Colombia’s economy showed signs of acceleration in the rolling quarter ended in May 2026, according to the latest NowCast Bancolombia report published June 3 by Grupo Cibest, the quantitative research arm of Bancolombia (NYSE: CIB, BVC: BCOLOMBIA). The proprietary economic activity index registered a year-over-year expansion of 2.9% on a three-month moving average basis for the March–May 2026 period, up from 2.2% recorded in the comparable period a year earlier and an improvement of 30 basis points over the prior month’s reading, which was itself revised upward by 30 basis points from an initial estimate of 2.3%.

The report’s authors describe the result as marking a shift in the growth trend, with second-quarter 2026 conditions appearing more favorable than those observed in the first quarter. On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, however, the index showed no change from the prior month, registering 0.0%. On a year-over-year basis using the original, non-seasonally adjusted series, growth came in at 2.2% for May 2026.

For the full second quarter of 2026, the NowCast model projects year-over-year GDP growth of 2.6%, based on the May 31 reading. That estimate is slightly below the market consensus tracked by Latin Focus Consensus Forecasts, which has held steady at 2.7%. The NowCast estimate for 2Q26 was revised up from 2.4% as of April 30.

The NowCast Bancolombia index is constructed by Grupo Cibest using transaction data from the channels and payment methods of the Bancolombia group, processed through quantitative and analytical tools to generate high-frequency estimates of productive activity in Colombia. The index is designed as a complement to official statistics published by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, DANE) and is not a substitute for official GDP figures.

“The data suggests that conditions in 2Q26 to date are more favorable than those observed in 1Q26.” — NowCast Bancolombia, June 3, 2026, Grupo Cibest

Sector Performance

At the sector level, the rolling quarter ended in May points to a broad consolidation of trends across Colombia’s productive sectors. Commerce (wholesales and retail) held growth near 3.3% year-over-year, continuing a trend that has been sustained through the first half of 2026. Public administration posted 4.7% year-over-year growth in May, maintaining steady expansion. Real estate services continued its stable trajectory at 2.0%, while financial services accelerated to 5.6% year-over-year in May, up from 2.8% in March.

Construction recorded 3.6% year-over-year growth in May after a period of deceleration that had brought the sector down from highs above 6% in mid-2025. Agriculture registered 3.5% year-over-year growth in May, also showing renewed momentum after a softer stretch earlier in the year. Manufacturing reached 2.4% in May, a modest acceleration from 0.9% in February. Entertainment posted the strongest reading in the heat map at 6.6% year-over-year in May, continuing a recovery that began in mid-2025. Mining remained in modest positive territory at 1.3% in May, though it has been volatile, dipping into negative readings as recently as February 2026 at -2.4%.

The information sector was the weakest performer, posting only 0.2% year-over-year growth in May after recording negative readings in the November 2025 through February 2026 period. Utilities registered 2.2% growth in May, and professional services came in at 1.9%.

The NowCast report was prepared by Arturo Yesid González Peña, Head of Quantitative and Analytics, and Sebastián Ospina Cuartas, Data Controller, within Grupo Cibest’s Economic, Industry and Market Research area. The index is available on Bloomberg under the ticker ALLX COBC<GO>. The report carries a standard disclaimer noting that its projections are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from estimates contained in the document. It does not constitute investment advice.

Above photo: Leatherworking machinery on display at Colombia’s Leather Expo in Bogotá (photo: Loren Moss)

Economic activity in Colombia expanded at an estimated annual rate of 2.1% during the first quarter of 2026. According to the latest NowCast report issued by the Grupo Cibest, unit of Bancolombia (NYSE: CIB, BVC: BCOLOMBIA), this outcome reflects a loss of momentum compared to the rolling quarter ended in February. That previous period recorded a growth of 2.2%, which was revised downward by 10 basis points from an initial estimate of 2.3%.

