Manufacturing and Foreign Investment in Colombia

In 2012, the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) purchased the Canadian-owned Nexen Petroleum Limited for US$15 billion, further expanding Beijing’s presence in Colombia’s oil industry. Since Nexen started operations in Colombia, during the 1990s, the company has drilled seven oil exploratory wells, one of which resulted in an oil field currently operated by Petrobras. Furthermore, with the aggressive entry of Chinese state-owned companies into Colombia’s oil industry, the number of Chinese petroleum services companies has also increased, as is the case of Shandong Kerui. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have not entered into Colombia’s mining industry, be it coal or emeralds, nor its agricultural industry.

Manufacturing and Foreign Investment in Colombia

Within the automobile industry, Chinese companies have also shown interest in Colombia. For instance, the Chinese motorcycle company Jincheng has had a factory in the Atlantico department since 1998 and the Jialing company has had an assembly line in the Cauca Valley department since 1997. Furthermore, Beiqi Foton Motors Company, a Chinese cars manufacturer, has opened two vehicle assembly facilities in Colombia alongside its local partner, the Corbeta Group. All of this is in addition to the ever-increasing number of Chinese made vehicles being imported into Colombia.

In the construction industry, China Harbour Engineering Company was awarded the construction of a new fourth generation (4G) highway in the Antioquia department in 2015 through a public-private partnership. Similarly, it is a Chinese joint venture between Capital Airport Holding and Air Plan SA, which operates six of Colombia’s northwestern airports, including the important airports of Medellin and Rionegro. Likewise, in the telecommunications industry, the Chinese company Huawei has become an important service and telephone equipment provider in Colombia, even becoming the sponsor of one of Bogota’s most popular football teams.

Simultaneously, the membership of the China-Colombia Chamber of Commerce based in Bogota has significantly grown in recent years, currently counting some 125 participants. Moreover, Colombia’s trade promotion and country brand agency ProColombia has a permanent representative stationed in the embassy in Beijing, and China has a total of three Confucius Institutes for language and culture in Colombia.

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