Thursday 21 January 2010
ABCC – Forthcoming Events
ABCC Australia & Brazil Golf Championship 2010
Join us for the ABCC Golf Championship 2010 at the Gold Coast on Sunday, 28th March followed by a networking dinner. The tournament provides a great opportunity to develop relations with representatives of Brazilian companies in Australia and Australian companies doing business with Brazil.
For more information contact ABCC secretariat on or info@australiabrazil.com.au
ABCC-ALABC World Cup Trade Mission 2010
Join us to explore opportunities surrounding the World Cup 2014 and Rio Olympic games 2016 in sport & event management, infrastructure, hospitality, etc
Expressions of interest: please contact us on (02) 99090987 or info@australiabrazil.com.au
ABCC - Feed Back on Events
South Australia-Brazil Christmas Drinks
By Richard Hancock
Sponsored by Study Adelaide, the event provided an excellent opportunity for people to informally network and discuss emerging opportunities between Australia and Brazil. Guests stayed on afterwards to enjoy live chorinho music and to continue networking while mingling with local Brazilians.
According to early feedback, the event was enjoyed by all. The SA ABCC is planning events for 2010 in cooperation with industry groups and government to raise further awareness about trade and investment prospects.
By Richard Hancock
Pic1 - (L-R) Richard Hancock (ABCC), Danielle Jervis (Study Adelaide),
Pic3 - (L-R) Fabricio Mendonça (ABCC), Michael Blake (ALABC), Tony Lufti (Greenwheat Freeka), Richard Hancock, Pic4 - (L-R) Allan Wood (Baker Hughes), Alejandra Jimenez-garcia (Dynek), Shan Pillay (Baker Hughes), Tony Lufti (Greenwheat Freeka), Paola Lagos.
On Thursday 10th December, South Australia hosted the ABCC Christmas Drinks at Maxim’s Wine Bar, Norwood. Around 40 people attended from various industry sectors including education, resources, agribusiness, ITC, engineering, sports, as well as government and business organisations.Sponsored by Study Adelaide, the event provided an excellent opportunity for people to informally network and discuss emerging opportunities between Australia and Brazil. Guests stayed on afterwards to enjoy live chorinho music and to continue networking while mingling with local Brazilians.
According to early feedback, the event was enjoyed by all. The SA ABCC is planning events for 2010 in cooperation with industry groups and government to raise further awareness about trade and investment prospects.
New South Wales - Brazil Christmas Drinks
Date: Thursday, 10th December 2009 Venue: The Argyle
Pic1 - Cristina Talacko (ABCC) and Tim Harcourt (Austrade's Chief Economist)
Pic2 - Bruno Fiorentini (Yahoo7) and Flavia Fontes (Festa Entertainment)
Pic3 - Marcia Percival (Latin Dance Company), Alvaro Barba (Consul-General of Uruguay), Lucia Sacco (PRL), Andrew Percival
Pic 4 - Roberta Facuri (ABCC) and Marcelo Camargo (B&A United)
Special articles from ABCC Members – JBS Swift, Nuffield and Seraphim Risk Management
Swift Australia to buy Tatiara Meat Co
NIGEL AUSTIN, RURAL EDITOR, December 16, 2009 10:30am
The future of up to 500 workers at a major meat exporter has been assured by its sale to Swift Australia, part of the world's largest meat-processing business.
Uncertainty about the future of the Tatiara Meat Company at Bordertown has been replaced by a new optimism after the sale.
It coincides with fears about the amount of livestock in Australia and the ability of meatworks to secure enough livestock to continue operating.
Tatiara was forced to close last Friday because it didn't have enough sheep to process.
It is Australia's largest exporter of chilled lamb and the major employer in Bordertown, playing a crucial role in the community of 2500 people.
Swift director John Berry said the future was assured for the 400-500 strong workforce, with the business continuing to be a strong part of the Bordertown community.
"We will be discussing it with the South Australian Government and the Tatiara District Council to give them confidence that Swift Australia will be around for the long-term,'' Mr Berry said.
"We are extremely excited by the chance to buy into this business and by the opportunity it brings for the South Australian producer.
"Swift believes there is scope for livestock producers to gain access to a broader range of overseas customers for the high-quality Tatiara brand through its international sales and marketing network.''
Tatiara District Council chief executive Rob Harkness said he expected it would be business as usual for the meatworks following the sale. ``It's very important to Bordertown. It's our biggest individual employer and it's very important for our lamb producers,'' Mr Harkness said.
Mr Berry said major issues affecting the industry following the global financial crisis included a volatile Australian dollar, cheap animal protein and an international slowdown in demand.
He said Swift was confident about the future, but would like to see the Australian sheep flock expand from its 100-year low of 70 million head.
"We cannot have a long-term processing industry if we don't have the numbers of livestock,'' he said.
"A challenge for Australian governments, both state and national, is a strategy around how the live export trade is dealt with because it is making significant inroads into livestock numbers in northern and southern Australia.''
Mr Berry said Australia needed a new policy for livestock exports to make it sustainable.
