“We’re pleased to offer investors a way to access the domestic equity performance of Colombia, a country with significant commodity production capabilities, a recent track record of substantial political reform and rapidly developing cross-border and cross-exchange cooperation with its neighbors, which could spur positive momentum for both that country and the Andean region as a whole,” said Jan van Eck, a principal with Van Eck.
The fund is benchmarked against the Market Vectors Colombia Index.
Van Eck noted that Colombia is South America’s second-largest country and the world’s third-largest Spanish-speaking nation by population. In addition, fiscal reforms and reduced government debt under former President Alvara Uribe has opened the country to international investment. Colombia’s GDP growth was 4.7% in 2010 and is projected to be 4.6% in 2011.
“Colombia’s commodity-based economy appears poised to experience growth in both trade and foreign direct investment,” said Allison Lovett, vice president of marketing at Van Eck. “And the merger of the Colombian stock exchange with Peru’s exchange may further strengthen the country’s position among regional capital markets.”
