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☆ Colombia's Petro Denies Calling for Cabinet Resignations
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Colombian presidents frequently request mass, 'protocol' cabinet resignations in order to make changes to the government, though these are not guaranteed. The three government sources said had Petro asked for the resignations of his ministers during a meeting on Wednesday evening. Rather than the president demanding their resignations, ministers offered to resign, Agriculture Minister Jhenifer Mojica said during a presentation near capital Bogota. Petro last called for ministers' resignations in April after a debate on a health reform was abandoned by the lower house of congress. (Reporting by Oliver Griffin and Luis Jaime Acosta; Additional reporting by Carlos Vargas; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Persons: Oliver Griffin, Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA, Gustavo Petro, Petro, Jhenifer Mojica, Jorge Ivan Gonzalez, Ricardo Bonilla, Jose Antonio Ocampo, Luis Jaime Acosta, Carlos Vargas, Sandra Maler Organizations: Finance Locations: Bogota

☆ Colombia’s President Replaces Market-Friendly Finance Minister in Cabinet Reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Juan Forero | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

President Gustavo Petro has seen some of his signature proposals stall in Congress or run into political opposition. Photo: Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg NewsBOGOTÁ, Colombia—Colombian President Gustavo Petro , a leftist who has pressed for broadscale social reforms in eight months in office, replaced his market-friendly finance minister on Wednesday amid the breakup of his congressional coalition. José Antonio Ocampo, a Columbia University professor who was seen by the markets as a stabilizing force, was replaced as finance minister in a cabinet shuffle that saw seven ministers ousted. The shake-up weakened the long-battered Colombian peso and sent bonds tumbling.

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Zambia needs "desperate debt relief" and agreements under a Group of 20 restructuring vehicle are proving difficult, the World Bank's managing director of operations said on Thursday. "In the last two years, we have seen the limitations of the common framework," Axel van Trotsenburg told a panel at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, moderated by Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni. Zambia has become a test case for the G20-led "Common Framework" restructuring vehicle launched during COVID-19 to streamline debt restructuring efforts as poorer countries buckle under the fallout from the pandemic hit. "Right now we have negotiations where there is not an established debt sustainability framework. What you see in the discussions is that different creditors are challenging all the underlying assumptions," van Trotsenburg added, without specifying which creditors he was referring to.

☆ Davos 2023: Global trade rethink: 'race of the big pockets'?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Mark John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SummarySummary Companies US climate bill concerns dominate Davos trade talkSome fear "rich-country game" of rising state subsidiesRevamped globalisation must benefit all, Davos toldDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The United States pitched its vision of "worker-centric" trade. "I am very concerned," World Trade Organization (WTO) chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters on the sidelines of the meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Three decades of free global trade have, the International Monetary Fund estimates, lifted more than a billion people out of extreme poverty. The United States notably built into its trade pact with Mexico a mechanism for identifying and dealing with the denial of worker rights. U.S. Trade Representative Tai told a panel on Wednesday the United States wanted to "lead a conversation" on a new version of globalisation.

