Brazil’s Senate passed a bill Wednesday paving the way to privatize state-owned water and sanitation companies and attract more private investment to the badly languishing sector.

The bill, which President Jair Bolsonaro plans to sign, aims to bring better service to the 35 million Brazilians who lack clean drinking water and 100 million whose sewage gets dumped raw, without ever being treated, its sponsors said.

 

Via Macau Business.com

 

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SAO PAULO, June 23 (Reuters) – Brazilian e-commerce has risen by 56.8% in the first five months of 2020 from a year earlier, reaching 105.6 billion reais ($20.50 billion) in sales revenue, a survey showed on Tuesday, as more consumers have shifted to online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of online orders grew by 65,7% in the same comparison, mostly driven by three categories: cosmetics and perfumes, furniture and eletronics, according to data compiled by Brazilian ecommerce consultancy Compre&Confie and industry body ABComm.

By Gabriela Mello via Yahoo Finance

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BRASILIA, June 23 (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank on Tuesday announced a series of measures to potentially pump hundreds of billions of reais into the economy, boosting credit in particular to micro, small and medium-sized companies struggling in the coronavirus crisis.

The measures include allowing banks already extending loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, known as SMEs, to reduce reserve requirements, lowering banks’ requirements for contingent liabilities provisions, and possibly allowing firms to use real estate as collateral for new loans.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA, June 23 (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank sees little scope to reduce interest rates much further, with the current record low of 2.25% considered “close” to the level from which additional cuts could fuel financial market instability, according to meeting minutes released on Tuesday.

The minutes of the June 16-17 meeting of the rate-setting committee, known as Copom, showed that while the economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic is disinflationary and inflation expectations continue to fall, policymakers urged caution in easing much further.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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On June 22, 2020, and citing economic recovery needs and unemployment due to the pandemic, President Trump issued “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak,” outlining expected new temporary restrictions on H-1B, H-2B, J-1, and L-1 nonimmigrant worker visas, which are among the most popular temporary U.S. worker visas. Section 1 of the proclamation takes effect immediately (continuation of bar on certain immigrant visa entry) and the remainder (containing new restrictions on nonimmigrant workers), takes effect on June 24, 2020 (12:01 a.m.). The new proclamation will expire on December 31, 2020, and may be continued as necessary.

The proclamation comes on the heels of Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020 (“Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak”), which suspended the entry of aliens on immigrant visas, subject to certain exceptions, for a period of sixty (60) days. The June 22, 2020 proclamation continues and amends Proclamation 10014 to incorporate new restrictions on the entry of nonimmigrant temporary visa holders, including those with H-1B, H-2B, J-1, and L-1 visas, subject to certain exemptions.

 

By Jorge Lopez and Elizabeth Whiting via Littler

 

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June 23 (Renewables Now) – Wind farms in Brazil’s Northeast have generated 10,121 MW at 1021 local time on June 21, thereby breaking the Northeast’s record for wind generation, the National Electric System Operator (ONS) announced.

The volume produced by wind farms during that day was enough to meet 100% of the Northeast region needs, currently at 8,500 MW, and generate an 18% surplus. The previous record was of 9,755 MW, registered seven months earlier on November 12, 2019.

 

By Lucas Morais via Renewables Now

 

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A new report on HRtechs, technology companies focused on Human Resources (HR), has revealed the segment is the third most active in Brazil, after fintechs and mobility, as well as the main companies in activity as well as startups to watch.

According to the study produced by innovation center network Distrito, there are 373 startups active in the HR space, which concentrated 11.6% of the capital invested in startups in 2019 – fintechs claimed 35.6% of the total investment last year, while mobility startups attracted 14.4%.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

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Brazil’s Ministry of Communications has been recreated and a new minister has taken over to lead agendas such as the country’s upcoming 5G auction.

The son-in-law of a well-known Brazilian TV presenter, Fábio Faria was named the new communications minister yesterday (17). Faria will be accountable for the national telecommunications policy, as well as the national broadcasting policy and the communications activity relating to the federal government, which relies heavily on channels such as social media.

