Goya Foods announced on August 13, 2026, that it has donated more than 200,000 pounds of food to communities in western Colombia struck by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake of August 10, routing the shipment through Global Empowerment Mission, the Doral, Florida-based disaster relief organization running distributions in the affected departments.

The donation totals five truckloads of Goya products and is being made through Goya Gives, the company’s philanthropic program. Global Empowerment Mission, known as GEM, is handling logistics and last-mile distribution. The announcement did not disclose a dollar value for the shipment, a staging point, or the specific municipalities that will receive it.

The earthquake hit at 7:34 a.m. on Monday, August 10, 2026, about three miles south of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, at a depth of 68 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey. The magnitude 7.4 quake was the strongest to hit the country in a decade, said Julio Fierro Morales, director general of the Servicio Geológico Colombiano (Colombian Geological Survey), according to CNN en Español.

The Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, or UNGRD) reported that as of 6:30 a.m. on Friday, August 14, the earthquake had killed 285 people, injured 3,975 and left 379 missing, as reported by El Colombiano. The agency counted 12,828 homes destroyed and 73,455 damaged, with 45,523 families — 102,263 people — affected across 15 departments and 426 municipalities. UNGRD had reported 140 collapsed buildings as of August 13. Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia remain under red alert.

In Cali, in Valle del Cauca, the city government reported 104 deaths, 1,401 injuries and 115 people still missing as of 6 p.m. on August 13, along with 45 buildings fully collapsed, 46 partially collapsed and 1,142 structurally damaged, according to El País. Rescuers had pulled 88 people alive from the rubble in the city, and 8,236 tons of debris had been removed.

GEM began daily distributions across the affected departments on August 12, working with the Bogotá-based foundation Solidaridad por Colombia and the volunteer motorcycle group Motorrad Angels. The organization has divided its response into an immediate relief phase covering food, water, hygiene supplies, tents and bedding, and a later early-recovery phase. GEM previously operated in Colombia during the January 2024 wildfires, and its Latin America headquarters is in La Guaira, Venezuela.

“This donation gives GEM the ability to rapidly move essential resources directly into the hands of families impacted by the earthquakes in Colombia,” said Michael Capponi, founder and president of Global Empowerment Mission. “Our model is built around speed, efficiency and strong partnerships, ensuring aid arrives quickly and reaches the communities where it has the greatest impact.”

Peter Unanue of Goya Foods framed the donation in terms of the company’s 90-year history. “For 90 years, Goya has stood with communities in times of need,” he said. “We hope this donation provides nourishment and comfort to families as they recover and rebuild.”

The Colombia shipment follows a similar operation six weeks earlier. On June 29, 2026, Goya announced a donation of 100,000 pounds of food for Venezuela after back-to-back earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck west of Caracas on June 24. That shipment also moved through GEM, distributed out of Goya’s warehouse in Miami.

Sovereign and corporate contributions have followed in Colombia. President Abelardo de la Espriella said on August 13 that the United Arab Emirates was donating $10 million USD for relief. The South American Football Confederation and the Colombian Football Federation announced a combined $1 million USD for reconstruction. The United States Department of State deployed two urban search-and-rescue teams to assist Colombian first responders on August 12, the agency said. Vice President José Manuel Restrepo has said multilateral institutions presented cooperation proposals totaling $1.3 billion USD.

De la Espriella has declared a state of economic, social and ecological emergency to speed reconstruction. The government declared a national disaster on the day of the quake, and the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Financial Superintendency of Colombia) has since put draft relief rules for affected borrowers and insurance claimants out for public comment.

Goya Foods is a privately held, family-owned company founded in 1936 and headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It describes itself as the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States. Its Goya Gives program works with food banks, churches, shelters, schools and cultural institutions, and has directed food shipments to disasters in the US and abroad.

