Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) will start testing new renewable diesel based on co-processed edible oils with customers in January, while awaiting regulatory approval to sell it commercially, the company’s refining director told Reuters.

The tests are expected to take about six months and will be backed by a fuel distributor and a bus fleet owner, whose names are yet to be revealed, Petrobras’ refining director, Rodrigo Costa, said.

The oil giant had successfully tested the renewable diesel production system at its Repar refinery in mid-2020, but it sees the new testing phase as important in confirming its effectiveness.

Repar is currently capable of producing 114,000 tonnes per year of renewable fuel based on co-processed soybean oil.

Reporting by Marta Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro Writing by Gabriel Araujo Editing by Matthew Lewis via Reuters

Read full article here.

Brazilian state-run power company Eletrobras (ELET6.SA) said on Monday that a public hearing to be held by state development bank BNDES on its privatization process has been postponed to Jan. 5 from Dec. 22.

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, as the company is formally known, did not provide details on the delay. The Brazilian government expects to privatize the company by the second quarter of 2022, according to Mining and Energy Minister Bento Alburquerque.

Reporting by Gabriel Araujo. Editing by Jane Merriman via Reuters

See original article here.

 

The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce proudly recognizes four exceptional Person of the Year Fellows, Érica Amélia Butow (2012), Lucas Tomilheiro Sancassani (2012), Victor Cezar Boyadjian (2018), and Felipe Costa Rodrigues Neves (2018), for their outstanding dedication to upholding their POY Fellowship Commitments. These fellows not only engage in projects that bring about meaningful social impacts in their communities, but they have also created or contributed to important philanthropic initiatives, demonstrating their high level of dedication to the betterment of society in a global context.

Érica Butow is President and Co-Founder of Ensina Brasil, a non-profit organization that aims to transform education from within the classroom by recruiting talent from the best universities to become public school teachers in vulnerable communities and develop the future leaders of Brazil.

Lucas Sancassani and Victor Boyadjian have made financial contributions to Instituto Ling, a non-profit organization which aims to turn Brazil into a more fair and progressive society through education, culture, and health, based on the values of meritocracy, freedom, and reciprocity. Lucas also acted as Volunteer President and is currently on the Board of Directors of Amigos da Poli, the largest endowment fund among Latin American universities which supports undergraduate studies and provides career mentoring.

Felipe Neves is Founder of Civics Educação, a legal education platform which finances scholarships for low-income public-school students in Brazil. He is also Founder & President of the NGO Projeto Constituição na Escola, which facilitates public-school classes on constitutional law.

Through philanthropic endeavors and financial contributions, our fellows exemplify the spirit of giving and its value in creating a more equitable society. Their dedication to invest resources back into their communities reflects the success of the POY Fellowship Program in recognizing young leaders devoted to civic engagement, with remarkable potential and proven professional capacities. They set an outstanding example for other POY Fellows and embody the ultimate mission of the POY Fellowship Program, that being to generate a philanthropic return to society that continues over time and strengthens relationships between nations.

We congratulate Érica, Lucas, Victor, and Felipe for their integrity and philanthropy, and for being inspiring examples for other young leaders.

Private Employer Update

Step One: Understand the Mandate.

Businesses may not allow any unvaccinated workers to enter the workplace after December 27, 2021 for the duration of the mandate, unless a reasonable accommodation has been made. A “workplace” is “any location — including a vehicle — where you work in the presence of at least one other person.”

Importantly, the new mandate does not apply to workplaces already covered by other federal, state or local mandates, including the Key to NYC Pass, discussed separately below, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate.1

Step Two: Verify & Record Vaccination Status of Employees.

Employers are expected to verify and document the vaccination status of all workers who regularly enter the workplace by December 27, 2021.2 There are three ways to do this:

  1. A worker’s record can be a copy of their proof of vaccination or a record of a reasonable accommodation with supporting documentation.
  2. Businesses can create their own paper or electronic record that includes the following information for each worker:
    1. Worker’s name
    2. Whether the worker is fully vaccinated
    3. For workers who submitted proof of the first dose of a two-dose vaccine, the date by which they must provide proof of a second dose (no later than 45 days after submitting proof of the first dose)
    4. Record of reasonable accommodation with supporting documentation
  3. Businesses may check each worker’s proof of vaccination before they enter the workplace each day. They must keep a record of each verification.

By Devjani Mishra, Mark Phillis, Lisa Griffith, Daniel Gomez-Sanchez, Emily Haigh, and Sanjay Nair via Littler

Read full article here.

