Colombia Finance Chief Sees Asia-Like Growth If Rebels Disarm

Colombia’s economy could see Asia-like growth of 6 percent to 7 percent “for decades” if the government strikes a peace deal with Marxist rebels in soon-to-begin negotiations, Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said.

An eventual deal with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, could open the country’s eastern plains to Brazilian-style agribusiness, and divert tax revenue from security and defense spending to more productive uses, Cardenas said in an interview in his Bogota office.