opportunities in Cali - Valle del Cauca
Valle del Cauca - Cali: Colombia’s doorway to the Pacific
- Average weather: 25°C
- Population in Valle del Cauca 2011: 4,428,675 inhabitants
- Population in Cali 2011: 2.269.653 inhabitants
- Valle del Cauca GDP 2010: US$ 29,490 million
- Valle del Cauca GDP per capita 2010: US$ 6,727.80
- Valle del Cauca Surface Area: 22.140 Km2
- Cali Surface Area: 552 km2
The capital of the Valle del Cauca department is actually considered the third most important city in Colombia.
Strategically located in the South-West of the country, Cali is found on the Buenaventura marine port, the most important port in Colombia, which connects the country with the Pacific basin.
The main industries in this area are rubber, chemicals, furniture manufacturing, paper, and milling. Because it is one of the main sugar cane producers in the world, the area holds the most important sugar mills in the country; in addition, the area promotes the development of the biofuels sector.
Investment opportunities in the region can be found in service outsourcing, cosmetics and hygiene products, agribusiness, and hotel and tourism infrastructure.
Known as the “the Branch of Heaven” (“la Sucursal del Cielo”), the city is also famous for the traditional Cali Fair. Since 1957, this event has brought together Colombians and foreigners to celebrate the end of the year with lots of color, music, and culture.
Reasons To Invest
- Average GDP growth just under 4% in the last decade, Valle del Cauca is an important economical and industrial region in Colombia.
- Qualified and available talent: 132,502 students graduated in Valle del Cauca over the last 9 years in different higher education programs.
- There are two seaports on the Pacific Ocean in Buenaventura, 120 kilometers (74 miles) away from Cali, called the main Latin American seaport on the Pacific Ocean, Buenaventura Seaport, hauls 28% of the country’s cargo, operating 990 maritime export frequencies.
- Cali has a leading manufactured goods-related duty-free zones, a service-related duty-free zone; 3 permanent special duty-free zones and 1 extended duty-free zone.
- Cali held the tenth place in 2011 among the 41 destinations to travel to recommended by the New York Times.
BPO
- Telecommunication Suppliers: 23 suppliers that offer dedicated internet access, with an installed capacity of 175,000 Mbps.
- Easy access to different technologies: optic fiber, satellite, xDSL, cable and microwave infrastructure.
- 11 telephone and internet service providers with more than 1,500,000 installed ground lines 900,000 in service.
- Research and Development Centers:
- ParqueSoft: The most important cluster of digital art, science, and technology related services in Colombia.
- Umbría Technological Park: A high level organization development productive projects with positive social and economical impact for companies, educational institutions, NGOs, government organizations and general population.
Cosmetic Investment in Colombia
Business opportunities in distribution, research, development and production centers.
- Qualified labor - More than 4,200 industry-qualified graduates in the last decade.
- 47 packaging companies supplying the cosmetics industry,representing 10% of the nation´s total.
- Research and Development centers as support to the industry such as CIAT; and a network of universities and innovation hubs, like INBIOTECH.
- Strategic geographical location - Excellent export platform for the Pacific Ocean basin.
- Buenaventura Seaport,the main Latin American seaport on the Pacific Ocean. 2010 cargo flow: 9,604,026 tons.
- TCBuen: Large Buenaventura container terminal, operating since 2010.
Tourism Infrastructure:
- Cali boasts the most modern event venue of the country, “Centro de Eventos Valle del Pacífico”.
- More than 290 domestic flights and 55 international flights to America and Europe per week.
Vacacion Tourism:
- Religious Tourism: Tour around Cali's Churches and Buga's Basilica.
- Salsa Music: Widely known as “the World’s Capital of Salsa Music”.
- Fairs and Holidays: “La Feria de Cali” takes place on December every year.
- Nature tourism and nautical sports:Eco-tourism and adventure sports in natural parks and ecological trails on astonishing places like Lago Calima and Pance.
- At the Pacific Ocean: Humpback whale sighting from July to November.
- Congresses, Conventions and Golf: Three 18-hole and two 9-hole golf courses.
- Magical Experiences: Hacienda El Paraíso, salsa dancing classes, party nights at Delirium or at Salsa Cabaret.
- Important Major Events: Panpacific, AICO, and Cali Exposhow.
Agricultural Industry:
Business opportunities in the fields of biofuel and forestry.
Biofuel:
- CENICAÑA (Colombian Sugarcane Research Center) technical and business support.
- High levels of productivity: 9,000 liters of ethanol per hectare (962 gallons per acre) a year.
Forestry:
- The area has an altitude range between 1000 and 2000 meters (3,280 - 6,560 feet) AMSL, suitable for oak, walnut, cedar, eucalyptus and pine tree growing.
Qualified labor:
- More than 5,180 industry-related college graduates in the last decade.
- Research and Development Centers:There are diverse agro-industry related research organizations and centers in the region:
- Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria – Corpoica
- International Tropical Agriculture Center – CIAT
- Orchard Research Center – Cenihf
- Corporation for the Development of Biotechnology – BIOTEC Corporation
- Colombian Sugarcane Research Center – CENICAÑA
- Center for the Research of Sustainable Agriculture and Livestock Production Systems – CIPAV
Success Stories
- Telemark: Leading Spanish contact center companies; operating in Colombia since 2009. Focusing on customer assistance and telemarketing services in the Spanish-speaking market.
- Direct TV – Telecenter Panamericana: Cali was chosen by DirecTV for its low operating costs. Affordable salaries (20% lower than Bogotá’s; Cali’s staff turnover is 2.5%, while Bogotá’s is 3%). The cost per square meter in Cali averages USD $11 (approximately USD $1.02 per square foot), while in Bogotá it averages USD $20 (approximately USD $1.86 per square foot). Moreover, talented human resources are readily available in the City. Customer services provided in Cali is considered to be the best in the country.
- Venus Colombiana S.A.: The Ecuadoran company decided to establish footwear producing operations for the Colombian market. Currently located in the industrial zone of the Yumbo Municipality.
- Amcor: Australian multinational company plastics industry. This company opened its plant in the Palmaseca Duty-Free Zone in 2006 with a total surface area of 1,500 m2 (16,146 square feet). Today, it has more than 9,000 square meters (96,875 square feet) assigned to the production of PET bottles and containers.
- Winpack: Chilean based global company producing all types of packaging materials. It was established in Palmaseca Duty-Free Zone in 2009.
- Unilever: This English company opened its central offices for Latin America and the Andean Region, as well as its distribution center in Valle del Cauca; the initial investment of USD 31.5 million, creating 300 new work posts.
- City Group: This American Bank invested USD $9.4 million in Cali.
- Cadbury: English multinational company , specialized in confectionery products, investing $7,000 million COP in their industrial facility expansion in Cali.
| Economic Indicators 17/05/2012 |
|
| Inflation | |
| Goal of inflation | 2.0-4.0 % |
| Annual inflation | 3.43 |
| Rates of interest - 17/05/2012 | |
| Rate of intervention | 5.25 % |
| Rate Interbancaria | 5.26 |
| TRM - 17/05/2012 | |
| Exchange rate (TRM) | $ 1,793.61 |
| Nominal depreciation - last 12 months | -1.18 |
