My hero

Hero MotoCorp, one of the world’s leading motorcycle makers, is building a production plant in Colombia, the company’s first outside its native India, where it sells six million units a year.

The plant will also serve Central America, where motorcycle sales last year rose 10 percent, led by Guatemala,

Located in Villa Rica, Cauca Department, the plant should start production before the end of the year, with an annual output of 78,000 units.

The company has secured financing of $70 million, with $38 million allocated to fixed assets, and the rest to be used as working capital over three years.

Hero Motocorp will control the local company - Hmcl Colombia Sas – through an investment made by Hmcl Bv, a Netherlands-based subsidiary.

Based in New Delhi, Hero Motocorp in 2013 had net income of the equivalent of $320 million on revenue of $3.6 billion.

CEO Pawan Munjal is the son of Brijmohan Lall Munjal, who founded the business in 1954, and who at age 92 is chairman.