‘We had one of the best first quarters in this century’: Duque

During an event to present the new programs of the National Guarantee Fund, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, Colombian President Iván Duque stated this Tuesday that Colombia would have had one of the best first quarters of the century in terms of economic growthaccording to calculations by the Presidency of the Republic.

(World Bank raised GDP forecast for Colombia in 2022).

“The first economic quarter that closed in March is over and, according to the calculations we have, this is going to be one of the best first quarters in this century. This demonstrates a safe reactivation that is due to teamwork with the private sector”, stated the president in his speech in which he recalled that at the end of the year the Colombian economy had a significant growth above that of most countries in the region.

It should be noted that Next Monday, May 16, Dane will announce the results of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter and the Indicator for Monitoring the Economy (ISE).

CONTRIBUTION OF THE NATIONAL GUARANTEE FUND

For his part, President Duque highlighted the contribution of the National Guarantee Fund (FNG) to the country, to the productive apparatus and to Colombians during times of pressure such as the covid-19 pandemic, where resources of $64.7 billion have been guaranteed.

“There are more than 64.7 billion pesos in our Government and a good part of these guarantees arose in the pandemic and allowed our country and companies to move forward”highlighted the President.

(Colombia’s 2022 GDP: market raises growth projections).

He stressed that Colombia came out ahead in 2021, with the 10.6% growth of the economy, the highest in the country’s history, and the Fund was present.

“It was during the pandemic that Colombians learned more about your work. Where we put ourselves in a technical task of guaranteeing up to 90% of the value of a loan, so that companies could adapt to such a contingency, protect payroll, transform and reinvent themselves in the face of this challenge”he declared.

President Duque participated in the presentation of the new line of guarantees to support the issuance of green and social bonds in the Local Stock Market, which will have a quota of up to $400 billion pesos and 50% coverage. This was contemplated in circular 003 of 2022, of the Fund.

“It is good that we see more companies going to the stock market, to issue debt, and that this debt is also guaranteed by the FNG; because the funds that are guaranteed when an issue is made, are making it possible to revitalize the capital markets, as a place where entrepreneurs can reach and connect with collective savings and many more companies will emerge dynamically”, manifested.

He added that another projection of the National Guarantee Fund in its 40 years of existence is to be the support for new services and the transformation of the financial system, especially in the field of so-called “tech”.

“Now we see that the bottom comes out more vigorous and stronger than ever. Vitalized by the capitalization of the year 2020 but also by my direct accompaniment, as President of the Republic, to have innovative tools and bring the new credit dynamics closer to Colombia”, such as crowdfunding, fintech and Colombian startups.

ABOUT GREEN AND SOCIAL BONDS

“With this new version of the bond line, we seek to meet the needs of entrepreneurs in the medium and long term, so that they can issue ordinary bonds, both in the main and secondary markets, with a fixed or variable rate, expanding the opportunities”, stated the President of the Fund, Raúl Buitrago Arias.

The first version of the bond line created during the pandemic showed that companies were interested in accessing not only the intermediary market, but also the securities market, under the objective of obtaining resources that would allow them to maintain their operation and preserve employment.

(The Nation is getting ready for a new oil ‘bonanza’).

This is how, for the first time in the country’s history, nine companies from different sectors of the economy were approved to issue for a total amount of $832 billion, with issues to date worth $210 billion. In addition, the issuance of new batches of bonds for a maximum value of up to $622 billion is on the way.

“Today what you have achieved with the tools, with these guarantees for primary and secondary emissions, puts us at the forefront of these products in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said President Duque.

WHO WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE NEW LINE?

Companies (legal persons or autonomous estates or funds) that are domiciled in Colombia, belonging to the different sectors of the economy.
Companies, trust autonomous assets, collective investment funds and private equity funds may also be issuers.

To know all the legal, legal, financial and technical requirements, among others, of the company and the structurer, access fng.gov.co

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