The 2.1% growth rate for the quarter indicates a slowdown relative to both the market consensus average of 2.7% and the internal growth forecast of 3.3% held by the bank. On a month-over-month basis, the seasonally adjusted series of the NowCast index posted a 1.3% contraction in March 2026. When compared to March 2025, economic activity grew by 2% year over year, representing a 50-basis-point decline from the 2.5% reading recorded the previous month.

“Overall, these results suggest that the economy is beginning to lose steam, amid multiple sources of uncertainty.” — NowCast Bancolombia Report

Analysis at the sector level reveals a broadly weaker growth profile, with deceleration appearing across most productive areas. Slower momentum was identified in trade, manufacturing, recreation, real estate, and financial services. Manufacturing expansion cooled to 1.0% in March 2026, while financial services recorded marginal growth of 0.6%. The real estate sector maintained a steady growth rate of 1.9%.

Construction and communications were the only sectors to record negative growth during the period. The construction sector saw a significant downturn, contracting by 2.3% in March 2026 after having posted 1.4% growth in February. The information and communications sector contracted by 0.4%, marking its fourth consecutive month in contractionary territory. Conversely, acceleration was noted in public administration, which grew by 5.1%, agriculture at 3.7%, and mining at 0.8%.

The NowCast family of indicators is prepared by Grupo Cibest through the processing and aggregation of transaction data from the bank’s various payment channels. Using advanced quantitative tools, the index provides high-frequency estimates of Colombian productive activity to complement official data from the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística. The report was authored by Arturo Yesid González Peña, Head of Quantitative and Analytics, and Sebastián Ospina Cuartas, Data Controller.

The report also incorporates data from the Bloomberg platform and FocusEconomics Consensus Forecasts to provide broader economic context. While the national economy remains in expansionary territory, the analysts suggest that the current results indicate the market is losing steam due to various sources of domestic uncertainty.

Those resources are not coming from commodities. Despite oil production having increased since the days of Duque/Bayon, July exports from Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística – DANE Colombia were again down 4.1% with commodities (-25%) and oil (17%) both lower.

There were some sensationalist headlines (Bloomberg around how much tax the rich will pay under the new reform however, it is far more nuanced than that. Consumption accounts for around 27% (of the $6 billion USD), but there are areas of pure common sense within that. Alcohol & tobacco are two areas proposed, as well as VAT on international tourists. Where the rich may get more nervous is that 24% of the reform is geared towards lowering evasion – Colombians are experts at hiding their funds overseas and/or hiring brilliant accountants. Other areas targeted are mining/energy (3%), gambling (6%), & fuel (10%).

It’s a many-headed snake, but just as Perseus took care of Medusa back in Greece, the Colombian Congress will take a sword to the tax reform, as well as the 2026 budget – much of the media debate will prove redundant. Let’s see what is left in a few weeks.

In terms of the overall fiscal picture, made worse every month by the above exports and booming domestic demand, plenty are saying that the key is to reduce government spending by 3-4%/GDP, which seems sensible. But is that in education, the fight against poverty, or perhaps by simply suspending some massive public infrastructure projects?. Whatever Gustavo Petro does, the ANDI – Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia and its peanut gallery members will still be moaning.

Was it a sailboat or a speedboat? Was it carrying drugs? Did the US act legally? Was it dispatched by Nicolás Maduro? Will Donald Trump continue to punch downwards until he finds a country that doesn’t bite back? Is Petro correct to speak of caution, given that Colombia shares a 4000 km land border with Venezuela? Simply a rabbit hole I’m going to avoid.

There was news elsewhere in brief.

The current account deficit widened to 2.5%/GDP in Q2.

Vehicle sales in August hit 21,285, up 29% YoY.

The Colombian birthrate fell again in 2024 by 13.7% – no extinction fear yet, but growth is slowing.

A lumpy Friday to say the least!

Regards.

Roops.

