Ecopetrol, the Colombian state-owned oil company, is expected to issue up to $2 billion-worth of ADR shares, most likely on the New York Stock Exchange next year, according to investment bankers.
If Ecopetrol does issue shares it will be the latest in a series of successful international issuances by Colombian corporates in recent months. One such issue was by Almacenes Exito, the country’s largest retailer.
In late August, Exito raised $392 million in the first international primary equity offering by a Colombian company in more than a decade. The ADR issue was given SEC exemption, which meant that the stock could be sold only to sophisticated investors via private placements. The decision to make an international placement was influenced by French retailer Casino, which has a 61.5% stake in the company.
"I think that Exito has certainly opened the way for future issues," says Yxa Bazan, head of Latin America depositary receipts at JPMorgan, which worked on the deal. The transaction also signals that the Colombian market is becoming sufficiently mature to make primary issues abroad possible, as investors want Colombian stock in their portfolios.
"There is growing interest in our country," says Jorge Londono, president of Bancolombia, which issued ADRs, through a secondary offering, in New York just after Exito.