Goya products at a company warehouse. (Photo courtesy Goya Foods)

Ecopetrol closed its purchase of Enerfín Colombia — the Statkraft renewables subsidiary that owns Portón del Sol — along with six other special-purpose solar entities totaling roughly 0.6 gigawatts, on November 13, 2025, for $157.5 million USD, part of a broader deal that also includes wind assets still pending closing. Announcing the sale in May 2025, Statkraft’s Executive Vice President for Europe, Barbara Flesche, said: “The deal confirms that Enerfín has built a skilled team and an attractive portfolio in Colombia. We are looking forward to watching the business grow under new ownership.” Ecopetrol and Portón del Sol signed a merger commitment on March 5, 2026, and Ecopetrol’s shareholders approved the absorption at the General Shareholders’ Meeting on March 27, 2026. The plant, located in La Dorada, in the department of Caldas, was Colombia’s first utility-scale solar plant and would fold entirely into Ecopetrol, which has said the move is meant to simplify management of its renewable-generation assets and capture tax and administrative efficiencies. Because Ecopetrol is the surviving entity, Article 6.4.1.1.42 of Decree 2555 of 2010 requires it to bring the transaction before a General Bondholders’ Meeting for each outstanding local issuance before it can close.

Alianza Valores Fiduciaria S.A. and Itaú Fiduciaria Colombia S.A., the legal representatives of Ecopetrol’s local bondholders, issued the meeting notices at Ecopetrol’s request under Article 6.4.1.1.18 of Decree 2555 of 2010, publishing them in the newspaper La República.

Holders of the 2010 issuance, Series A (COC04CBVP023) — Colombian peso bonds indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), placed December 1, 2010, maturing December 1, 2040, paying CPI plus 4.90%, with $284,300 million COP outstanding — meet at 2 p.m. Bogotá time. Attendance is in person at Carrera 37 No. 24-24, Centro de Innovación Bogotá, or virtually via Ecopetrol’s 2010 bondholder platform, hosted on the electronic system of Deceval S.A. (Depósito Centralizado de Valores de Colombia), Colombia’s central securities depository. Besides voting on the merger itself, that meeting will hear Alianza Fiduciaria’s opinion on the transaction and a reading of the opinion issued by Fitch Ratings Colombia S.A.S., and will delegate the appointment of a chairperson and secretary to the Bondholders’ Representatives under Legal Circular 006 of 2025 from the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Financial Superintendency of Colombia).

Holders of the 2013 issuance (COC04CBVP007) — also CPI-linked pesos, placed August 27, 2013, split into a 15-year tranche maturing 2028 at CPI plus 4.90% ($347,500 million COP outstanding) and a 30-year tranche maturing 2043 at CPI plus 5.15% ($262,950 million COP outstanding) — meet at the same venue at 3:30 p.m., or virtually via Ecopetrol’s 2013 bondholder platform. That meeting follows a similar agenda, with two differences: bondholders appoint their own chairperson and secretary directly rather than delegating the task, and the opinion on the merger comes from Itaú Fiduciaria Colombia S.A. (formerly Helm Fiduciaria S.A.) rather than Alianza.

Both meetings are convened under Article 19 of Law 222 of 1995 and Decree 398 of 2020, Colombia’s rules governing virtual corporate meetings. Requirements for participating are posted on Ecopetrol’s investor relations site.

The bondholder votes follow other recent debt moves at Ecopetrol, which in April 2026 refinanced $1.25 billion USD in external debt and closed a separate state subsidy settlement. Ecopetrol employs more than 19,000 people and, besides oil and gas production and refining, holds a 51.4% stake in Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. (ISA) (BVC: ISA), giving it interests in regional power transmission, the Barranquilla-Cartagena highway concession, and, through XM, administration of Colombia’s wholesale electricity market.

Above image: Gas well Orca Norte -1. Photo: Ecopetrol

Colombia’s Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Financial Superintendency of Colombia, or SFC) has published for public comment a draft external circular that would give banks, insurers and other supervised financial institutions temporary instructions to assist consumers affected by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country on August 10, 2026. The comment period, open since August 12, closes at 11:59 p.m. on August 14, 2026, giving industry and the public a two-business-day window to respond, according to the draft text and the SFC’s own consultation record.

The earthquake, with an epicenter in the municipality of San José del Palmar in Chocó department and a depth of 96 kilometers, triggered 991 additional seismic events within a 900-kilometer radius, according to figures cited in the SFC’s draft circular, including 115 in the magnitude 5.0-to-5.9 range, 18 between magnitude 6.0 and 6.9, and three exceeding magnitude 7.0. The national government declared a state of national disaster the following day, August 11, through Decree 1171, covering Antioquia, Caldas, Cauca, Chocó, Quindío, Cundinamarca, Risaralda, Huila, Valle del Cauca, Tolima, Putumayo, Norte de Santander and other affected territories for an initial 12 months, renewable for an equal term, as Finance Colombia reported at the time.

