Month: June 2019

Brazil Bets Storing Oil Near Teapots Will Boost China Sales

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(Bloomberg) — Brazil is making it easier for China’s teapots to buy Lula crude as it seeks to win more market share in the world’s biggest oil importer.

State-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA has rented offshore tanks in Qingdao in the eastern province of Shandong and delivered the first oil to them on Wednesday, Qingdao Port International said in a statement. Having local storage allows Petrobras to sell smaller volumes to the independent refineries, known as teapots, many of which are clustered in Shandong.

Via Yahoo News

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U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao and Brazilian Minister of Infrastructure Announce Partnership to Promote Transportation Cooperation

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WASHINGTON- U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao and Brazilian Minister of Infrastructure Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas today signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (Memorandum) that will strengthen collaboration on transportation infrastructure investment strategies and on key transportation priorities in technology and innovation between the U.S. and Brazil.

“The Department is committed to strengthening our longstanding cooperative relationship with Brazil by sharing data and best practices to build safer and smarter transportation systems,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

 

Via Transportation.gov

 

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Argentina, Brazil and Canada outpacing U.S. in gene editing

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U.S. pork producers will fall behind global competitors if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to move forward with plans to regulate livestock gene editing as a drug. That was the message the National Pork Producers Council delivered during a media teleconference Tuesday on the current regulatory oversight of gene-edited livestock on America’s farms.

Gene editing accelerates genetic improvements that could be realized over long periods of time through breeding. It allows for simple changes in a pig’s native genetic structure without introducing genes from another species. Emerging applications include raising pigs resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a highly contagious swine disease that causes significant animal suffering and costs pork producers worldwide billions of dollars.

 

By Ann Hess via National Hog Farmer

 

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Countries pledge to boost green economy in the Americas

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The promotion of the green economy – which reconciles development, environment and poverty reduction – involves the articulation between governments, civil society and companies. This was the conclusion of the participants of the 1st Regional Ministerial Conference of the Americas on Green Economy, which closed on Wednesday (26) in Fortaleza, after two days of discussions and talks, reports Agência Brasil.

Following the closure of the discussions, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean adopted a joint document with commitments to promote sustainable development on the continent. The final text will only be published next week, but the draft has 22 suggestions.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Brazil med school network Afya aims to raise $250 mln in U.S. IPO

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SAO PAULO, June 25 (Reuters) – Brazilian medical education group Afya SA hopes to raise at least $250 million in an initial public offering, three sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of South American companies to seek U.S. listings.

The company’s shares will trade on the Nasdaq in July, the sources added, requesting anonymity because discussions of the offering’s size are still private.

 

By Carolina Mandl via Nasdaq

 

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JPMorgan Raises Its Brazil Stocks Target, While Cutting Regional Peers

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Brazil was the standout in JPMorgan’s re-rating of Latin American equity markets as the firm raised its year-end price target for the Ibovespa index while lowering forecasts for the rest of the region.

Strategist Emy Shayo increased the 2019 target for the Brazilian benchmark to 108,000 from 105,900, implying about a 6% increase from current levels. The more optimistic projection is based on expectations that approval of social security reform will lead to more growth and lower risk. It comes as Brazil’s weaker-than-expected economic recovery has been leading to downward revisions to earnings estimates.
By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

Brazil’s antitrust regulator wants competition in Sao Paulo airport

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s antitrust regulator wants new rules for allocating airplane landing and departure rights, known as slots, in Sao Paulo’s crowded domestic airport, saying they are too concentrated among two main airlines.

The recommendation comes as the country’s civil aviation regulator ANAC has announced it will take back the slots held by grounded airline Avianca Brasil in the airport, known as Congonhas, as part of a plan to redistribute them later.

 

By Marcelo Rochabrun and Alberto Alerigi Jr. via Reuters

 

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Mobile Banking Use Rises Exponentially In Brazil

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Mobile banking is becoming increasingly popular in Brazil, with more consumers making use of mobile banking services for the execution of daily financial transactions.

The number of transactions performed by Brazilian citizens on their mobile phones increased significantly in 2018. Compared to 2017, mobile banking use increased by 24 percent in 2018. While mobile banking is mostly used to check banking statements and balances by many people, the number of other transactions such as money transfers went up by a factor of almost 80% in Brazil. This reveals that Brazilian citizens have become more dependent on their mobile phones for the execution of their financial transactions.

