Ashmore, Inverlink to Manage Colombia Fund

Ashmore Investment and Colombian investment bank Inverlink have been picked to manage a $500m infrastructure fund created by the Colombian government, IDB and CAF. Macquarie Capital will join as technical advisor, according to CAF. The consortium was chosen from a group of 5 bidders. The fund will start operations by mid-year, prioritizing investments in sanitation, telecommunications, transport, logistics and energy. IDB and CAF may take a 25% stake in the fund, with the Colombian government and export bank Bancoldex taking the remaining 50%, Carolina Renteria, Colombia’s National Planning Director, tells LatinFinance. Loans to the fund are also under consideration. Renteria says the main goal is to help lure pension fund money to infrastructure and channel liquidity amid the crisis. The fund, a private equity vehicle subject to Colombian laws, seeks to replicate a model that has succeeded in Mexico and is central to the government’s plan to use infrastructure investment to mitigate the impact of global recession. His plan involves spending of $22.0bn this year in more than 100 infrastructure projects, of which $12.5bn is expected from private investors.