Death toll still climbing

As of the evening of August 12, Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella cited a balance from the Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, or UNGRD) showing a toll that had continued to climb since the quake struck two days earlier.

“We have 25,872 affected families, 53,816 people, sadly 265 dead, 3,494 injured, and the number of missing has risen alarmingly to 496.”— Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella, citing the UNGRD balance, August 12, 2026

The same balance reported 11,347 homes destroyed and 53,526 damaged, 140 buildings collapsed, and 1,819 schools and 631 community centers affected. Earlier counts from the same day had put the toll lower, underscoring that the figures remained provisional; international search-and-rescue teams, coordinated by UNGRD, were still arriving as of August 13 to assist Colombian personnel, and officials have cautioned the toll is likely to keep rising.

Colombia’s disaster management law, Ley 1523 de 2012, activates a special legal regime once a national disaster is declared, including articles 86 and 87, which allow affected debtors to seek refinancing of existing obligations. The SFC’s draft circular says it is exercising its instruction authority under the Estatuto Orgánico del Sistema Financiero (Organic Statute of the Financial System) and Decree 2555 of 2010 to translate that legal framework into binding instructions for the institutions it supervises.

Refinancing terms for affected borrowers

Under the draft measures, lending institutions would be required to adopt refinancing programs for borrowers affected by the disaster, subject to conditions drawn directly from the 2012 law: refinancing would apply only to obligations contracted before August 10, 2026, with payments due on or after that date; the new loan term could not exceed double the remaining term or 20 years, whichever is shorter; refinanced terms could not be more burdensome than the original ones; and borrowers would have to apply while the disaster declaration remains in force. No interest or late fees would accrue between the disaster declaration and the completion of the renegotiation, a period the draft caps at 90 days. Lenders could also offer additional voluntary relief, such as grace periods or special interest rates, provided the terms are no more burdensome for the consumer and the measures are not applied as a blanket restructuring practice rather than case-by-case review.

Credits refinanced under the program would keep the risk rating they carried before the disaster was declared, with credit-bureau reporting frozen for up to 12 months after the refinancing is completed, and the draft specifies the refinancing would not count as a modification or restructuring for prudential reporting purposes. Lenders would also be permitted to use alternative data sources to assess a borrower’s future repayment capacity, accounting for the likely economic recovery of the borrower’s sector.

Insurers, fund managers and severance withdrawals

Insurance companies would be required to establish expedited claims and payment channels for policyholders in affected areas, prioritize payment of healthcare providers’ invoices tied to the disaster, and adopt policies to facilitate premium payments, including for policies unrelated to credit operations. Trust companies and brokerage firms would be asked to evaluate mechanisms to speed redemptions from open-end investment funds without a minimum holding period, and to consider waiving early-redemption penalties for funds that carry one, for consumers affected by the disaster. Severance-fund administrators would be instructed to expedite housing-related severance withdrawals for affected members, within the bounds of Colombia’s existing severance-withdrawal rules.

The draft also directs supervised entities more broadly to maintain continuity of financial services where security conditions allow, disclose any changes to branch hours or closures, strengthen digital channels, and activate business-continuity plans in affected zones; to clearly publicize the terms of any relief programs; and to set up priority service channels for complaints and claims tied to the disaster. The SFC said it would establish its own priority contact channel to help affected consumers navigate complaints against supervised entities.

In its internal cost-benefit review, the SFC’s research and analysis unit found no reason to delay the proposal, concluding that reduced default risk, faster insurance payouts and improved liquidity access for affected consumers would outweigh the compliance costs institutions face in adapting systems, training staff and expanding service channels. The regulator said the draft requires no new budget appropriations and can be implemented with existing staff and technology. It also said a competition-impact questionnaire it completed under Colombia’s competition-advocacy rules returned entirely negative responses, meaning no referral to the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (Superintendency of Industry and Commerce) was required.