Swift Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A., which is listed on the Brazilian stock exchange and has operations in Brazil, Argentina, Italy, the United States and Australia.
Its Australian business, headquartered at Dinmore in Queensland, operates nine processing facilities and five feedlots on the east coast, with a daily capacity of 8555 cattle and 24,500 sheep, pigs and calves.
The sale, subject to approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, is expected to be finalised in February.
Uncertainty about the future of the Tatiara Meat Company at Bordertown has been replaced by a new optimism after the sale.
It coincides with fears about the amount of livestock in Australia and the ability of meatworks to secure enough livestock to continue operating.
Tatiara was forced to close last Friday because it didn't have enough sheep to process.
It is Australia's largest exporter of chilled lamb and the major employer in Bordertown, playing a crucial role in the community of 2500 people.
Swift director John Berry said the future was assured for the 400-500 strong workforce, with the business continuing to be a strong part of the Bordertown community.
"We will be discussing it with the South Australian Government and the Tatiara District Council to give them confidence that Swift Australia will be around for the long-term,'' Mr Berry said.
"We are extremely excited by the chance to buy into this business and by the opportunity it brings for the South Australian producer.
"Swift believes there is scope for livestock producers to gain access to a broader range of overseas customers for the high-quality Tatiara brand through its international sales and marketing network.''
Tatiara District Council chief executive Rob Harkness said he expected it would be business as usual for the meatworks following the sale. ``It's very important to Bordertown. It's our biggest individual employer and it's very important for our lamb producers,'' Mr Harkness said.
Mr Berry said major issues affecting the industry following the global financial crisis included a volatile Australian dollar, cheap animal protein and an international slowdown in demand.
He said Swift was confident about the future, but would like to see the Australian sheep flock expand from its 100-year low of 70 million head.
"We cannot have a long-term processing industry if we don't have the numbers of livestock,'' he said.
"A challenge for Australian governments, both state and national, is a strategy around how the live export trade is dealt with because it is making significant inroads into livestock numbers in northern and southern Australia.''
Mr Berry said Australia needed a new policy for livestock exports to make it sustainable.
Swift Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A., which is listed on the Brazilian stock exchange and has operations in Brazil, Argentina, Italy, the United States and Australia.
Its Australian business, headquartered at Dinmore in Queensland, operates nine processing facilities and five feedlots on the east coast, with a daily capacity of 8555 cattle and 24,500 sheep, pigs and calves.
The sale, subject to approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, is expected to be finalised in February.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,26493652-913,00.html
Nuffield Australia
Nuffield Australia Farming Scholars is extremely excited about membership with ABCC. Nuffield has developed an excellent relationship with Brazil as the organization has been sending scholars to Brazil as part of the Global Focus Program since 2007. The scholarship offers to Australian farmers the chance to travel around the world and investigate agricultural and wider issues that affect their operations in Australia.
Part of the program is the GFP, an intensive six week travel period where scholars visit up to seven countries and meet with government, industry, bureaucrats and other farmers. The tours have two starting dates with emerging agricultural powerhouse countries being part of the tours. China, India and Brazil are the countries that Nuffield Australia has put into three different GFP tours.
Brazil has been a highlight of those who select that particular tour. The ability to grow products in such an agriculturally rich nation is staggering for our scholars. Brazil is described by returning scholars as an “agricultural paradise”. The tour involves usually nine days starting in Sao Paulo with meetings with AUSTRADE, Rabobank and other local business.
Brasilia is the next stop and a relationship with Aércio dos Santos Cunha has developed so the group is able to visit the parliament and has high level contact with those in agriculture. A road trip from Brasilia to Ribereo Preto is organized by Milton Suzuki from Bayer and takes in the Unilever factory as well as sugar mills, coffee and soy beans. Nuffield has been privileged to have Milton present an the Contemporary Scholars Conference in Victoria in 2008.
Rio is usually the final stop with some R&R in such a famous city being an absolute high light. Next year the GFP group will be followed by a returned scholars group led by Ronald Thompson a Nuffield board member and inaugural GFP group traveler in 2007 and tour leader in 2008. The tour will take in Chile Argentina and Brazil with the Iguazu Falls and the Mato Grosso the extra areas to the GFP.
Nuffield Scholars are amongst the top 5% of Australian farmers and are a valuable source of knowledge and information. The Nuffield website has links to reports presented by current and returned scholars where this information can be accessed for free.
For any information please visit www.nuffield.com.au or contact Jim Geltch on +613 54800755
Seraphim Risk Management
Seraphim ventured into the Brazilian market in April 2007 and registered as a Brazilian business (through Veirano Advogados) in May 2007. We specialise in business intelligence, corporate investigations, risk management and security services within the domestic and international markets. We pride ourselves on our relationships with our clients, being there when needed and responding to their needs. Hence, we are privileged to provide our services to some of the largest organisations in the world.