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As mentioned previously, the first half of 2023 will see the Petro administration launch a number of reforms including pensions and health. On top of that, it remains to be seen how far the government will go with their attempts to influence the energy sector. In part, connected to these reforms we will be seeing a series of protests and counter protests on the streets of the main cities. How big they will be in magnitude remains  to be seen. Colombians up until relatively recently have been somewhat passive in terms of politics but that is slowly changing. That increasing radicalism will be on show this week.

The big number this week will be FY22 GDP. There is no consensus at the moment, but anywhere up to 8% is likely priced in. Whilst we are now in 2023, it would be a mistake to simply shrug this off as last year’s news. 99% of countries on the planet would happily swap their own number for that of Colombia.

Before that we have a raft of other data.

Firstly from Fedesarrollo the latest Consumer Confidence data for January, last time it stood at -22.3% and an improvement to -19.8% is anticipated; more on that later today.

For December we are expecting Imports data ($5.7bn est.) and a slightly improved trade deficit of $850mn. Exports struggled for the month so any upside surprise to Imports could lead to a larger deficit.

We will also have the last look at the real sector for 2022. Retail sales in December (est. 0.9%), ex vehicles and related sectors, have started to plateau, will we see more of the same. Manufacturing production has held up better but the consensus of 3.2% will be down from 4.5% in November.

Finally both the Central Bank and Bloomberg are scheduled to release their latest analyst surveys. Both inflation and interest rates will be in focus.

In terms of the markets this week, it is hard to see anything except a continuation of Colombia following other emerging markets. The Peso weakened last week, but only in line with the dollar moving up. Oil should also impact but evidence suggests the DXY index is far more correlated to the Peso at the moment.

Finally, National Planning Chief Gonzalez says that oil remains key to the future of Colombia and that Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC, BVC: ECOPETROL) should seek to increase production from 750k bpd to 1m bpd. Sadly, Rome wasn’t built in a day and whilst December saw the highest production since Covid struck, we are still years away from getting back to those 2015 levels. The positive note is the government’s recognition of the importance of the sector.

Please find below the LinkedIn Video:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rupert-stebbings-927b6316a_colombia-economics-oil-activity-7030873945050370048-wXnr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Have a great week

Roops

One man who has been busy is President Petro, who yesterday found himself in Santiago with Gabriel Boric discussing regional agreements including energy, but before that he was also in Caracas.

Venezuela matters, make no mistake. Whatever your take on the Maduro regime—presidency is too kind a word—it contains huge potential for Colombia. It will never return to the huge trading partner it was, 2008 being the zenith, but there is much to be done. A commission will meet later this month to look at the 2012 trade agreement that was mothballed and other matters. Energy is also high on the agenda with Colombia’s need for cut price gas matching Venezuela’s need for dollars.

FY 2022 inflation of 13.12% didn’t pass unnoticed in the press, given that it is the basis of so many indexed items. Also we saw JP Morgan publish a report which predicts that interest rates will continue to rise – not to 12.5% as anticipated in recent surveys such as Fedesarrollo or Bloomberg but to 13% – the cycle ending in March. Upcoming surveys will be carefully watched.

Petro’s total peace plans took a blow last week as the ELN, key to stage one, claimed they hadn’t agreed to a bilateral ceasefire – such posturing is very much par for the course and seen regularly in the run up to the FARC agreement, but embarrassing for the government, nonetheless.

This coming week is a quiet one in macro terms with only Fedesarrollo Consumer Confidence, which dropped to -24.8 in December, due on Wednesday and the Central Bank’s economist survey on Friday.

In terms of the markets, the peso will be under the microscope. On Friday it improved 1.5% to $4,855 and with oil starting to catch a bid due to the Chinese re-opening, it could be a decent week for the currency. It is worth noting that both Chile and Peru have seen their own currencies hit six month highs recently.