A two-day window, and a toll still being counted

The SFC set the unusually short two-business-day comment window under an exception in Colombian regulatory procedure that allows shortened public consultation periods when a rule responds to urgent, unforeseeable circumstances. The regulator said the scale of the disaster and the need for a prompt, uniform response from the financial sector justified the shortened timeline. Comments can be submitted using a standard form referencing filing number 2026182440, by email to normativa@superfinanciera.gov.co or in writing to the SFC’s deputy director of regulation. If adopted, the circular would take effect upon publication and would remain in force for as long as the national disaster declaration stands, though any relief already granted to consumers would continue on its own terms after the circular expires.

Colombia has also drawn $1.3 billion USD in international pledges since the earthquake struck. The comment window closes before search-and-rescue operations are expected to conclude, and the casualty figures the SFC cites as justification for the rule are themselves preliminary and likely to keep changing.

Above photo – Damage in Pereira, Colombia (Photo: Vance Campbell)

Colombia’s financial system handled 6,078 million operations in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest operations report from the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Financial Superintendency of Colombia), the country’s banking and securities regulator.

Credit institutions and specialized electronic deposit and payment companies, known by their Spanish acronym SEDPE, accounted for those 6,078 million operations. Of that total, 3,568 million were monetary operations worth $3,153 trillion COP, and 2,509 million were non-monetary, such as balance inquiries.

“84.6% of all operations were carried out through non-presential channels, accounting for 69.9% of the value transacted.” — Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, first-quarter 2026 operations report

Separately, low-value payment system administrators, or EASPBV, together with the Banco de la República (Colombia’s central bank), processed 963 million monetary operations worth $1,081 trillion COP.

The Financial Superintendency of Colombia estimated that 66% of monetary interactions came from mobile applications. Stock photo by Kevin Schneider via Pixabay.

Non-presential channels — those that do not require a visit to a branch or physical point — continued to account for the bulk of activity, handling 84.6% of all operations and 69.9% of the value transacted. The remaining 15.4% of operations went through in-person channels. For the quarter, internet and bank offices were the channels through which the largest amounts of money moved.

Among in-person channels, the largest share of operations was concentrated in three departments: Bogotá at 33%, Antioquia at 25%, and Valle del Cauca at 13%.

For monetary operations, mobile applications were the most-used channel at 66%, followed by point-of-sale terminals at 13%. For non-monetary operations, mobile applications accounted for 81% and internet for 16%, while interactive voice response systems, virtual assistants, and telephone call centers were the least used.

Measured by the volume of payments tied to economic activity, professional, scientific, and technical activities led with 27% of the total. They were followed by wholesale and retail trade, including motor vehicle and motorcycle repair, at 19%; financial and insurance activities at 12%; information and communications at 11%; and electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply at 10%.

Headline image: Stock photo by Rupixen via Pixabay.

A new English-language microsite aimed at foreign portfolio investors in Colombia’s capital markets went live June 3, the product of a public-private working group that has been operating since late 2023. The platform, called “Foreign Portfolio Investor,” is accessible through the website of the Financial Superintendency of Colombia (Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, SFC) at superfinanciera.gov.co.

The microsite offers information in English on the structure of the Colombian capital market, its participants, operating procedures covering enrollment, ongoing participation and divestment, issuers and issuances, links to statistical data, applicable regulations, and frequently asked questions. The initiative operates under the broader program titled Mercado de Capitales en Colombia, Colombia Destino de Inversión (Capital Markets in Colombia, Colombia Investment Destination).

The web page can be reached at: https://www.superfinanciera.gov.co/publicaciones/10115712/foreign-portfolio-investor/ 

“Historically, foreign investors have faced the challenge of understanding the functioning of the Colombian securities market,” said SFC Financial Superintendent César Ferrari (above photo). “The new microsite is a first step in addressing this challenge by offering, in clear English, information necessary to make foreign portfolio investments in Colombia.”

The working groups behind the project brought together several government bodies, including the Banco de la República, the Financial Regulatory Unit (Unidad de Regulación Financiera, URF) of the Ministry of Finance, and the National Tax and Customs Directorate (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales, DIAN). From the private sector, the Securities Market Self-Regulator (Autorregulador del Mercado de Valores, AMV) and the Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, BVC: BVC) contributed to the platform’s development.

