Eager to capitalise on the growing number of infrastructure projects in Colombia, SMBC has opened a representative office in Bogota.
The new office will be looking to provide a range of services, with particular emphasis on project finance in the fields of oil and gas, natural resources, energy and power.
It aims to help its Asian client base finance their involvement in a range of projects in Colombia and across the Andean region.
“The main purpose of our new office is to provide a better service to our key clients, international and local. The areas of business in the country will follow SMBC’s strategy in the region: strong focus project finance, structured finance and ECA finance,” Luis Fernando Perdigon, the new chief representative at the office explains to GTR.
At the height of the global financial crisis in 2009, the Colombian government set aside around 11% (approximately US$27bn) of the country’s GDP to support infrastructure works. Since then, there have been some notable investments including hydropower projects such as the 2,400 MW Hidroituango dam, one of the largest projects of this type in the country to date, and due to begin construction in 2013.
There are also a number of large transport projects in the pipeline, including airports and road construction.
“Colombia has gone through a tremendous transformation in the last eight years and weathered the financial crisis very well. The current government understands the need to build additional infrastructure to support the growth of the country and this is SMBC’s area of expertise,” Perdigon adds.
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