Please find below Linkedin video :

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rupert-stebbings-927b6316a_colombia-business-markets-activity-7018536276958027776-hmz4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

My regards to all

Roops

Most of the headlines were reserved for the December Inflation data which rose 1.26% MoM and 13.12% YoY – both higher than expected and causing media distress. When we look back on 2022 the standout issue is food which rose over 27% (2.66% alone in December) – Colombia is not unique in this owing to global events but it has certainly felt the impact as hard as most. This helped contribute to a core inflation of 9.99% for 2022 – a number that also moved up from 9.48% in November. It is worth noting that both the monthly and annual reading was above all 19 analysts’ consensus estimates according to Bloomberg.

Now what? For the authorities this is a key moment they are going to have to ride out. This isn’t on them, but it is on them to manage the situation. Much has been made of Finance Minister Ocampo, who has done outstanding work, and his calls for the Central Bank to not raise rates due to this being supply side inflation – but rates will have to be increased to at least 12.5% when the committee meet again at the end of the month.

That was the terminal rate when Bloomberg & Fedesarrollo last conducted their surveys but can that line hold? The 16% minimum wage increase is about to start being paid, with the government furiously—and correctly—trying to prevent a knock-on effect with 200 products and services in the market. Now, 13.12% will become the benchmark for a mass of other products – somehow the authorities must break the cycle. The reality is that CPI may yet go higher, obviously not to those seen on the streets of Caracas or Buenos Aires, but only Chile (13.3%) amongst the mainstream Latam economies has higher inflation.

Away from inflation, although it is hard to ignore there were a couple of other data points…

PMI Manufacturing from Davivienda, surprisingly perhaps, in December rose to 51.1 from 47.3 the previous month. The number has bobbled about, and this latest reading demonstrates there is still some stubbornness in the system.

Coffee Production for 2022 totaled 11.1 million sacks – down 12% YoY and here we see the clear impact of La Niña. One never wants to blame “the little girl,” but the rains have been close to unprecedented, and coffee is just one area of agriculture that has been impacted. The knock-on effect is seen from inflation to exports.

Another commodity which has disappointed in the first week of 2023 is oil. It has slipped due to global factors and that presses on the Peso which yesterday (Thursday) fell below 5000 once again before recovering. Obviously, the dollar is enjoying a global bump and this has an impact but also the dearth of traders in the offices of Colombia also impacts.

Please find below LinkedIn video:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rupert-stebbings-927b6316a_what-jumps-out-inflation-concerns-as-expected-activity-7017051855004291072-nmmK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

That is about it, the next update will be from Medellín, in the meantime have a wonderful weekend wherever you are.

Roops

Looking back on the week several data points were published – none of which were particularly positive:

Inflation for November was 0.77% – higher than expected, again driven by food which rose 1.5% MoM. This led us to a 12m reading of 12.53% – the highest since March 1999. At this juncture it looks like the Banco de la República will have little choice when it sits down next week but to increase rates from 11-12%. That would be in line with the terminal rate being predicted by analysts in surveys held by entities such as Bloomberg and Fedesarrollo.

Exports for October were so disappointing I was driven to produce a special video. They may have risen FOB 10.9% but that is masking the real situation. Over 90% of that increase was due to coal and the increase in global prices – to highlight that in tonnage terms Coal fell 8% YoY. Oil was an even worse read with a 6.9% drop in dollar terms and 11.1% in tonnage as 11,839 barrels were shipped, down 12.1% YoY.  Expect another ugly trade deficit number when Imports are published.

Remaining with oil for a second, it is worth noting that despite a week in which the black stuff has fallen 10%, the Peso has held up well.

Fedesarrollo released the Consumer Confidence November and at -24.8% it was below both expectations (-21.4%) and October (-19.5%). No one can be overly surprised – the tax reform may now have been completed, which has lowered the political temperature, and the economy may be running strong – but there are enough headlines around pointing to a slowdown in both Colombia and overseas, to worry most people.