We have conducted security surveys, security services, intelligence reviews and geopolitical estimates for clients in South America in the following fields;
- Energy, Oil & Gas
- Critical Infrastructure
- Mining
- Airlines & Cargo
- Airports
- Banks & Financial Institutions
- Municipal Councils
Recent projects within Australia and the Middle East include strategic risk advisory on Critical Infrastructure, such as Bridges, Desalination Plants and Oil & Gas Platforms (Bomb Blast Analysis).
Seraphim is a risk advisory firm which strategically aligns itself with its clients providing confidential services based on mutual respect and trust.
Seraphim’s Associate, SAGE International can provide knowledge-based seminars on the ethics and morality of the implementation of force in the contemporary security environment, inter-agency cooperation, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) research and analysis, and advise on improving international coordination of security assets.
We are able to offer;
- Development and facilitation of client-specific risk management training.
- Security surveys and audits with recommendations for key installations and buildings.
- Advice and training on maintaining the security of information and protecting intellectual property.
- Technical inspections aimed at protecting against electronic eavesdropping.
- Security staff training and high level security operatives.
- Security equipment consultancy.
- Training and provision of close protection teams for VIPs and key staff.
- Advice and procurement of training for protection against kidnap, ransom and extortion.
- Emergency and Crisis Planning.
- 24/7 global emergency response.
- Business Continuity planning.
- Global Intelligence monitoring.
- Outsourced risk, security and medical personnel.
- Strategic Communication Advisory.
If you have any further queries re Seraphim services do not hesitate to Adam Fitzpatrick on +61 407 22 44 54, email adam@seraphim.net.au or Dr. John Bruni on +61 448 581 890.
MBA Alumni Brasil now in Australia
In 2010, MBA Alumni Brasil (MBAAB) comes to Australia. MBAAB is a network of over 1,800 professionals graduated from top ranking universities across the globe that meets up regularly since 2001 to share business and career opportunities in or related to Brazil. The network was founded nine years ago in São Paulo, and is now active in 5 other cities, two in Brazil (Rio and Belo Horizonte), and three abroad (NY, London and Lisbon). The network gatherings are often on the same day across all its locales. To keep up to date of the next gatherings in Sydney and other cities in Australia, please contact André Levy (andre.levy@stanfordalumni.org), and to learn more about the network please visit our website (www.mbaab.org) and our group on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1051).
Economy
Chile, once Latin America's economic model, now overtaken by Brazil
Conservative tycoon Sebastian Piñera won the second round of Chile's presidential election on Sunday in part due to voter faith that he can revive the economy. Meanwhile, Brazil's economy is booming.
By Sara Miller Llana Staff writer / January 17, 2010
Santiago, Chile; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
For two decades, Chile was the “teacher’s pet” of Latin America, the student who always brought home straight A’s. Economists gushed that the Andean country’s commitment to free-market policies and democratic reform made it a model for the developing world. And as Chileans enjoyed the trappings of a sustained average growth rate of more than 5 percent per year, poverty plummeted from 40 percent to 13.7 percent. But in the past year, Chile’s gold star has gone to its hulking neighbour to the east, Brazil.
The agricultural juggernaut just won its bid to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics; it discovered vast oil deposits that could turn it into a major oil exporter; it was one of the last countries to be pulled into the global economic crisis and one of the first to pull out.
To be sure, the so-called Chilean “miracle” that constructed the most solid economic foundation in Latin America still stands, and some of its slower growth today is merely a result of its own maturation. But Brazil is finally claiming new status in the region, and not just for its size.
“We always looked at Chile as something better than us,” says Arthur Ituassu, a professor of international relations at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro. “There is a growing sense in Brazil that we are now the major actor in South America.”
Promise finally fulfilled
This is not the first time that Brazil has been heralded as the world’s rising star. In the late 1960s and early ’70s, the country was growing at an average rate of 11 percent a year. But the oil shock of 1973 stifled that rise, and economic woes, conbined with political ones, characterized the 1980s and early ’90s. While Chile was experiencing its “golden decade,” Brazil struggled through its “lost” one.
Yet today, with more than a decade of stable institutions and sustained growth, Brazil is finally living up to its promise.
Foreign investment, for one, has poured in. Investors are drawn to everything from biofuels to soybeans. Between 1994 and 1998, Brazil attracted an average of $14 billion annually in foreign direct investment; in 2008 that figure skyrocketed to $45 billion, according to the United Nations’ Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Santiago, Chile. By comparison, Chile brought in $16.7 billion in 2008.
Brazil’s economy is vulnerable, especially as its currency, the real, has surged against the dollar, threatening exports. But inflation is under control, foreign reserves have been built up, and it has diversified its commodities trade. The government has helped to break 19 million people out of poverty since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003. His government raised minimum wages, augmented a conditional cash-transfer program, and helped create some 8 million formal jobs. Today, at 7.5 percent, the unemployment rate is below precrisis levels.
Chile more open than Brazil
Chile remains an economic stalwart. It also pulled out of the economic crisis solidly, using the windfall from copper exports saved during boom times. It maintains a strict fiscal policy and its 21 trade deals with 57 nations reflect an economy that is much more open than that of Brazil. It consistently ranks as the least corrupt government in Latin America and will this month become the 31st member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of top developed nations.
