...Economy Is Losing Altitude, but a Forced Landing Is Not Expected in 2015 Fitch expects a challenging scenario for Colombian corporates in 2015. The drop in oil prices will hurt government revenues and lead to a sharp drop in investment levels in the sector. Additional challenges include the depreciation of the Colombian peso, rising inflation and increasing corporate taxes to offset falling oil revenues. GDP growth forecasts continue to be revised downward, with the most recent being 3.5% for 2015 and 3.8% for 2016, far lower than 4.3% and 4.7% seen in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Corporates with Moderate Exposure to Currency Depreciation The 35% depreciation of the Colombian peso since year-end 2013 is neutral to negative for most rated Colombian corporates, as exports remain crucial only for the oil companies. Corporates with solid brands in the local market are able to limit the impact of the rising costs of imported inputs. Most corporates have only modest exposure to U.S. dollar-denominated...