Carlos Emilio Betancourt Galeano, Director General of the DIAN, said the microsite addresses a core barrier to attracting foreign capital. “Providing clear and easily accessible information reduces barriers, improves understanding of the regulatory environment and strengthens the confidence of international investors,” he said.

URF Director Larisa Caruso said the platform addresses language as a structural obstacle to market participation. “This microsite represents an important milestone to strengthen the internationalization of the Colombian capital market and will allow foreign investors to better understand the regulation and the particularities of the local market, promoting greater transparency, trust and access to information, while contributing to reducing entry barriers associated with language,” she said.

AMV President Hernán Alzate described the launch as part of a longer-term positioning effort. “It represents a decisive step to position Colombia as an attractive and reliable destination for international investment,” he said. “Facilitating access to clear and timely information is critical to strengthening foreign investor confidence in an increasingly interconnected world.”

Andrés Restrepo Montoya, CEO of the BVC, framed the microsite as part of the exchange’s ongoing efforts to draw international capital. “To attract investment we must also facilitate access to clear and reliable information,” he said. “This is an important step to bring foreign investors closer to the Colombian capital market.”

The initiative comes as Colombia’s capital markets face scrutiny from international investors and ratings agencies over the country’s fiscal trajectory. The working group structure that produced the microsite has been active since late 2023, with the SFC serving as lead coordinator across multiple public and private stakeholders.

The Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC) has presented a proposal to create a national system of socio-environmental prices that supervised financial institutions would apply when evaluating and analyzing private and public development projects in Colombia. The regulator argues that the country’s financial system faces the challenge of financing projects that generate long-term social returns, not only private profitability.

The proposal was unveiled in Bogotá on May 14, 2026, during the forum Precios socioambientales: una herramienta para la inversión sostenible en Colombia, hosted at the regulator’s headquarters. Participants included Superintendent of Finance César Ferrari; Daniel Schydlowsky, professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Raúl Castro, professor at the Universidad de los Andes; Andrés Vera, technical vice president of Asobancaria; Ricardo Lara Manzano, director of infrastructure and energy for the Andean region at IDB Invest; and Andrés Trejos, economic studies coordinator at the SFC.

Ferrari noted that the methodology, also known as “shadow pricing,” gained prominence during the second half of the twentieth century before falling out of favor, and is now resurfacing globally as social and environmental dynamics increasingly affect business and the financial system. “The concept of ‘shadow prices’ is regaining importance because we are seeing the effects of climate change on the economy and on competition in business across all sectors,” Ferrari said.

“The concept of ‘shadow prices’ is regaining importance because we are seeing the effects of climate change on the economy and on competition in business across all sectors.” — César Ferrari, Colombian Superintendent of Finance

Schydlowsky explained that shadow prices measure the value of goods and services when market failures distort interest rates, exchange rates, or fiscal balances. The approach is designed to correct for the gap between observed market prices and the true economic and social cost of resources.

What the SFC is proposing

Trejos argued that social project evaluation provides a technical basis for discussing the relevance of investment initiatives in the context of public policy and the financial system, and helps select projects that raise social welfare with economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. “It is possible to prioritize projects beyond private profitability, incorporating general social welfare and, in particular, environmental sustainability,” he said.

The SFC’s proposal to build a socio-environmental pricing system for Colombia includes estimates of the social valuation of six productive factors and fundamental variables: labor, public revenue, investment, foreign exchange, carbon, and the social discount rate.

Under the proposed framework, projects would receive more favorable evaluation if they are labor-intensive — especially when they absorb idle or underemployed workers — if they generate or save foreign exchange through expanded exports or efficient import substitution, if they strengthen public revenue and the state’s capacity to provide public goods and regulation, or if they reduce carbon footprint or deliver net benefits in climate mitigation and adaptation.

The proposal does not yet carry the force of regulation. The SFC presented the framework as a methodology for supervised entities — including banks, insurers, and pension fund managers — to incorporate into their internal project evaluation processes alongside conventional financial analysis.

Headline photo: The installation of more than 886 solar systems benefiting 4,000 users. Photo credit: One Inversión Social.