“I would say our image in the region is extremely positive,” says Juan Gabriel Valdés, the executive director of the government’s Chilean Image Foundation. “We know that we are observed and studied.”
Still, some in Chile are starting to grumble. While it averaged 8 percent growth from 1987-97, it now grows at about half that rate. Chile needs to regain its momentum, say critics, and work out kinks such as lost productivity and rigidity in labor laws.
“Chile is like a B student today. It is not bad, but it is not brilliant,” says Felipe Morandé, dean of the economics department at the University of Chile and an adviser to Sebastian Piñera, the right-leaning candidate who won the second round of presidential elections on Sunday. Mr. Morande says part of Mr. Piñera’s appeal is voter faith that he can revive the economy.
But Brazil now overshadows Chile, especially with Lula, its wildly popular leader whom President Obama called “the most popular politician on earth.” Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, an economist and former central bank official, says Brazil looks so good partly because it used to look so bad. “Two years ago, Brazil was growing much less than Chile,” he says.
Both countries face challenges ahead; both need to improve education and bridge divides between rich and poor. But their recovery from the economic crisis, as well as the strong rebounds in other nations such as Peru, bodes well for the future of the region, says Carlos Furche, head of trade in Chile’s government.
And those in Chile say they welcome the success of Brazil, which they view not as a rival but as a boon: A growing Brazil buoys everybody.
“The importance of Brazil’s emergence,” says Thomas Trebat, a Brazil expert at Columbia University in New York, “is that it shows you that growth can occur in Latin America in more places than just Chile.”
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0117/Chile-once-Latin-America-s-economic-model-now-overtaken-by-Brazil
Brazil's Meirelles: Tame Inflation Promoting Growth, Income
January 14, 2010
Brazil's continued compliance with annual inflation targets will help promote sustained economic growth and improving income levels, central bank President Henrique Meirelles said Wednesday.
Meirelles made the comments after Brazil's IBGE statistics institute earlier in the day reported the country posted IPCA consumer price inflation of 4.31% in 2009, well below the government's official annual inflation target of 4.5%. It was the sixth consecutive year that the country has met the target.
"In this period, controlled inflation represented predictability for the economy, with a consequential increase in the level of investment, and permitted the doubling of average economic growth to around 5% annually," Meirelles said in a written statement. "The increased growth, with controlled inflation, created conditions for the increase in worker incomes and a vigorous increase in the level of employment."
Meirelles said that as a result of its efforts to maintain controlled inflation, the country was "beginning the second decade of the 21st century with international respect and with the prospect of sustained growth for a long period, which will be marked by a substantial reduction in social inequality."
Brazil posted IPCA inflation of 5.9% in 2008. That result, however, was within a 2 percentage point margin for variation from the 4.5% central target allowed under the country's inflation targeting rules.
Brazil's central bank cut the country's reference Selic interest rate by 5 percentage points in early 2009, but has held the rate unchanged at 8.75% annually since September.
According to the central bank's latest weekly market surveys, the monetary authority is seen raising the rate to 11% annually by the end of 2010. IPCA inflation is seen ending the year on target at 4.5%.
By: Gerald Jeffris
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Brazil Ends 2009 Largely Unscathed By Global Economic Crisis
January 06, 2010
While most economies were battered by the global economic crisis last year, Brazil emerged largely unscathed and, by some measures, set record highs.
Thanks to the resilience of its domestic market and steady foreign demand for its commodities, especially from China, Latin America's biggest economy shrank only around 0.2% last year, compared to an estimated 4% contraction in the European Union and 2.5% shrinkage in the U.S.
Market and government forecasts now see Brazil's 2010 gross domestic product growth returning to pre-crisis levels of 5% to 6.5%.
Brazil generated some impressive economic feats last year despite the financial crisis that began to rock markets in late 2008.
The stock market gained 83% last year, its best year since 2003, sustained in part by a record net inflow of 20.45 billion Brazilian reals ($11.8 billion) from foreign portfolio investors, according to a Bovespa stock exchange statement Tuesday.
Brazil's foreign reserves hit record levels, rising to $239 billion, or 15% more than in 2008. Reserves swelled thanks to daily government dollar spot market purchases, undertaken in a bid to stem the appreciation of the Brazilian real, which gained 34% against the dollar.
The real's appreciation was another--but mostly unwelcome--record in the currency's 16-year existence.
The center-left administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proved sure-footed during the dark days of the global economic downturn. Government measures maintained employment and domestic demand, while inflation was comfortably kept in check below its 4.5% annual target.
Thanks to tax cuts, improved credit conditions amid an aggressive easing in monetary policy and the stability of spending power for middle- and low-income households, demand for consumer durables continued through the worst of the crisis.
Brazil's key automotive industry and its lengthy production chain, a major national employer, was the main beneficiary of the tax cuts and the easy credit policy. Domestic motor vehicle sales reached a record 3.1 million units last year, an 11% rise from the year before.
The volume of consumer credit expanded around 30% last year, with some 70% of vehicle sales financed.