Finance Minister Ocampo was discussing the Current Account Deficit this week and felt things are going in the right direction. Whilst Colombia is likely looking at a 7% deficit in 2022, there is the expectation for a Primary Surplus in 2023 – that would equate to a deficit of 4.3%. Looking further out – a figure of 1.7% is expected for 2024.

We started this note discussing the fact that Colombians are on their travels – and we end it noting that a number of Medellin executives from the ‘GEA’ were in Abu Dhabi in meetings with IHC who recently, in conjunction no doubt with the Gilinski group, tendered for a stake in Grupo Nutresa. There are conflicting reports – was it a visit or was it an invitation? No doubt the situation will continue into 2023.

Please find LinkedIn Video Below:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rupert-stebbings-927b6316a_what-jumps-out-the-week-that-was-colombia-activity-7006956121542283264-BMHe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

That is about it for today – remember these are just themes that jump out at me – please refer to your local analyst, economist, salesperson or soothsayer for more details.

My regards to all,

Roops

The end of last week featured a couple of headlines:

Bloomberg released their latest analyst survey and as per other surveys we have seen recently there is a continued upward trajectory for most numbers.

FY2022 GDP is expected to be 7.5% (7.3% previously) whilst for 2023 it has actually fallen to 1.8% from 1.9% – we will have to wait and see but most overseas agencies have it lower. In terms of inflation there was no change to the full year 2022 estimate of 10%, although that is going to require some benign data for November and December. For 2023 it has moved upwards from 7.8% to 8.6%. Finally interest rates are expected to rise to 12% by YE22, that means a 1% increase at the final meeting of the year in December.

Central Bank member Steiner was also upstanding on Friday, and he was discussing the stubbornness of a demand driven inflation versus supply. There is nonetheless a belief that within 2 years CPI will be down to the 3% target. One of the mechanisms to achieve this is by exploring the possibility of not index linking some products to what is likely to be a hefty increase in the minimum wage.

Ironically despite the stubborn inflation, the Central Bank at this Friday’s meeting will not be increasing rates, this is one of the four meetings a year where it is coffee, biscuits and a chat, as opposed to moving rates. Surely a situation that needs looking at – hopefully the November CPI reading is a shocker which puts the committee behind the curve again.

This week we also have from Fedesarrollo the latest Industrial and Retail Confidence numbers for October, they have been wavering somewhat recently but still no real signs of a slowdown, lets see.

Venezuela is rarely far from the headlines. We have the peace talks with the ELN set to take place in Caracas and also reports that natural gas is set to flow into Colombia via the 139-mile pipeline which was mothballed several years ago. The company involved in exporting 25 million cubic feet a day is Prodata Energy but  Ecopetrol is also seeking its own deal. There may be criticism of such deals, but the gas is cheap and plentiful at a time when Colombia production is falling, the lead in time to new supply is lengthy and where lifting costs could be high.

Finally the Grupo Nutresa tender came to nothing last week as neither Grupo Sura or Grupo Argos sold their stakes, a total of 7.71% of the shares were offered versus a minimum of 25%. Look for further developments this week as both companies conduct EGMS. Sura to vote in a new board and Nutresa to vote on changes to company statutes, although it isn’t clear as to what it relates to.

Please find here the video report from LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rupert-stebbings-927b6316a_what-jumps-out-the-week-ahead-as-anticipated-activity-7000411906846916608-093c?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

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That is about it for today – remember these are just themes that jump out at me – please refer to your local analyst, economist, salesperson or soothsayer for more details.

My regards to all,

Roops

It may be a small emerging market but it still matters to many people, not least of which are those who reside here and there are constant developments.

Last Friday the Central Bank left rates at 4%, as expected given it was a ‘Non-Decision’ meeting, there was also precious little commentary. The wisdom of this inactivity will only become clear this coming weekend, what will February inflation register? We are already at 6.94%, are we set to see CPI rise further? The prospect of the Central Bank keeping inflation within the 2-4% band for YE 2022 is already remote, there may be some navel gazing if February surprises. In the latest Bloomberg survey last week, is now suggesting a full year reading of 6.1%, up from 5.3% last time analysts were asked. For 2023 the latest call is 3.6%, thankfully only a little higher.

