VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #3729/01 2832144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 092144Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5043
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 8432
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1158
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ OCT LIMA 6634
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 2488
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 7324
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS BOGOTA 003729 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/EPSC FOR MROONEY; EEB/IFD/OMA FOR ASIROTIC; WHA/AND: 
RMERRIN; TREASURY FOR MEWENS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV PGOV CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA LIFTS CAPITAL CONTROLS IN THE FACE OF 
GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS 
 
REF: A. BOGOTA 3588 
     ¶B. BOGOTA 3289 
     ¶C. BOGOTA 3076 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY  On October 8, President Uribe announced the 
elimination of remaining capital controls on foreign 
investment, as part of a plan to ensure liquidity to 
Colombian markets in the face of the worsening global 
financial crisis.  Uribe also outlined draft legislation that 
 
would offer amnesty of tax obligations on any previously 
undeclared, licit capital that Colombians bring back from 
abroad.  Further to these measures, the GOC has said it will 
use upcoming meetings at multilateral financial institutions 
to secure its international financing needs over the next 
several years.  Financial sector contacts indicate that 
credit markets in Colombia are functioning normally, but 
nonetheless applaud the GOC moves as prudent and of long-term 
benefit.  END SUMMARY. 
 
FINANCIAL CRISIS PUSHES DOWN COLOMBIAN PESO AND STOCKS 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2. (U) While most analysts believe the Colombian economy's 
exposure to the global financial crisis to be limited (Ref 
A), Colombia, like other countries in the region, has felt 
effects in the form of a weaker currency and losses in the 
stock market.  At the beginning of September, the exchange 
rate was 1932 pesos per dollar.  On October 9, it dropped to 
2326 pesos per dollar, its lowest level since the end of 
¶2006.  The weaker peso, presumably a result of investors 
seeking refuge in dollar-denominated assets, is a welcome 
development for Colombian exporters, who less than four 
months ago were trying to cope with an exchange rate of fewer 
than 1700 pesos per dollar (Ref C).  Colombia's primary stock 
market index (IGBC) has fallen by 12 percent in the last 
month. 
 
GOC TAKES MEASURES TO ENSURE LIQUIDITY 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a May 2007 effort to stem the appreciation of the 
peso, the GOC announced a series of measures to restrict the 
inflow of foreign portfolio investment.  The measures placed 
deposit requirements of up to 50 percent of the investment 
for periods extending to two years.  In September 2008, the 
GOC lifted the deposit requirement for investment in stocks, 
but left it in place for fixed income securities (Ref B).  On 
October 8, President Uribe lifted all remaining capital 
controls, noting that the original intent was for them to be 
temporary.  Many in the financial community had criticized 
the controls and noted they did little to stem the peso's 
appreciation.  While many doubt that lifting the capital 
controls will have a significant impact on the peso's current 
depreciation, they nonetheless applaud the move, as the 
controls were a major factor international rating agencies 
cited in withholding an investment grade rating from Colombia. 
 
¶4. (U) The President also announced the GOC would submit 
legislation which would grant amnesty to repatriated 
Colombian capital that had not previously been declared to 
tax authorities, as long as the money had not been used for 
illicit purposes.  While the details of the draft legislation 
had not been finalized, critics of the proposal noted that 
the Constitutional Court had deemed tax amnesty 
un-Constitutional. 
 
¶5. (U) Uribe also announced that during meetings starting 
October 10 in Washington, Minister of Finance Zuluaga would 
work with the IMF and World Bank to secure the international 
financing Colombia needs for 2009 and possibly beyond.  The 
goal of all of these moves, according to Uribe, was to avoid 
crises of liquidity and confidence in Colombia, in light of 
world events. 
 
COMMENT: COLOMBIA TRYING TO STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Carlos Rojas, Vice President of the Colombian 
Association of Financial Institutions, said a credit crisis 
in Colombia was not evident at this point but that the GOC's 
focus on ensuring liquidity was nonetheless prudent.  The 
 
Central Bank, with a record 24 billion dollars in foreign 
reserves, is well positioned to inject liquidity into the 
Colombian banking sector if the need were to arise.  We have 
already begun to see public calls for the Central Bank to 
lower its inter-bank rate, currently at 10 percent.  While 
Colombia is certainly not immune from the global financial 
gyrations and is already seeing economic growth slow, the GOC 
has begun to take prudent steps to help Colombia weather the 
economic storm. 
BROWNFIELD