The government-owned Brazilian Development Bank, or BNDES, helped boost credit, writing a record in low-cost loans of BRL137 billion, 49% more than in 2008.
The Selic base rate, meanwhile, reached an historic low of 8.75% last year.
Brazil is well-positioned to take advantage of the much hoped for global economic recovery. Brazilian stocks, for instance, are expected to make further gains in 2010, but much less than in 2009.
Alvaro Bandeira, director of Brazil's largest brokerage Agora Senior is predicting a 20% gain for the Ibovespa index in 2010 based on expectations of solid growth.
That's well below last year's return but still very impressive for an economy with almost pariah status two decades ago.
By John Kolodziejski and Rogerio Jelmayer
Source: Dow Jones Newswires
Conservative tycoon Sebastian Piñera won the second round of Chile's presidential election on Sunday in part due to voter faith that he can revive the economy. Meanwhile, Brazil's economy is booming.
By Sara Miller Llana Staff writer / January 17, 2010
Santiago, Chile; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
For two decades, Chile was the “teacher’s pet” of Latin America, the student who always brought home straight A’s. Economists gushed that the Andean country’s commitment to free-market policies and democratic reform made it a model for the developing world. And as Chileans enjoyed the trappings of a sustained average growth rate of more than 5 percent per year, poverty plummeted from 40 percent to 13.7 percent. But in the past year, Chile’s gold star has gone to its hulking neighbour to the east, Brazil.
The agricultural juggernaut just won its bid to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics; it discovered vast oil deposits that could turn it into a major oil exporter; it was one of the last countries to be pulled into the global economic crisis and one of the first to pull out.
To be sure, the so-called Chilean “miracle” that constructed the most solid economic foundation in Latin America still stands, and some of its slower growth today is merely a result of its own maturation. But Brazil is finally claiming new status in the region, and not just for its size.
“We always looked at Chile as something better than us,” says Arthur Ituassu, a professor of international relations at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro. “There is a growing sense in Brazil that we are now the major actor in South America.”
Promise finally fulfilled
This is not the first time that Brazil has been heralded as the world’s rising star. In the late 1960s and early ’70s, the country was growing at an average rate of 11 percent a year. But the oil shock of 1973 stifled that rise, and economic woes, conbined with political ones, characterized the 1980s and early ’90s. While Chile was experiencing its “golden decade,” Brazil struggled through its “lost” one.
Yet today, with more than a decade of stable institutions and sustained growth, Brazil is finally living up to its promise.
Foreign investment, for one, has poured in. Investors are drawn to everything from biofuels to soybeans. Between 1994 and 1998, Brazil attracted an average of $14 billion annually in foreign direct investment; in 2008 that figure skyrocketed to $45 billion, according to the United Nations’ Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Santiago, Chile. By comparison, Chile brought in $16.7 billion in 2008.
Brazil’s economy is vulnerable, especially as its currency, the real, has surged against the dollar, threatening exports. But inflation is under control, foreign reserves have been built up, and it has diversified its commodities trade. The government has helped to break 19 million people out of poverty since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003. His government raised minimum wages, augmented a conditional cash-transfer program, and helped create some 8 million formal jobs. Today, at 7.5 percent, the unemployment rate is below precrisis levels.
Chile more open than Brazil
Chile remains an economic stalwart. It also pulled out of the economic crisis solidly, using the windfall from copper exports saved during boom times. It maintains a strict fiscal policy and its 21 trade deals with 57 nations reflect an economy that is much more open than that of Brazil. It consistently ranks as the least corrupt government in Latin America and will this month become the 31st member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of top developed nations.
“I would say our image in the region is extremely positive,” says Juan Gabriel Valdés, the executive director of the government’s Chilean Image Foundation. “We know that we are observed and studied.”
Still, some in Chile are starting to grumble. While it averaged 8 percent growth from 1987-97, it now grows at about half that rate. Chile needs to regain its momentum, say critics, and work out kinks such as lost productivity and rigidity in labor laws.
“Chile is like a B student today. It is not bad, but it is not brilliant,” says Felipe Morandé, dean of the economics department at the University of Chile and an adviser to Sebastian Piñera, the right-leaning candidate who won the second round of presidential elections on Sunday. Mr. Morande says part of Mr. Piñera’s appeal is voter faith that he can revive the economy.
But Brazil now overshadows Chile, especially with Lula, its wildly popular leader whom President Obama called “the most popular politician on earth.” Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, an economist and former central bank official, says Brazil looks so good partly because it used to look so bad. “Two years ago, Brazil was growing much less than Chile,” he says.
Both countries face challenges ahead; both need to improve education and bridge divides between rich and poor. But their recovery from the economic crisis, as well as the strong rebounds in other nations such as Peru, bodes well for the future of the region, says Carlos Furche, head of trade in Chile’s government.
And those in Chile say they welcome the success of Brazil, which they view not as a rival but as a boon: A growing Brazil buoys everybody.
“The importance of Brazil’s emergence,” says Thomas Trebat, a Brazil expert at Columbia University in New York, “is that it shows you that growth can occur in Latin America in more places than just Chile.”
