Category: Brazil Business

Surging venture capital investment in Latin American startups has financed international expansion across the region and beyond, as business models that do not require large amounts of capital have helped many firms avoid silos common in the region.

New venture capital funding in the region quadrupled over two years to a record $2 billion in 2018, according to the Association for Private Capital Investment in Latin America. And that total has already been matched in the first seven months of 2019.

Analysts say fundraising rounds this year could double 2018’s total, thanks to Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), which launched its $5 billion Latin America fund in March, the region’s biggest-ever venture capital deployment.

SoftBank’s investments this year have helped to mint a new wave of Latin “unicorns,” or tech startups valued at more than $1 billion, with high expectations hinging on their potential beyond their headquarter countries.

Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Additional reporting by Carolina Mandl; Editing by Nate Raymond and Grant McCool via Reuters

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Automobile production in Brazil jumped 14.2% and sales grew 9.1% in July from June, the best performance for the month since 2014, the national automakers’ association Anfavea said on Tuesday.

Brazil’s auto industry is recovering from a crushing depression that cost the country its place as one of the world’s five biggest auto markets, even as automakers are still struggling with low margins.

Auto exports to depressed Argentina, Brazil’s largest foreign destination for its cars, are down 38.4% so far in 2019 compared to a year ago, Anfavea said.

Trade rules in Brazil are changing under a right-wing government that has promised to open up one of the world’s largest but most closed economies. Automakers are figuring out what to do following an initial trade deal with the European Union, as well as changes in trade rules with Mexico, both of which could usher a flood of foreign vehicles into the country.

Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski via Reuters

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SAO PAULO, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Brazilian investment bank Banco BTG Pactual SA tapped a veteran BlackRock Inc portfolio manager as its new head of equity funds and said it plans to launch a new Latin America-focused fund.

Will Landers, who left BlackRock in January, will join BTG Pactual as a partner, starting March 18, replacing José Zitelmann, who it said is leaving “to pursue other professional projects.”

By Yahoo! Finance

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For almost three decades, Wilson Feldberg kept his money in low-risk investments at Brazil’s biggest bank. Then, three years ago, he started moving almost all of it—the equivalent of about $1.5 million now—to an upstart brokerage, XP Investimentos SA.

Why? Feldberg, who owns a construction company in São Paulo with his brothers, wanted a chance at fatter returns and more personalized advice. “They explained things to me better, and I felt safer following their suggestions,” says Feldberg, a 47-year-old native of Recife. “Since I don’t have much time, I embrace their suggestions.”

By Felipe Marques, Cristiane Lucchesi and Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

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The whole of France fits into Bahia, one of the 27 Brazilian states. That’s how Ricardo Leite, Brazil country manager at BlaBlaCar, tends to illustrate the scale of opportunities for the long-distance carpooling firm in one of its top three markets globally.

A population of 210 million people coupled with 50 million cars that are expensive to acquire and maintain and an inefficient public transport network makes Brazil a great market for the firm to thrive. Following its success in the country since launching in 2015, BlaBlaCar now wants to introduce subscriptions, insurance and pursue opportunities in the transport sector to monetize the local operation.

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

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The United States has asked Brazil to consider lifting tariffs imposed on its ethanol exports and is hopeful of a positive outcome, a senior official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.

Brazil currently charges a 20 percent tariff on ethanol imports surpassing 150 million liters a quarter, in a bid to shield local farmers from foreign competition.

By CNBC

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Over the past few years the Brazilian financial market has blossomed, with an unprecedentedly open attitude towards technology and modernisation. For a country that has been historically conservative when it comes to monetary policy and burdensome bureaucracy, Brazil is now embracing innovation, and allowing new ideas to form and shake up the traditional standards and practices of its banking industry.

According to CB Insights, Brazil is Latin America’s leading tech hub. It accounts for most of the US$1 billion in venture capital invested in the region last year, and registered over 450 technology-oriented start-ups in 2018. Since 2014, there has been a sharp growth in new projects favouring business models built on technology, striving for sectors typically overlooked by larger players.

By Bruno Balduccini, Marília de Cara and Thomaz Braga de Arruda via Who’s Who Legal

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Brazilians are not big on mobile phone insurance and that’s something insurtech Pitzi wants to change, by providing better experiences for consumers who need devices fixed or replaced while creating conditions for large insurers to develop that market.

After building a career at financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Warburg Pincus, Daniel Hatkoff moved to Brazil from his native United States in 2012. He then noticed that local smartphone adoption was taking off but it was hard to get devices repaired when needed.

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

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Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell and Galp have commenced production from the Lula North deep-water project in Brazil’s Santos Basin.

Production of oil and gas from the Lula North field, which is contained in the BM-S-11 concession, is being carried out by the P-67 floating production and storage offloading vessel (FPSO).

By Compelo Staff Writer

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Consolidation in the micromobility space has arrived — in Brazil, at least. A few months after Y Combinator-backed Grin merged its electric scooter business with Brazil-based Ride, it’s now merging with Yellow, the bike-share startup based in Brazil that has also expressed its ambitions to get into electric scooters.

