Thread by @ASCOA

We're live with #COLWallSt!

Don't miss this chance to hear from the country's finance minister and other experts about the plan to get the Colombian economy going again. Join us!

Susan Segal highlights Colombia's relative economic resilience, which is even more impressive considering the "historic effort" on the part of the Colombian government and people in light of the Venezuelan crisis. #COLWallSt

Watch live: as-coa.org/events/2020-la…

Now up at #COLWallSt: @MinHacienda Minister Alberto Carrasquilla, who'll present on how the virus has "wreaked havoc" on the Colombian economy, the fiscal strategy, and the plan for reactivation and recovery.

Watch live: as-coa.org/events/2020-la…

While there's much economic uncertainty (due more to the range of opinions than trend lines), Colombian GDP can expect a "significant rebound," with projections ranging from 8 to 13 percentage points, says Carrasquilla.

#COLWallSt @MinHacienda

Colombia expects its public debt-to-GDP ratio to go up by 20 points this year, says Carrasquilla, which is lower than the 25–30 points of neighbors and the roughly 30 points of the United States.

#COLWallSt @MinHacienda

Now up, @RodLuisAlberto, Colombia's National Planning Department director, presents three pillars of post-pandemic recovery:

1. Pick back up what we were doing well.
2. Get to working on challenge areas.
3. Correct what has not worked for decades.

#COLWallSt @DNP_Colombia

Colombia should consolidate its public spending path, says @RodLuisAlberto, since the debt-to-GDP ratio, even if lower relative to neighbors, is still projected to hit a five-year high in 2021.

#COLWallSt @DNP_Colombia

One of the few sectors of the Colombian economy to grow so far in 2020?

Fishing. Also, real estate and finance.

Watch @MSantamariaS, president of @ANIFCO, present at #COLWallSt live: as-coa.org/events/2020-la…

"The virus is going to stay with us," says @MSantamariaS. We need to figure out how to go forward economically amid the health crisis and not view it as a zero-sum game and that we have to choose between one or the other.

@ANIFCO #COLWallSt

COVID-19 mortality is more closely related to health factors like high cholesterol and age than to quarantine measures, says @MSantamariaS, which've caused more damage to the economy and people's well-being than they've helped contain the pandemic. "We need reopening." #COLWallSt

. @MSantamariaS closes by saying that tax reform will be crucial to Colombia's economic recovery. If we don't start paying more, we won't be able to see the society-level change that we want.

#COLWallSt @ANIFCO

Up now at #COLWallSt, a panel on challenges for Colombia post-coronavirus, L to R, t to b:

—@anjaralop, Bloomberg (mod.)
—Ángela Hurtado, JP Morgan
—Ernesto Revilla, Citigroup
—Lisa Schineller, S&P
—Andrés Escobar, ex-finance vice minister

Watch LIVE: as-coa.org/colwallst

The more workers are able to transfer easily between one job and another, the lower the unemployment rate and the faster Colombia will be able to recover, says Ángela Hurtado, J.P. Morgan Colombia's managing director, who also highlights the need for tax reform.

#COLWallSt

One of Colombia's strengths is that the government has a track record of previous achievements that it can point to, says Lisa Schineller, managing director in the sovereign ratings department and economist for Latin America at Standard & Poor’s.

#COLWallSt

The rhythm of recovery will be slower than many think, says Andrés Escobar. But a few things Colombia can do to accelerate that recovery are get public spending under control, consider privatization, and implement a more efficient fiscal reform.

#COLWallSt

Escobar adds that Colombia was highly polarized before, and that the pandemic has in fact given people a shared goal to get out of this together.

And that concludes #COLWallSt! We'll post videos of today's presentations in the days to come. as-coa.org/colwallst