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0117/Chile-once-Latin-America-s-economic-model-now-overtaken-by-Brazil
Brazil's Meirelles: Tame Inflation Promoting Growth, Income
January 14, 2010
Brazil's continued compliance with annual inflation targets will help promote sustained economic growth and improving income levels, central bank President Henrique Meirelles said Wednesday.
Meirelles made the comments after Brazil's IBGE statistics institute earlier in the day reported the country posted IPCA consumer price inflation of 4.31% in 2009, well below the government's official annual inflation target of 4.5%. It was the sixth consecutive year that the country has met the target.
"In this period, controlled inflation represented predictability for the economy, with a consequential increase in the level of investment, and permitted the doubling of average economic growth to around 5% annually," Meirelles said in a written statement. "The increased growth, with controlled inflation, created conditions for the increase in worker incomes and a vigorous increase in the level of employment."
Meirelles said that as a result of its efforts to maintain controlled inflation, the country was "beginning the second decade of the 21st century with international respect and with the prospect of sustained growth for a long period, which will be marked by a substantial reduction in social inequality."
Brazil posted IPCA inflation of 5.9% in 2008. That result, however, was within a 2 percentage point margin for variation from the 4.5% central target allowed under the country's inflation targeting rules.
Brazil's central bank cut the country's reference Selic interest rate by 5 percentage points in early 2009, but has held the rate unchanged at 8.75% annually since September.
According to the central bank's latest weekly market surveys, the monetary authority is seen raising the rate to 11% annually by the end of 2010. IPCA inflation is seen ending the year on target at 4.5%.
By: Gerald Jeffris
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Brazil Ends 2009 Largely Unscathed By Global Economic Crisis
January 06, 2010
While most economies were battered by the global economic crisis last year, Brazil emerged largely unscathed and, by some measures, set record highs.
Thanks to the resilience of its domestic market and steady foreign demand for its commodities, especially from China, Latin America's biggest economy shrank only around 0.2% last year, compared to an estimated 4% contraction in the European Union and 2.5% shrinkage in the U.S.
Market and government forecasts now see Brazil's 2010 gross domestic product growth returning to pre-crisis levels of 5% to 6.5%.
Brazil generated some impressive economic feats last year despite the financial crisis that began to rock markets in late 2008.
The stock market gained 83% last year, its best year since 2003, sustained in part by a record net inflow of 20.45 billion Brazilian reals ($11.8 billion) from foreign portfolio investors, according to a Bovespa stock exchange statement Tuesday.
Brazil's foreign reserves hit record levels, rising to $239 billion, or 15% more than in 2008. Reserves swelled thanks to daily government dollar spot market purchases, undertaken in a bid to stem the appreciation of the Brazilian real, which gained 34% against the dollar.
The real's appreciation was another--but mostly unwelcome--record in the currency's 16-year existence.
The center-left administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva proved sure-footed during the dark days of the global economic downturn. Government measures maintained employment and domestic demand, while inflation was comfortably kept in check below its 4.5% annual target.
Thanks to tax cuts, improved credit conditions amid an aggressive easing in monetary policy and the stability of spending power for middle- and low-income households, demand for consumer durables continued through the worst of the crisis.
Brazil's key automotive industry and its lengthy production chain, a major national employer, was the main beneficiary of the tax cuts and the easy credit policy. Domestic motor vehicle sales reached a record 3.1 million units last year, an 11% rise from the year before.
The volume of consumer credit expanded around 30% last year, with some 70% of vehicle sales financed.
The government-owned Brazilian Development Bank, or BNDES, helped boost credit, writing a record in low-cost loans of BRL137 billion, 49% more than in 2008.
The Selic base rate, meanwhile, reached an historic low of 8.75% last year.
Brazil is well-positioned to take advantage of the much hoped for global economic recovery. Brazilian stocks, for instance, are expected to make further gains in 2010, but much less than in 2009.
Alvaro Bandeira, director of Brazil's largest brokerage Agora Senior is predicting a 20% gain for the Ibovespa index in 2010 based on expectations of solid growth.
That's well below last year's return but still very impressive for an economy with almost pariah status two decades ago.
By John Kolodziejski and Rogerio Jelmayer
Source: Dow Jones Newswires
Airlines
January 12, 2010
Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer said on Tuesday it delivered a record 244 jets in 2009, buoyed by demand for executive aircraft that helped it beat its target for the year.
Deliveries totaled 91 in the fourth quarter, helping push the total for the year above the 242 expected for 2009.
Embraer shares were little changed at 9.55 reais in late morning trade, compared with a 1.4 percent drop in the benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP.
Embraer, short for Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica, said deliveries of commercial aircraft, including the 170 and 190 models, totaled 26 in the fourth quarter, pushing the total for 2009 to 122.
Embraer delivered 115 executive jets in 2009, with 61 of those in the final three months of the year. Military deliveries accounted for the remaining four deliveries in the fourth quarter.
Sales of executive jets, including the Phenom, Legacy and Lineage models, account for 15 percent of Embraer's total revenue. The company's firm order backlog reached $16.6 billion at the end of 2009.