If Yellow  sounds familiar to you, it may be because, in September, the company raised $63 million in a funding round led by GGV Capital. That was the largest Series A round for a Latin American startup. A month later, Grin raised a $45.7 million Series A round.

By Megan Rose Dickey via Tech Crunch

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LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Global trader Glencore is close to finalising a deal to make a $500 million payment to the mining arm of Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) for iron ore cargoes to be delivered over five years, sources familiar with the matter said.

One source said Glencore would sign the deal no later than the first quarter.

By Julia Payne and Maytaal Angel via Reuters

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(CNN) – On New Year’s Day, President Jair Bolsonaro was inaugurated in Brazil, ushering in a new era in Brazilian politics that marks a dramatic departure from the leftist, anti-American governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. Our bilateral relationship improved under the administration of former President Michel Temer, and the new Bolsonaro government has already indicated it seeks an even closer security and economic relationship with the United States.

For the peace and stability of the region, it is crucial that the United States capitalize on this historic opportunity to bring closer together the two most populous nations in the Western Hemisphere.

By Marco Rubio via CNN

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Speaking during the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, President Jair Bolsonaro said that his administration’s reform will put Brazil among the 50 best countries to do business in the world. He also defended more integration and economic openness and explained that he wants the country to simplify the lives of those who produce and create jobs.

By BrazilGovNews

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Brazilian and South African leaders held a bilteral meeting on Thursday (January 24) to discuss ways to expand trade partnerships between the two countries. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, met in Davos (Switzerland) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

By BrazilGovNews

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Symbolic for marking the first international trip of newly-elected president Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s participation in this year’s edition of the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) brought concrete results. In addition to being the first Latin American leader to speak at the event’s opening ceremony, the Brazilian delegation led by Bolsonaro was able to build closer ties with other countries, strengthen trade relations and showcase opportunities Brazil offers investors and entrepreneurs.

In the opening address, the president explained to leaders from around the world that his reform agenda aims to put Brazil among the world’s 50 best countries to do business. He advocated for reforms that will improve public budget, make life easier for consumers and entrepreneurs in Brazil, and help the country grow sustainably.

By BrazilGovNews

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RIO DE JANEIRO: With the launch of CNN Brazil, Latin America’s biggest TV market is set to be roiled by the entry of a powerful new player looking to challenge the dominance of current leader Globo News.

Its arrival, announced this month, comes at a high-voltage time for Brazil as it undergoes an abrupt swerve to the right under President Jair Bolsonaro, a pro-business ultraconservative who took office at the beginning of January.

By Channel News Asia

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Brazil’s newly-elected president Jair Bolsonaro ascended the world stage for the first time to present his vision for a “new Brazil” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

Absences by British and French heads of state, along with the abrupt cancellation of the U.S. delegation’s visit to the elite business conference just days earlier, thrust Brazil’s new leader into the forum’s spotlight. In his speech, Bolsonaro promised to root out corruption, privatize industry, and repair his country’s standing in the eyes of the international community.

By Robert Hackett via Fortune

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In a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 17th with Chinese Ambassador Yang Wanming and Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, they discussed possibilities for trade diversification between the two countries. According to negotiators, Guedes said he intends to close more bilateral partnerships, mainly in the area of technology, with the main destination of Brazilian goods. According to the Ministry of Economy, Guedes reaffirmed Brazil’s willingness to do business with as many countries as possible, without ideological bias. According to the ministry’s source, the orientation is in line with the speeches inaugurated by President Jair Bolsonaro in the National Congress and in the parliament of the Planalto Palace, on Jan. 1st.

By Brazil Monitor

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Brazil’s second-largest private bank Bradesco will ramp up its efforts around artificial intelligence (AI) to boost sales, improve customer experience and reduce operating costs in 2019.

The bank, which has a portfolio of over 71 million customers, has been working on a platform dubbed Bradesco Artificial Intelligence (BIA) over the last four years. BIA’s capabilities translate into an improved customer experience across the bank’s digital channels – especially the app, which today accounts for 60% of customer interactions with the bank.

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

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The Brazilian tycoon behind the world’s biggest sugar-cane operation is taking a page from billionaire Jack Ma’s playbook for his next project.

Cosan SA, the powerhouse controlled by 68-year-old Rubens Ometto, is launching a version of Alipay to process payments and money transfers through smartphones. It’s a bet that could save the conglomerate millions in fees and give it a foothold in Brazil’s booming fintech scene.

By Gerson Freitas Jr. and Felipe Marques via Bloomberg

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The Brazilian government on Thursday said it would allow a proposed tie-up between planemakers Embraer and Boeing to go forward, capping weeks of uncertainty in which President Jair Bolsonaro expressed hesitation.

The approval maintains the terms of the deal as previously proposed, with Embraer selling 80 percent of its commercial plane division, its most profitable, for $4.2 billion to Boeing, which will have total control of the new venture.

By CNBC Markets

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