Andina Acquisition Corporation: A Unique And Speculative Colombian Investment

By Caiman Valores:Colombia has been closed to investors for decades, not only due to its once heavily regulated economy but mainly due to ongoing political instability and an unstable internal security environment. It is a country that for many still has a reputation of violence and is associated with being one of the world's most dangerous countries with high rates of kidnapping, terrorism and narco-trafficking, as well as Latin America's longest running insurgency.

By Caiman Valores:Once associated with coups, military juntas, drug trafficking, Marxist guerrillas, right-wing death squads, foreign debt defaults and economic crises, Latin America has transformed itself over the last decade into a global economic powerhouse. During that period Latin America has been one of the strongest growing regions in the world, with annual GDP growth averaging almost 4% across the region.

By Caiman Valores: This is the 12th piece in Seeking Alpha's Positioning for 2013 series. This year we have taken a slightly different approach, asking experts on a range of different asset classes and investing strategies to offer their vision for the coming year and beyond. As always, the focus is on an overall approach to portfolio construction.

By Caiman Valores:Colombia is in the midst of an oil-boom that has seen it become the fourth-largest oil producer in Latin America, after Venezuela, Mexico and Brazil. It has become a particularly attractive choice for small to mid-sized oil companies seeking to take advantage of Colombia's increasing political stability and lack of hydrocarbon exploration.

By Caiman Valores:The Brazilian government has just announced that it has cut the official interest rate, the Selic rate to an historic low of 8%.

Colombia today is considered to be one of the world's great emerging economies. Its growing political stability, decrease in violence, young working population and overall positive economic trend make it a country with interesting prospects.

THE question of whether the Mexican economy might one day regain the top spot in the Latin American league tables has once again become an interesting one. In 2010, many thought it had been settled. The Brazilian economy, more than double the size of Mexico’s, grew at a 7.5% annual rate while Mexico puttered forward at close to 2%. What a difference two years makes. While the Brazilian economy is shambling along at an annualised rate of 1.9% so far in 2012, the Mexican economy is set to grow at 3.9%.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today that U.S. real GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.3% during the second quarter of 2011, and revised down its estimate of first-quarter growth to an even more anemic 0.4%. We knew the first half of the year was disappointing, but this is even weaker than most of us were anticipating.