Embraer is the world's leading manufacturer of regional jets seating up to 120 passengers. It also makes business jets and military aircraft.
By: Elzio Barreto and Derek Caney
Source: Reuters
Agriculture
Brazil's Grain Crop to Reach 141 Million Tons in 2010, a 4.6 Growth
Written by Newsroom, Monday, 11 January 2010 02:06
Brazil is expecting a great year in agriculture. This according to estimates issued in the country's capital, Brasília, by the National Food Supply Company (Conab) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
According to the Conab, the grain crop should total 141.35 million tons, representing growth 4.6% compared with the previous one.
The Conab informed that its forecast takes into consideration the good weather conditions from October to December last year, which favored the development of cotton, bean, corn and soy crops.
The survey was conducted from December 14th to 18th and also showed that planted area in the country is 47.88 million hectares, 208,000 hectares (0.4%) more than in the previous crop. Soy, however, was the only culture for which planted area has increased.
In Rio de Janeiro, the IBGE disclosed its own crop estimate for grain, leguminous and oleaginous plants, which should reach 140.7 million tons, representing growth of 5.2% over the total figure calculated by the institute for the previous crop.
The estimated planted area is 48.1 million hectares, representing growth of 2%. The IBGE forecasts an increase in production of bean, coffee, soy and potato.
The difference between the figures announced by the IBGE and the Conab is due to the periods surveyed. The IBGE surveys the crop from January to December, whereas the Conab adopts the so-called crop-year, which runs from August to July.
Source: http://brazzilmag.com/component/content/article/81-january-2010/11671-brazils-grain-crop-to-reach-141-million-tons-in-2010-a-46-growth.html
Written by Newsroom, Monday, 11 January 2010 02:06
Brazil is expecting a great year in agriculture. This according to estimates issued in the country's capital, Brasília, by the National Food Supply Company (Conab) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
According to the Conab, the grain crop should total 141.35 million tons, representing growth 4.6% compared with the previous one.
The Conab informed that its forecast takes into consideration the good weather conditions from October to December last year, which favored the development of cotton, bean, corn and soy crops.
The survey was conducted from December 14th to 18th and also showed that planted area in the country is 47.88 million hectares, 208,000 hectares (0.4%) more than in the previous crop. Soy, however, was the only culture for which planted area has increased.
In Rio de Janeiro, the IBGE disclosed its own crop estimate for grain, leguminous and oleaginous plants, which should reach 140.7 million tons, representing growth of 5.2% over the total figure calculated by the institute for the previous crop.
The estimated planted area is 48.1 million hectares, representing growth of 2%. The IBGE forecasts an increase in production of bean, coffee, soy and potato.
The difference between the figures announced by the IBGE and the Conab is due to the periods surveyed. The IBGE surveys the crop from January to December, whereas the Conab adopts the so-called crop-year, which runs from August to July.
Source: http://brazzilmag.com/component/content/article/81-january-2010/11671-brazils-grain-crop-to-reach-141-million-tons-in-2010-a-46-growth.html
Chemical Industry
Brazil Chemical Industry to Invest US$ 26 Billion in 2010
Brazil's chemical sector investment this year may reach US$ 26 billion. The figures are included in a study by the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association (Abiquim) with some 800 companies in the sector, disclosed January 7.
According to the organization, projects already approved and that are in progress represent US$ 10.9 billion of the total, US$ 11.9 billion represents projects that are under study and US$ 3.3 billion represent expenses with maintenance, improvement of processes, safety and environment.
Abiquim forecasts the generation of 5,800 direct jobs with investment in the period.
According to the association, Rio de Janeiro is the state to receive the largest volume of funds in the sector (US$ 9.17 billion), whereas a large part should be turned to the construction of a Petrobras Petrochemical Complex in Rio de Janeiro (Comperj). Construction of the hub began in 2008 with initial investment estimated at US$ 8.4 billion.
Then comes Minas Gerais (US$ 3.53 billion), São Paulo (US$ 3.14 billion), Bahia (US$ 1.54 billion) and Pernambuco (US$ 1.23 billion). Another US$ 3.51 billion should be turned to enterprises in sites not yet defined.
Abiquim also pointed out that, with the Chemical Industry National Pact, launched by the sector last month, investment may reach US$ 132 billion by 2020.
The plan includes a series of measures to be taken by public sector organizations and private initiative with the objective of placing Brazil among the five main chemical producers in the period, making the sector trade balance generate a surplus - from January to November 2009, for example, it ran a deficit of US$ 14.4 billion - and making the country into a leader in "green chemistry".
If this takes place, Abiquim expects the generation of 2.3 million work posts.
IT
Brazil's IT Sector Grows Unexpected 8% in 2009
Written by Alana Gandra, Monday, 11 January 2010 02:33
The IT (Information Technology) sector in Brazil, in 2009, grew "more than could be imagined," said the president of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication Companies (Brasscom), Antonio Gil.
Preliminary figures disclosed by the organization show that the sector has grown more than the economy, showing expansion of 6% to 8%.
