Between 2001 and 2007, the Colombian Stock Exchange grew fourteen-fold, and it has embarked on a project that unites the Peruvian, Chilean and Colombian markets

This has been a good year for the Colombian Stock Exchange, or BVC in its Spanish initials. The steady rise of its benchmark index, spurred by robust economic growth and demand for good investment opportunities, prompted Morgan Stanley in April to call it ‘the best stock market in the world.’

The BVC rose an annual average of 35% over the past 10 years, the best such record in the world, followed by the Peruvian market which rose 24% per year over the same period, according to analysts at the U.S. investment bank. The BVC’s benchmark index will probably rise about 22% this year to 17,500 points, Morgan Stanley said.

The exchange also added seven new foreign companies to its Global Colombian Market, where the total number of international shares listed rose to 28 and now includes global giants such as McDonald’s, Intel, AT&T and Microsoft.

The BVC is now part of a new stock exchange that unites the Colombian, Peruvian and Chilean bourses, providing a larger pool where business can seek capital. Launched on May 30, the new exchange is called the Integrated Latin American Market and is the second biggest exchange in Latin America, after Brazil, in terms of combined market capitalization of the companies listed.

The bigger market will provide many advantages for companies that list their shares there, explains Jose Dario Uribe, manager of the Banco de la Republica de Colombia, the country’s central bank.

“The integration of the stock exchange with Chile and Peru will open great opportunities for investment in the three countries and will increase business competitiveness in the region,” he says.