 

By Ali Raza via LearnBonds

 

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SDGs in Brazil – 16 July 2019

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The Global Compact Network Brazil is pleased to invite you to the second edition of the SDGs in Brazil – The Role of the Private Sector.

The event aims to introduce investors, business leaders, government authorities and representatives of the UN system to how Brazilian companies are contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The SDGs in Brazil – The Role of the Private Sector will take place alongside the High-Level Forum 2019, a United Nations central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

For further information, please contact us at sdgsinbrazil@nineoclock.com.br

For registrations, please access: https://bit.ly/2Rqbnla

 

Meat-loving Brazil joins the search for plant-based alternatives

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Beef-crazy Brazil, with its all-you-can-eat steak houses, world-leading meatpackers and more cattle than people, is not the first place you might look for plant-based alternatives to meat.

But companies from JBS SA, the largest beef producer in the world, to BRF SA, the No.1 chicken exporter, are looking to tap a wave of interest from environmentally conscious eaters seeking vegetable substitutes.

 

By Alberto Alerigi via Reuters

 

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Brazil’s Central Bank Keeps Key Rate at Its Record Low

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Brazil held its benchmark interest rate at a record low and signaled it can cut borrowing costs to help a frail economy once a key austerity measure advances further in Congress.

The bank’s board, led by its President Roberto Campos Neto, on Wednesday
kept the Selic unchanged at 6.50% in a decision expected by all but one of the 39 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Officials have held borrowing costs steady for over a year.

 

By Mario Sergio Lima via Bloomberg

 

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Brazil Stocks Close at a Record High

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(Bloomberg) — Brazil’s equity benchmark Ibovespa index closed above the 100,000 mark for the first time on record as dovish signals from the Federal Reserve added support to global asset prices, and potentially signaling increased odds for rate cuts in Brazil.

The index rose 0.9% to 100,303 on Wednesday, pushing gains this year to 14%.

By Vinicius Andrade via Yahoo Finance

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U.S. corn problems boost Brazil ethanol outlook, might affect sugar

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SAO PAULO, June 18 (Reuters) – Brazilian sugar mills are closely watching the 2019 U.S. corn crop for reduced harvests that could boost prices for the cereal, raising ethanol production costs there and opening room for Brazilian ethanol to gain domestic market share.

In that scenario, ethanol demand in Brazil would likely rise further, experts say, leading mills to maintain current production mix that heavily favors ethanol at the expense of sugar.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira via Reuters

 

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Brazil leader signs law allowing foreign carriers to operate domestic flights

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday signed a bill into law allowing foreign airlines to operate domestic flights in Latin America’s largest air market, a move that could usher in new competition or lead foreign carriers to buy up the local players.

The bill had started as an executive order issued by former President Michel Temer in the last days of his tenure in late 2018. Brazil’s Congress made the measure permanent last month, but included some changes that required a presidential signature.

By Ricardo Brito via Yahoo News

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Brazil: R3 Develops Blockchain Platform With Major Banks and Stock Exchange

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Blockchain software consortium R3 revealed that it is developing a blockchain platform in Brazilwith banks Bradesco, Itau and B3, Cointelegraph Brazil reported on June 12.

The R3 Consortium — which is composed of large banks and technology companies — announced during the CIAB Febraban event in São Paulo that it is currently collaborating with Brazilian banks.

 

By Adrian Zmudzinski via Cointelegraph

Drones deployed to monitor Brazil forest growth

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[SÃO PAULO] Measuring the height of Brazil’s towering rainforests can be a tall order. But an international team of researchers say they are working together to turn unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, into efficient, low-cost data collectors that can monitor the progress of forest restoration.

The team developed a drone equipped with three-dimensional laser scanning and hyperspectral imaging systems capable of producing high-resolution maps and collecting hundreds of images at different wavelengths for a given area.

 

By Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade via SciDev.Net

 

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UPDATE 1-Brazil services activity grows 0.3% in April, first rise this year

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BRASILIA, June 13 (Reuters) – Services activity in Brazil rebounded in April from a sharp fall in the previous month, government statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday, marking the first rise this year, although growth was slower than economists had expected.