"Revenues were also robust," said Gil. He estimated that the IT sector alone, excluding telecommunications, probably had revenues of US$ 65 billion, "which probably makes Brazil the eighth main IT market in the world". Including telecommunications, sector revenues should reach US$ 140 billion, "representing between 7% and 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)".
With regard to exports, Brasscom hopes for operations to have reached US$ 3 billion, growth over the US$ 2.2 billion exported in the previous year. Antonio Gil pointed out, however, that the volume "is still small as against the US$ 50 billion in exports [of software and IT services] by India".
Antonio Gil informed that the sector tendency is for dislocation towards the interior of the country, specially the Northeast. Sites like Recife, Salvador, Campina Grande and Fortaleza, as well as Curitiba and the interior of São Paulo, are attractive.
"The Brazilian competence is fully diffused around the country. But, in the interior, there is great interest in attracting companies in the sector," he said.
Several city halls have been seeking Brasscom interested in hosting IT companies. With this purpose in mind, they offer benefits, like lower services rendered tax (ISS) and property tax (IPTU), "sometimes even placing facilities at the disposal of companies interested in establishing themselves there. So, you can have great development outside large centers like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which are very expensive," added Gil.
Source: http://brazzilmag.com/component/content/article/81-january-2010/11677-brazils-it-sector-grows-unexpected-8-in-2009.html
Written by Alana Gandra, Monday, 11 January 2010 02:33
The IT (Information Technology) sector in Brazil, in 2009, grew "more than could be imagined," said the president of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication Companies (Brasscom), Antonio Gil.
Preliminary figures disclosed by the organization show that the sector has grown more than the economy, showing expansion of 6% to 8%.
"Revenues were also robust," said Gil. He estimated that the IT sector alone, excluding telecommunications, probably had revenues of US$ 65 billion, "which probably makes Brazil the eighth main IT market in the world". Including telecommunications, sector revenues should reach US$ 140 billion, "representing between 7% and 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)".
With regard to exports, Brasscom hopes for operations to have reached US$ 3 billion, growth over the US$ 2.2 billion exported in the previous year. Antonio Gil pointed out, however, that the volume "is still small as against the US$ 50 billion in exports [of software and IT services] by India".
Antonio Gil informed that the sector tendency is for dislocation towards the interior of the country, specially the Northeast. Sites like Recife, Salvador, Campina Grande and Fortaleza, as well as Curitiba and the interior of São Paulo, are attractive.
"The Brazilian competence is fully diffused around the country. But, in the interior, there is great interest in attracting companies in the sector," he said.
Several city halls have been seeking Brasscom interested in hosting IT companies. With this purpose in mind, they offer benefits, like lower services rendered tax (ISS) and property tax (IPTU), "sometimes even placing facilities at the disposal of companies interested in establishing themselves there. So, you can have great development outside large centers like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which are very expensive," added Gil.
Source: http://brazzilmag.com/component/content/article/81-january-2010/11677-brazils-it-sector-grows-unexpected-8-in-2009.html
Mining
Vale in $3.8 billion bid for Bunge fertilizer assets
By Elzio Barreto
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian mining giant Vale said on Friday it plans to expand its fertilizer business with a $3.8 billion takeover of Bunge
Vale
The deal would mark Vale's biggest acquisition since its $18.2 billion takeover of Canada's Inco in 2006 as it sought to expand into nickel production.
Vale's bid is the latest sign of growing interest in the global fertilizer business that has seen a spate of merger and acquisition activity in recent months, including a battle for Terra Industries Inc
"Fosfertil is an asset that shows Vale's interest in becoming big in fertilizers," said Pedro Galdi, an analyst at brokerage SLW in Sao Paulo.
Vale's shares dipped 0.5 percent to 46.14 reais in early afternoon trade, while Fosfertil shares surged 8.4 percent to 21.89 reais. Bunge's stock jumped 3 percent to $70.17 in New York.
Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer and exporter, has said it is interested in strategic acquisitions in the fertilizer sector. It was reported to have been in talks that ultimately failed last year to acquire U.S. potash producer Mosaic
The Rio de Janeiro-based company has said its growing bets on fertilizer are part of a strategy to benefit from rising global food consumption and agriculture output in South America and Asia.
Vale is developing a world class potash deposit in northeastern Brazil and has set aside $479 million to bring its Bayovar project in Peru online this year.
The company, which had sold a stake in Fosfertil to Bunge for $84 million in 2003, said it can use similar types of technology to extract potash and other minerals for fertilizers as it also employs to mine for iron ore.
Fosfertil is Brazil's main provider of raw materials for fertilizer producers and mixers and is an important part of the country's agricultural sector, a linchpin of Latin America's largest economy.
The news of Bunge's potential exit from Fosfertil comes as the government is attempting to reform the country's mining regulations to increase federal taxes and royalties from the sector and stimulate domestic fertilizer production.
(Reporting by Elzio Barreto; Additional reporting by Roberto Samora and Reese Ewing in Sao Paulo; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Publié le 15 janvier 2010
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