We are very pleased to announce that Mattos Filho has been recognized as Law Firm of the Year in Brazil by Who’s Who Legal for the third consecutive year.

As one of the most important guides in the international legal market, each year Who’s Who Legal conducts extensive research on the performance of law firms and legal practitioners throughout the world to determine the winners in each category. More information about this year’s awards can be found here.

We believe this result is directly due to our multidisciplinary approach to outstanding service. It reinforces our commitment to making clients central to our decision-making, anticipating trends and presenting tailor-made legal solutions.

We would like to thank and congratulate our professionals, whose dedication and active support have contributed to this important achievement.

A Secretaria de Comércio Exterior, do Ministério da Economia, publicou quatro novas Portarias relacionadas a procedimentos de investigações de defesa comercial, principalmente investigações antidumping. As Portarias disciplinam práticas já adotadas pela Subsecretaria de Defesa Comercial e Interesse Público e determinam critérios para a utilização de disposições previstas de forma não detalhada no Decreto nº 8.0858/2013.

​Em 29 de novembro de 2021, a Secretaria de Comércio Exterior (SECEX), do Ministério da Economia (ME), publicou quatro novas Portarias relacionadas a procedimentos de investigações de defesa comercial, principalmente investigações antidumping (AD). As Portarias disciplinam práticas já adotadas pela Subsecretaria de Defesa Comercial e Interesse Público (SDCOM) e determinam critérios para a utilização de disposições previstas de forma não detalhada no Decreto nº 8.0858/2013.

Via Veirano Advogados

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Spain’s Santander (SAN.MC) will invest around $6 billion between 2022 and 2024 to promote digital transformation of its Latin American operations, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

Santander’s diversification overseas, especially in Latin America, has helped the bank cope with tough conditions for lenders in Europe in the years since the financial crisis.

It hopes that expanding in emerging economies will help it deliver faster growth than its core markets in Europe of Spain and Britain.

Santander has previously said it invests around $5.6 billion in technology per year as a group.

Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Andrei Khalip via Reuters

Read full article here.

‘PwC offers a full range of services that span from strategy to execution.’

PwC has been named as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Salesforce Implementation Services 2021 Vendor Assessment (November 2021, IDC #US47073921). The IDC MarketScape report says, ‘Across all 14 strategies assessed, the 3 strategies areas valued most highly by customers are “portfolio strategy,” “functionality/offering strategy,” and “client adoption strategy.’

According to the report, ‘PwC offers a full range of services that span from strategy to execution. It specializes in business transformation and has significant experience assisting clients with all aspects of Salesforce implementation work. PwC has management consultants worldwide who work on strategy, deals, change management, and front-office and back-office transformation programs. By combining these capabilities with its core Salesforce and technology consulting capabilities, PwC offers clients fully integrated solutions. PwC’s value proposition for Salesforce revolves around providing an industry-led, business-focused, and technology-enabled approach that integrates knowledge of industries, business processes, and technology that is necessary to deliver Salesforce solutions effectively and comprehensively.’

By PwC

Read full article here.

American Express and a San Francisco-based fintech startup are offering tens of thousands of Brazilians in Massachusetts a chance to use their credit histories from their native country to build their credit in the U.S.

American Express and Nova Credit announced Tuesday the opening of eligibility for their “credit passport” to Brazil, as well as the Dominican Republic, Kenya and Nigeria. That’s in addition to Australia, Canada, India, Mexico and the United Kingdom and other countries added in the two years the companies have worked together.

“In a nutshell, we can take an immigrant who would have otherwise been rejected because they don’t have a US credit file and we’re able to get them approved and access their journey of building their own U.S. credit file,” said Misha Esipov, co-founder and CEO of Nova Credit.

By Steph Solis  –  Digital Editor, Boston Business Journal

Read full article here.

Simplificar para reduzir riscos cibernéticos

As conexões digitais se multiplicam e formam teias cada vez mais emaranhadas de novas tecnologias. Isso faz com que os processos necessários para gerenciar e manter toda essa rede – inclusive a segurança cibernética – também se tornem mais e mais complicados.

Alguma complexidade é necessária e até desejável no atual contexto. Por exemplo, ter um telefone capaz de fazer muito mais do que chamadas simplifica a nossa vida, pois permite carregar vários dispositivos no bolso – gravador de voz, câmera, calendário, relógio, TV, uma biblioteca inteira de livros, entre outros.