The Medellín utility unit, EPM, contributed $20 trillion COP in revenue and $4.9 trillion COP in net income. Management attributed the stability of these figures to a diversified portfolio. Power generation remains the primary driver of profitability, accounting for 49% of net income, followed by energy distribution at 27%. The water, sewage, and waste management sectors contributed 15%, while transmission and natural gas accounted for 3% and 1% respectively.

In 2025, Grupo EPM obtained results that confirm its ability to advance in complex scenarios, reflecting work to achieve lasting efficiencies.” — John Maya Salazar, General Manager of EPM

Financial leverage remained within contractual covenants. The debt-to-EBITDA ratio for the group closed at 2.9x, comfortably below the 3.5x threshold required by many credit agreements. For the individual EPM entity, the ratio stood at 3.5x. This solvency allows the organization to continue its capital expenditure program, which saw $5 trillion COP ($1.36 billion USD) invested in infrastructure and social programs throughout the year.

John Maya Salazar, General Manager of EPM (photo courtesy EPM)

A significant portion of the capital budget was directed toward the Hidroituango hydroelectric project. Approximately $1 trillion COP was allocated to Stage 2 of the project, specifically turbine units 5 through 8. Beyond energy, the company continued funding the Unidos por el Agua and Unidos por el Gas initiatives, which target utility access for vulnerable populations in the department of Antioquia and other regions.

Dividend and Fiscal Transfers

During the 2025 fiscal period, EPM executed transfers totaling $2.6 trillion COP to the Distrito de Medellín. These funds, representing 55% of the utility’s 2024 net income, serve as a primary funding source for the municipal development plan. Additionally, the group generated $21.8 trillion COP in total added value across its areas of operation, including $3.7 trillion COP in taxes, fees, and contributions to the state.

The company is currently undergoing a structural reorganization intended to modernize its operating model. According to management, this transition is designed to improve strategic efficiency as the group faces future macroeconomic shifts. The group’s economic footprint in 2025 included $6.7 trillion COP paid to suppliers and the financial system, along with $3 trillion COP dedicated to direct and indirect employment costs. Total reinvestment into the group’s various subsidiaries reached $5.6 trillion COP to ensure infrastructure modernization.

Financial data and sustainability reports are routinely filed with the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia. Interested parties can find further information on the company’s investor relations portal or through the Alcaldía de Medellín official website.

Above video: An aerial view of EPM’s Hidroituango hydroelectric dam(video © Loren Moss)

The offering began on October 10, 2025, and involves the sale of 5,015,035 shares, representing 50.00001% of UNE’s subscribed and paid-in capital. This marks the initial phase of a multi-stage divestment plan authorized under Law 226 of 1995 (text of Law 226) and Law 798 of 2002, which govern the privatization of state-owned equity and establish conditions for democratization of ownership.

In accordance with Article 3 of Law 226, the first stage is restricted to entities and individuals eligible for special conditions. These include:

• Active and retired employees of EPM
• Associations of current or former employees
• Labor unions
• Employee funds
• Severance and pension funds
• Cooperative organizations

The offering notice has been published in two national newspapers and is also available on EPM’s dedicated portal: epm.com.co/institucional/enajenacion-de-acciones-de-epm-en-une. The site includes relevant documentation such as the sale program, regulatory framework, UNE’s prospectus, and the official offering announcement.

If the shares are not fully acquired during the first stage, EPM will proceed to a second phase, open to the general public. This phase allows any natural or legal person to submit purchase offers under conditions defined in the corresponding regulations.

Should shares remain unsold after both stages, EPM is contractually obligated to offer the remaining stake to Millicom International Cellular S.A. (Millicom), which holds a preemptive right under UNE’s bylaws and the UNE Shareholders’ Agreement. Millicom (NASDAQ: TIGO; Stockholm: TIGO_SDB) may choose to exercise this right or opt to participate in a broader public offering that could include shares held by both EPM and Millicom.

Millicom and EPM previously amended their shareholder agreement to include a put option for EPM and extended the “Public Property Protection Clause” until December 31, 2026.

The divestment follows approval by the Medellín City Council in August 2024 and subsequent ratification by EPM’s board in July 2025. The minimum price per share has been set at $418,741 COP, valuing the total stake at approximately $2.1 trillion COP.