In terms of growth, in that same survey, the consensus for 2022 has moved up to 4.3%, still lower than the IMFs 4.5%, but still very healthy even with inflation fueling. Rates are expected to move to 5% but again from where we are not a huge increase.

Rupert’s opinions & analysis as an independent expert contributor are his own and not necessarily those of Finance Colombia or the BVC.

This week we have the latest urban unemployment number for January, the seasonality of the reading demonstrated by an increase to 15%, from 11.6% in December, it also perhaps demonstrates the challenge associated with calculating any employment data in Latin America. Particular attention will once again be paid to the gender data, the post pandemic recovery in female employment, has lagged alarmingly.

This week we will also have from the DANE the exports data for January, hopefully there will be an upside surprise which will keep a lid on the trade deficit which has grown exponentially over the past year due to the recovery in internal demand – however oil production is not what it was and coal looks set to remain out of vogue going forward. The best that can be hoped for is a rearguard action.

Finally, we are less than two weeks from both the Congressional elections and the various primary elections which will determine the final list of candidates for the May Presidential election, first round. The political rabbit hole remains both deep and wide – Alice as well as the Queen of Hearts and all of her entourage could fit in there many times over. We may get some clarity on March 13 with the makeup of the new Congress being known, but in reality until May we are still going to see a lot of fluff in the markets, especially amongst those related to Peso trading.

Here is hoping for more encouraging global headlines.

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That is about it for today – remember these are just themes that jump out at me – please refer to your local analyst, economist, salesperson or soothsayer for more details.

My regards to all,

Roops

In a recent statement, the company says it remains on pace to deliver another year of record cash flow with cash flow from operations at approximately $100 million year to date through November 2021. Based on the financial performance through November 2021, the company is increasing its full year outlook, with its expectation for revenue to be in the range of $490 million to $495 million and Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $147 million to $150 million.

Last week, Tecnoglass increased its quarterly cash dividend by 136%, as a sign of its confidence in the company’s ability to achieve its growth objectives and the strength of the momentum in the U.S. single-family residential business. Additionally, the favorable terms and increased financial capacity afforded by the upsizing of its oversubscribed credit revolver in November 2021 reinforce the company´s financial and operational strength.

Watch: Christian Daes of Tecnoglass discusses facing challenges & the future of the company (2017)

A day later, Tecnoglass shares plunged over 40% on NASDAQ after a report was released by short seller Hindenburg Research. Short selling is a practice where a speculator borrows shares in a company and then hopes (or tries to make) the value of those shares fall significantly. The short seller then buys the now cheaper shares at a low price returning them to make good on the loan, but profiting in the difference between the original share price and the now depleted share price. While many consider short selling unethical when tied to practices designed to manipulate the stock price, it is not always illegal.

The report by Hindenburg Research says that long before Tecnoglass was a public company, charges were filed by US prosecutors against the Tecnoglass founders, but then all charges were completely dismissed. The Daes brothers have passed background investigations and hold valid US visas and residency, and have been cleared by the SEC to serve as directors and officers of a public company.

Above photo: Despite attempts to mischaracterize the company, Tecnoglass has been both proud and open about its heritage as a family business.

Even the Hindenburg report had to admit that: “A May 2006 court order (from the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida) clarified that Jose Daes was no longer considered a fugitive and that the “case was disposed of. A separate June 2011 court order indicated that the indictment against Christian Daes had been previously dismissed.”

The report accuses Tecnoglass as having a shady relationship with the glazing firm, GM&P, but in 2017 Finance Colombia reported on the Tecnoglass acquisition of the firm. As far back as 2016, Finance Colombia reported on Tecnoglass’ acquisition of Miami based E.S. Windows, where the Daes brothers openly disclosed that 1: It was a company that they had a stake in, and 2:  Cherry Bekaert LLP, a member within accounting and advisory network of Baker Tilly International, carried out the financial due diligence.

