Conconcreto Rises on Building Surge, Intercoastal Purchase.

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Fuente: Bloomberg.

Conconcreto SA, a Colombian builder, rose to its highest price in more than four months on a surge in the nation’s construction licenses and after it agreed to buy a part of Panama’s Intercoastal Marine Inc.

Colombia granted licenses for 2.2 million square meters of construction in March, a 79 percent increase from a year earlier, the country’s statistics agency reported on its website yesterday.

“The performance of license approvals reaffirms our perception that during 2011, construction will surely be the most dynamic sector after mining and oil,” Bogota-based brokerage Correval SA said in an e-mailed report today.

Construction output will grow as much as 10 percent this year as the government invests in reconstruction of housing and infrastructure after a year of heavy rains, Daniel Velandia, head of research for Correval, said in a phone interview.

The government might spend more than the $800 million it had planned for reconstruction this year if tax collections and campaign-season public spending rise, Velandia said.

Conconcreto rose 5.1 percent to 1,665 pesos at 4 p.m. New York time, to its highest price since Jan. 4. The stock rose as much as 5.4 percent earlier, the most since Dec. 23.

Rains since the second half of 2010 have caused damage to the homes or property of 3.3 million people, and 450 have been killed, according to government figures.

Intercoastal Acquisition

Conconcreto and Salfacorp SA, Chile’s largest engineering and construction company, agreed to pay $32 million for 80 percent of Panamanian builder Intercoastal Marine Inc. The acquisition will be done through a Colombian joint venture between Salfacorp and Conconcreto, according to a filing posted on the website of Chile’s securities regulator May 16.

“The market perceived the purchase with Salfacorp as a positive,” Velandia said, adding that the acquisition has been a factor in the company’s three-day gain.