Mas há uma complexidade desnecessária, nociva, e os altos executivos já perceberam isso. Para 77% dos líderes brasileiros que participaram da nossa pesquisa Digital Trust Insights 2022 (75% no mundo), as organizações se tornaram complexas demais para serem protegidas. Membros da diretoria, do conselho e líderes de TI e segurança estão preocupados que essa dificuldade desnecessária e evitável exponha suas organizações a riscos cibernéticos e de privacidade.

A PwC Research, o centro de excelência global da PwC para insights e pesquisas de mercado, conduziu a pesquisa Global Digital Trust Insights, antes conhecida como Global State of Information Security Survey (GSISS).

Ler conteúdo na íntegra.

Digital lender Nubank’s (NU.N) shares opened 25% above the offer price in their stock market debut on Thursday, giving the company a market capitalization of nearly $52 billion, making it the third most valuable listed firm in Brazil.

At that valuation, the Sao Paulo-based fintech, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), is only behind commodities players Petrobras (PETR4.SA) and Vale (VALE3.SA).

On Wednesday, Nubank priced its initial public offering at the top end of a range it had lowered earlier due to concerns over a global rout in technology stocks, to raise nearly $2.6 billion. The offer was eight times oversubscribed, one source with knowledge of the matter said.

The flotation comes as a record year for U.S. listings, which saw heavyweights like Coinbase (COIN.O) and Robinhood (HOOD.O) go public, draws to a close.

Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru, Carolina Mandl and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo, Echo Wang in Taos, New Mexico, Krystal Hu and David French in New York; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shailesh Kuber via Reuters

Brazil is auctioning airports in what the government describes as a bid to raise investments and modernize infrastructure.

Sixteen airports will be auctioned — including Congonhas in São Paulo, and Santos Dumont in Rio de Janeiro — by the end of 2022, the government said in a tweet Wednesday.
They add to the 34 airports already auctioned by Brazil since 2019, which raised around 34 billion Brazilian real (US$ 6 billion), the government said.
“It is strategic for Brazil to transfer control of airports to the private sector in order to increase investments and the quality of services,” it added.

By Hande Atay Alam, CNN

Born as a financial application to facilitate banking transactions, PicPay is becoming a “super app”, a solution that integrates several services in one place. According to Luiz Fernando Diniz, head of Social at the startup, the company wants to embrace more and more functions, especially from social networks, and be the home of interactions on other platforms, such as WhatsApp.

In an interview with TecMundo, the company executive made it clear that it aims to be a “Brazilian WeChat”. The Chinese app is known for encompassing payment services, marketplace, and social functions, all in just one app.

Read full article here.

After suffering one of the world’s worst Covid-19 disasters, Brazil is staging a turnround with a steep drop in deaths and a mass inoculation campaign as it beefs up its ability to manufacture coronavirus shots.

During a devastating second wave of infections earlier this year, Latin America’s most populous nation was the epicentre of the global outbreak, peaking at more than 4,200 fatalities recorded in a single 24-hour period in April.

But daily deaths from the disease have since fallen to under 200 on a seven-day rolling average, with the rate per 100,000 residents currently below the US, EU and UK.

By  in São Paulo via Financial Times 

Read full article here.

Between January 25, 2020 and February 29, 2020, the former administration issued three separate executive orders restricting travel from China, South Africa, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the Schengen region of Europe as a measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. President Biden extended each of these proclamations on January 21, 2021, which remained in place until withdrawn by executive order on October 25, 2021. Under this executive order, all COVID-19 travel bans were lifted effective November 8, 2021, and replaced with mandates for vaccinations and proof of negative COVID-19 testing prior to international travel.

By Jorge Lopez and Sarah Holler via Littler

Read full article here.

Bruno Yoshimura, 2017 POY Fellow and General Partner and Co-Founder at ONEVC

Nem só de grandes cheques vivem as startups. Até chegar a eles, as novatas precisam sobreviver ao vale da morte, que marca os primeiros meses ou anos de vida — uma ajuda financeira nessa fase, portanto, faz bem por merecer o epíteto de anjo.

Por mais de dez anos, um grupo (ou seria uma legião?) composto por Arthur Brennand, Bruno Yoshimura, Alexa Noschese, Eduardo Campos e Rafael Costa se trombou no ecossistema, entre um investimento anjo e outro, o que incluiu unicórnios como Gympass, Creditas e Quinto Andar, com um portfólio de mais de 70 investimentos.

Das conversas que mantinham, o quinteto chegou à conclusão de que, unidos, poderiam preencher um gap. Assim surgia a ONEVC, gestora de venture capital que se especializou em seed money.

Por Luiza Ferraz via Valor Economico.

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