Activity also shrank more than forecast on an annual basis, suggesting the economy started the second quarter on a weak note, having contracted in the first quarter for the first time in more than two years.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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Climate risk zoning made Brazil save R $ 16.8 billion in 2018

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The impacts associated with the Agricultural Zero Risk of Climate (Zarc), created by Embrapa, brought about an economy of about R $ 16.8 billion for Brazilian agribusiness last year. The estimate was calculated for Embrapa’s Social Balance Sheet 2018 and is equivalent, mainly, to losses that the Country no longer suffer from crop losses and the consequent securitizations that would provoke them. According to the Balance Sheet methodology, the work of Embrapa is responsible for 40% of these results, which is equivalent to approximately R $ 6.7 billion.

This is because, based on historical climatic data, the Zarc indicates the dates of planting in which there is less risk of crop frustration caused by adverse environmental conditions, that is, it guides the producer and the financing agent about the times and regions most suitable for planting, generating greater safety.

 

By DATAGRO

 

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Second phase of Brazil’s Mero deep offshore project launched: Total

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PARIS (Reuters) – French energy group Total said it had launched the second phase of development for the Mero project off the coast of Brazil, along with its partners, as the deep offshore oil project moves closer to getting off the ground.

“The decision to launch Mero 2 comes as a new milestone in this large-scale project that will develop the giant oil resources of the Mero field, estimated at 3 to 4 billion barrels,” said Arnaud Breuillac, Total’s head of exploration and production.

 

By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Bate Felix via Reuters

 

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Agricultural storage capacity grows in Brazil, says IBGE

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The capacity of agricultural inventories in Brazil registered growth of 0.3% in the second half of 2018, reaching 169.5 million tons, according to data released on Tuesday (11), by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

According to a survey conducted by IBGE, Mato Grosso has the largest storage capacity, with 39.8 million tons. The stock of agricultural products totaled 24.2 million tons, a reduction of 5.0 million tons compared to the 29.2 million tons stored in the second half of 2017.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Three more foreign airlines could operate domestic flights in Brazil: minister

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Three more foreign airlines are in talks with the Brazilian government to start domestic flight operations in the country, Brazil’s infrastructure minister Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas told reporters on Monday.

He declined to name the companies involved. “These companies are publicly traded, there are competition issues, we cannot announce them yet”, he said.

 

By Lisandra Paraguassu via Reuters

 

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Ripple Kicks Off South America Expansion With Brazil Launch

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Blockchain payments company Ripple has launched in Brazil as the first stage of its planned expansion across South America.

For the effort, Ripple has hired veteran fintech entrepreneur and executive Luiz Antonio Sacco as managing director to drive strategy and help develop Ripple’s business in the region, according to a press release issued Tuesday. Sacco’s LinkedIn profile indicates he has been at Ripple since March 2019.

 

By Daniel Palmer via Coindesk

 

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As Coffee Gets Cheaper, Brazil Finds Ways to Grow More for Less

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Rodrigo de Freitas Silva’s coffee farm in the heart of Brazil is flourishing, even during one of the worst price routs in decades.

Over the past dozen years, the 41-year-old has expanded his growing area to 220 hectares (544 acres) from 12.5 hectares, with yields doubling. His whole farm is mechanized, and 90% is irrigated. Most important, even as coffee prices globally trade near the lowest in 13 years, Silva is profitable and expects to increase production with potentially higher yields on more land.

 

By Fabiana Batista via Bloomberg

 

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Petrobras, Brazil government dodge bullet as Supreme Court approves asset sales

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that state-run firms do not need congressional approval to sell their subsidiaries, a major victory for the government of President Jair Bolsonaro and state-run oil firm Petrobras.

Also on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Edson Fachin, who ruled in May to suspend the $8.6 billion sale of Petrobras’ TAG pipeline unit to France’s Engie SA, reversed his decision in light of the full court’s ruling, allowing Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the firm is formally known, to go ahead with the divestment.

 

By Ricardo Brito via Reuters

 

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Brazil: EU and Mercosur ‘on the verge of signing’ trade deal

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The EU and the South American trade bloc Mercosur are very close to finalizing their bilateral trade agreement, the presidents of Brazil and Argentina said Thursday.

“We’re on the verge of signing an agreement between Mercosur and the European Union,” Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said during a press conference with his Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires. “We are all going to win with this: Argentina, Brazil and the other countries of this bloc, [Paraguay and Uruguay],” he added.