UNE EPM Telecomunicaciones, operating under the Tigo brand (Tigo Colombia), is a telecommunications provider jointly owned by EPM and Millicom. The company offers fixed and mobile services across Colombia and has undergone integration with Millicom’s operations since 2014.

EPM has stated that it will remain a 100% publicly owned entity, and the divestment is part of a broader strategy to refocus on its core utilities businesses, including energy, water, and waste management.

Federico Gutiérrez Zuluaga, mayor of Medellín, and John Maya Salazar, general manager of EPM. Photo credit: EPM.

While BlackRock’s investment strategy does not exclusively prioritize ESG outcomes, it generally avoids investments where ESG risks have not been assessed or are significant. A company that has not invested adequately in integrating sustainability aspects may experience a disruption in its capital cycle and encounter challenges in its acquisition or merger plans.

The regulatory landscape in Colombia is following a similar trend. In 2021, the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia published a technical document proposing a unified methodology for ESG reporting. The methodology for creating the report should be based on transparency, quality, and consistency of information.
The aim is to reduce the qualitative gap between large and small companies, not only for regulatory purposes but also to improve the social relationship and public perception of mining activity, and to boost the sector’s financial market.

The Superintendencia de Sociedades has established guidelines for incorporating international reporting standards into sustainability practices. These guidelines were published in External Circular 100-000010 on November 21, 2023. The circular indicates that it is recommended that the mining sector adhere to international standards for sustainability reporting. These reports should be published at least once a year for stakeholder information, as well as on the company website.

Figure 1. Percentage of disclosure of sustainability reports by mining companies in Colombia.

The Asociación Colombiana de Minería (ACM)  is a professional association representing companies in the mining sector, including those engaged in exploration, production, and services. Of the 66 member companies, 95% have a website that communicates the company’s profile, corporate, investment, and interests to stakeholders.

Of the 52 companies engaged in mineral exploration or production, 44% report on sustainability under GRI or SASB standards. The majority of these companies focus on large-scale metallic minerals and coal. It is important to note that the majority of companies that do not publish sustainability reports are engaged in the production of industrial minerals (48%), followed by metals (34%).

It is evident that a significant proportion of companies, constituting 52%, that do not disclose Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) information through official reports, do present relevant data on their websites. However, these companies are not adhering to the established national guidelines for the disclosure of such information.

Figure 2. Non-report published mining companies segmented by mineral sector.

The remaining 48% of companies, primarily engaged in the production of industrial minerals, do not disclose ESG information to their stakeholders. These results indicate that there is still significant work to be done in Colombia for mining companies of all scales and the Colombian Mining Association to effectively communicate ESG targets with all stakeholders and regulators.

While the costs of preparing and disclosing a sustainability report may be considered high for small-scale junior production companies, mining associations can offer support and encouragement in the structuring of ESG-based reporting initiatives required by regulatory entities.

Environmental protection groups, some of which may have political interests, have taken advantage of the lack of proper information by introducing popular initiatives to prevent mining activities that could affect important investments in the short or long term.

The town of Buriticá in Antioquia has been the location of both legal and illegal mining. (Credit: Loren Moss)

Di Marco, an economist from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana with an MBA from New York University‘s Stern School of Business, previously held the positions of CFO and Head of New Businesses at RappiPay. In these roles, he was involved in strategic planning, financial operations, and the development of new business lines.

Before joining RappiPay, Di Marco was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he participated in the financial services, digital, and analytics practices. During his tenure at McKinsey, he led various transformation projects for banks and insurance companies in Latin America.

According to RappiPay, Di Marco assumes leadership of a company that has become a participant in Colombia’s digital financial services sector within four years. RappiPay currently offers savings accounts for individuals and businesses, in addition to the RappiCard, a credit card issued by Davivienda. The company reports having over 400,000 users in the Colombian market and states that its RappiCuenta and RappiCuenta Empresas have accumulated over 300 billion pesos in deposits.

RappiPay is a financing company authorized and supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia. It operates as a 50/50 joint venture between Rappi and Banco Davivienda, aiming to provide users with financial solutions. The RappiCard is a credit card from Banco Davivienda S.A. operated in conjunction with Holding RappiPay.

Paolo Di Marco. Photo credit: RappiPay.