The rambling report continues on an apparent fishing expedition and attempts to string together various histories and events in Barranquilla from between 10-20 years ago, such as an alleged 33 million peso fine. The exhibit the report links to is a ticket that shows a fine of zero pesos.

Tecnoglass, in its early days going from a local family business to a public company had a CFO who was not accustomed to the rigors of SEC reporting and struggled to comply with the dual requirements of being listed on both the BVC and NASDAQ. The company appointed Santiago Giraldo, a capital markets veteran with US experience as the new CFO to manage the books with the requisite level of compliance demanded by institutional investors, bank lenders, and regulators. Finance Colombia conducted the first interview with Giraldo upon his hire in August, 2017. The company has maintained stable relationships with auditors and held BB- and Ba3 ratings from Fitch and Moody’s until it paid off all outstanding bonds early, eliminating the need to maintain ratings.

Tecnoglass issued a public statement on Monday saying: “that it believes the recent report issued by a short seller contains inaccurate statements, groundless claims, character attacks, and speculation with the intent of misleading investors and driving down the value of the company’s shares for their personal gain. The personal, and arguably discriminatory, attacks on Tecnoglass executives made by the short seller appear to have been made to distract from the company’s achievements and progress. The company also notes that following the issuance of the short report, multiple stakeholders that are very familiar with the company, including long-term clients, have expressed their continued support of the company and the management team.”

Tecnoglass shares already appear to be shaking off the short attack, up 5.36% in Tuesday’s trading as analysts and the company responded.

“Tecnoglass remains focused on executing its strategy and encourages shareholders to read the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its financial results, audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltda., including its New York based National Office, the company’s independent registered public accounting firm, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 for more details on Tecnoglass’ performance, related party transactions, accounting policies and practices, and its outlook. The company urges investors to not make decisions based on the short seller report and to review public filings for material information that pertains to its business,” the company concluded in its statement.

Analysts not impressed with Hindenburg.

Sidoti analyst Julio Romero upgraded Tecnoglass to a Buy rating with a $34 price target in light of the bargain created by the Hindenburg report.

Timothy Wojs of Baird said that the 20 year old activities cited in the report are “largely known” to investors.

Alex Rygiel of B. Riley also said that much of the factual information in the Hindenburg report has been in the public domain for many years (as Finance Colombia reporting shows). “Although we recognize that some of the disclosures in the report may be new to some investors, upon our initial review, we do not see evidence to change our current forecasts or thesis,” said Rygiel.

Federal Prosecutors May Turn The Tables On Short Selling “Researchers”

The next day after Hindenburg published its Tecnoglass report, Bloomberg reported that the US Justice Department has launched “an expansive criminal investigation into short selling by hedge funds and research firms” run by the Department of Justice’s fraud section in Los Angeles. The government is looking at how research funds like Hindenburg, though they are not mentioned by name, may manipulate stock prices for their own gain by issuing self-serving research

According to Bloomberg, “The government is examining how the investors handle information and set up their bets, especially in the run-up to publication of reports that move stocks. Authorities are looking for signs that money managers sought to engineer startling stock drops or engaged in other abuses, such as insider trading, said two of the people, asking not to be named because the inquiries are confidential.”

Corporate executives and retail investors alike have long called for more scrutiny of short sellers and what they see as blatant and sometimes nefarious manipulation of stock values for their own gain. Short sellers defend themselves by saying they act in some ways as investigative reporters—though investigative reporters don’t generally take financial stakes in or against the companies they rake muck upon.

Tecnoglass has purchased display advertising on Finance Colombia, but did not participate in, or have any prior knowledge of the preparation or publishing of this news article.

Above photo © Loren Moss