 

By Hans von der Burchard via Politico

 

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Brazil, China and Japan close partnerships to boost technology in the field

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Brazil will form a working group with China to address issues related to science, technology and innovation in the field. The matter was discussed during a meeting of the Sino-Brazilian High Level Cooperation Commission (Cosban).

The Secretary of Innovation, Rural Development and Irrigation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Fernando Camargo, represented Brazil in the sector subcommittee on agriculture during Cosban. According to him, Brazil and China have complementary characteristics, and have much to cooperate.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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MEXICO BUYS BRAZIL CORN CARGO AMID TRADE SPAT WITH U.S., SAYS BROKER

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SAO PAULO, June 5 (Reuters) – Mexican importers, who usually buy their corn from the United States, have booked a 35,000-tonne corn cargo from Brazil, amid a trade spat between Washington and Mexico City.

Brazilian broker and consultancy INTL FCStone said on Wednesday the cargo would be loaded at the northern port of Santarém and scheduled to depart on June 22, according to port line-up data.

 

By Roberto Samora via Successful Farming

 

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Brazil retailer Via Varejo launches digital bank targeting low-income clients

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian electronics and appliance retailer Via Varejo launched a digital bank targeting low-income clients in partnership with Boston-based startup Airfox, according to a filing on Wednesday.

The move will take Via Varejo beyond its current role in Brazil as a brick-and-mortar and online seller of goods, challenging its competitors in Latin America’s largest economy, where App-based wallets are an increasing trend among fintechs and traditional banks.

 

By Gabriela Mello via WSAU

 

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Brazil telecom Oi adds mobile customers as it expands 4.5G coverage

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SAO PAULO: Brazilian telecom Oi SA added more post-paid mobile clients in May than in April, commercial director Bernardo Winik said on Tuesday, as the company expanded its 4.5G coverage in Latin America’s largest economy.

“April was better than the first quarter and May was better than April,” he said at a press conference in Sao Paulo, adding that investments in 4.5G coverage prepare the network for the future generation 5G.

By Gabriela Mello via CNA

 

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Brazil to let mills sell ethanol directly to gas stations

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BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The Brazilian government on Tuesday paved the way for ethanol makers to sell the fuel directly to gas stations, by passing a resolution to boost fuel industry competition, although additional legislation is required to bypass fuel distributors.

The resolution by CNPE, the energy policy council, includes the option for direct sales by mills. Brazil’s Economy Ministry would have to issue tax-related regulation within 180 days for the change to take effect.

 

By Marcela Ayres and Marcelo Teixeira

 

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Here’s Alibaba’s Mission as it Enters Brazil Cloud Market

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Alibaba (BABA) is launching its cloud computing service in Brazil, according to a report from Xinhua news agency. In Brazil, Alibaba is targeting Chinese companies operating in the country. Alibaba has identified a local partner known as UOL Diveo that will resell its cloud services in Brazil.

According to a report released by IDC in February this year, Brazil is the fastest-growing cloud market in South America. With that in mind, Alibaba is entering a market with huge growth potential for its cloud business.

 

By Naomi Gray via Market Realist

 

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Brazil’s Top Trade Is to Bet on Lower Rates, Rio Hedge Fund Says

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Betting on Brazil’s central bank to further slash the benchmark interest rate is the best way to make money in the nation’s assets right now, according to hedge fund Truxt Investimentos.

“With inflation under control and slow growth, our preferred trade right now is to receive rates in Brazil,” said Mariana Guarino, a portfolio manager at Truxt, which has 10.6 billion reais ($2.7 billion) in assets under management. “Once pension reform is approved, the tail risk of a quick fiscal deterioration will be removed, so Brazil’s central bank will have room to cut rates.”

 

By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

 

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Santander to hire 400 technology staff in Brazil

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Financial services giant Santander has announced plans to hire 400 technology staff into its Brazilian business.

The plan is part of a $2 billion investment plan to drive digital transformation across the Spanish bank’s operations globally. Brazil represents 30 percent of that budget, according to the company.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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Brazil Establishes Committee for Cryptocurrency Regulation

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The President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil has ordered to establish a commission to consider cryptocurrency regulation in the country, Cointelegraph Brasil reported on May 31.

The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil, and consists of representatives of the states elected every four years. The Chamber discusses and approves proposals for economic and social areas such as education, health, transport, and housing.

 

By Ana Alexandre via Cointelegraph

 

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