As is the case in most Latin American countries, Colombia is looking to develop its capital markets and attract investment to its economy. Unlike many Latin American countries, however, Colombia has been very proactive in its attempts to achieve these goals.
The integration of its stock exchange with those of Peru, Chile and Mexico is a case in point. The Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano, or MILA, was officially launched in 2011, and initially linked the Andean countries’ stock exchanges. At the end of last year, Mexico also joined, giving MILA a combined market capitalisation of $988bn at the end of December – close to that of Brazil's, which stood at 2240bn reais ($1000bn) at the time.