☆ Davos 2023: Colombia pushes LatAm corporate tax accord
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Colombia is looking to supplement a global deal setting minimum tax levels for multinationals with an additional accord among its fellow Latin American countries, finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo said on Tuesday. Ocampo said the OECD-brokered deal, which is expected to take effect in 2024, did not adequately reflect the interests of many developing economies. And there is still a bias in favour of (countries that host) the headquarters of multinationals," he said in Davos. Ocampo said he was approaching Brazil and Chile initially with the proposal, and planned to discuss it with Mexico. For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing hereReporting by Mark John in Davos; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia could be open to buying Venezuela's Monomeros -Finance Minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Colombia could be open to buying Venezuelan fertilizer maker Monomeros, Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo said on Wednesday, at a time when higher fertilizer prices have contributed to inflationary pressure. Though Monomeros is based in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, it is owned by Pequiven, which is a unit of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA. The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro regained control of Monomeros' board of directors in mid-September, following a couple of years when it was controlled by opposition leader Juan Guaido. The recent changes to Monomeros' management occurred at a time when relations between Colombia and Venezuela - particularly in economic and military cooperation - have strengthened, following the election of Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Reporting by Carlos Vargas and Nelson Bocanegra Writing by Oliver Griffin Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia finance minister opens door to international financing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Colombia Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo on Thursday opened the door to possible financing in international markets for the Andean country, if the recent trend in falling borrowing costs continues. The South American country has already met its targeted debt level in foreign and local markets this year. Ocampo had previously shut down the possibility of looking for financing in international markets in recent months due to the high costs of debt caused by rising interest rates worldwide, saying Colombia would focus on multilateral banking instead. "If this trend (of decreasing international financing costs) continues, as we have seen in recent days, the possibility of going to the private international market will also be open for the government," Ocampo said at a forum in Bogota. Reporting by Carlos Vargas and Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia Unnerves Markets With Higher Taxes on Oil, Wealth to Boost Antipoverty Spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Kejal Vyas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Colombia is set to increase taxes on wealthy individuals and extractive industries to pay for antipoverty and rural development initiatives, as the leftist government grapples with a fall in the peso that has outpaced that of most emerging market currencies. Investor concerns over the government’s progressive platform are overblown, Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo said in an interview Friday. He said critics are generating hysteria that has led to a 20% drop in the peso’s value against the U.S. dollar since President Gustavo Petro took office Aug. 7.

☆ Colombian $4 billion tax reform becomes law, duties on oil and coal hiked
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Carlos Vargas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Colombia's Congress on Thursday approved a tax reform bill that will raise an additional 20 trillion pesos ($4 billion) annually for the next four years, in part through increased duties on oil and coal. The new law, the centrepiece of new President Gustavo Petro's economic policies, seeks to fund social projects and put the country's public finances in order. The new law states that oil companies will be taxed an additional 5% when international prices are between $67.3 and $75 per barrel. Oil and mining companies will also not be able to deduct the value of royalties from income taxes. ($1 = 5,015.84 Colombian pesos)Reporting by Carlos Vargas; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia's finance minister asks central bank to discuss futures markets liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo has asked the country's central bank to discuss liquidity in futures markets in its monthly meeting this Friday, he said on Wednesday, at a time when local currency and public debt are experiencing turbulence from domestic uncertainty. "There is an issue that I have asked the (central) bank for us to discuss on Friday about futures markets, about how liquid or not those futures markets are," Ocampo told reporters. In 2020, during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, Colombia's central bank took extraordinary measures to boost liquidity, such as foreign exchange hedging via auctions for the sale of dollars through forward operations, or "swaps." In a recent Reuters poll, 12 out of 14 analysts forecast the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 11% on Friday. One of the analysts projected a hike of 75 basis points and another forecast an increase of 50 basis points.

☆ Colombia central bank will raise rate to 11%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Nelson Bocanegra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BOGOTA, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Colombia's central bank board will raise the benchmark interest rate at its meeting next week, which is likely its penultimate increase in a cycle meant to counteract inflation, analysts said in a poll on Friday. Twelve of 14 analysts surveyed said the seven-member board will increase borrowing costs by 100 basis points to 11%, while one analyst predicted a 75 basis point raise and another projected a 50 basis points uptick. The bank has increased the rate by 825 basis points since the start of this cycle in September 2021. The bank will likely make its last increase, of 50 basis points, in December, those polled said. But Ocampo acknowledged it would be difficult not to raise costs in tandem with other central banks.

☆ Colombia gov't agrees to ease tax changes to oil, mining
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterColombia's President Gustavo Petro addresses the media after a meeting, in Bogota, Colombia July 22, 2022. The threshold for the export tax on oil will now be $71 per barrel, compared to a previous $48 per barrel. The reform may not raise 25 trillion pesos in additional income next year, Ocampo said, though he did not give more details. Meanwhile a proposal to raise taxes on gasoline will be scrapped, and more changes to the bill are expected next week. Thousands marched earlier on Monday to urge changes to the reform, which would also raise taxes on those earning more than $2,259 per month, about 10 times the minimum wage, and eliminate exemptions.

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