 

By Angelica Maria via ZD Net

 

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Lincoln, Neb. —Tucked away from the busy city streets of São Paulo, Brazil, young learners are exploring a colorful garden with spades, magnifying glasses and other tools. They gather around their preschool teacher who is holding a freshly dug worm in her hands. They observe the wriggling creature together. After the excited shrieks subside, the teacher begins to ask them questions.

Their curiosity leads to a conversation — an opportunity to learn about science.

 

By Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska-Lincoln

 

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MIAMI- Azul Brazilian Airlines (AD) and LATAM Airlines Brazil (LA) have announced a codeshare partnership with a shared frequent flyer program to increase their presence in Brazil’s domestic market.

Both carriers were competitors in the region alongside GOL (G3), but the latest agreement consolidates various recent individual moves from each to now strengthen their presence and network offer.

 

By Sofia Marrero via Airways Mag

 

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BizCapital, an online lender based in Brazil, has raised $12 million from a clutch of investors including the German development finance institution, the corporate venture capital fund of MercadoLibre and existing investors Quona Capital, Monashees, Chromo INvest and 42K Investments.

“This latest round reinforces investors’ confidence in BizCapital’s ability to innovate in the Latin American credit market amid challenging circumstances caused by Covid-19,” said Francisco Ferreira, the company’s chief executive, in a statement. “We have seen four times as many business credit inquiries on our site year over year, and we are ready to serve them.”

 

By Jonathan Shieber via Tech Crunch

 

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June 17 (Renewables Now) – Brazil’s installed wind power capacity has reached 16 GW, reaffirming its position as the second largest source of electrical generation in the country, the National Wind Energy Association (Abeeolica) announced earlier this week.

Brazil now has 637 operational wind parks, according to the association. It says the country will have at least 24 GW of installed wind power capacity by 2024, taking into account only contracts already in place through auctions and the free market. “With new auctions, this number will be higher,” Abeeolica’s CEO, Elbia Gannoum, said.

 

By Lucas Morais via Renewables Now

 

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Brazil and other countries including Malaysia, Canada and the UK will join China’s efforts to strengthen global cooperation in COVID-19 vaccine trials, as the Institute Butantan in Brazil plans to cooperate in Phase III clinical trials for an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by a Chinese company.

Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech and Instituto Butantan, a leading Brazilian producer of immunobiologic products, have agreed to collaborate in Phase III clinical trials of CoronaVac, Sinovac’s inactivated vaccine candidate against COVID-19.

 

By Hu Yuwei and Leng Shumei via Global Times

 

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SAO PAULO, June 16 (Reuters) – Switzerland-based seed and crop protection company Syngenta has chosen Brazil as the initial market for a new digital agriculture services platform intended to make local grain growers more competitive, a Syngenta executive told Reuters.

Because of lockdowns and social distancing, crop consultants including seed advisers and agrochemical distributors have been unable to visit farms, making technology more important to assess field conditions, said Greg Meyers, the company’s chief information and digital officer.

 

By Ana Mano and Roberto Samora via Reuters

 

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After months of talks and trials, WhatsApp has finally pulled the trigger on payments in its app. Today the Facebook-owned messaging service announced that users in Brazil would be the first to be able to send and receive money by way of its messaging app, using Facebook Pay, the payments service WhatsApp owner Facebook launched last year.

WhatsApp says in its blog post that the payments service — which currently is free for consumers to use (that is, no commission fee taken) but businesses pay a 3.99% processing fee to receive payments — will work by way of a six-digit PIN or fingerprint to complete transactions.

 

By Manish Singh and Indrid Lunden via Tech Crunch

 

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The Brazilian government has launched a new portal powered by real-time data analytics to report the evolving picture on the Covid-19 outbreak, following controversy over moves to suppress the release of such information in what is the current global epicenter of the pandemic.

Earlier this week, data relating to the pandemic had, without warning, been removed from the health ministry website and the government announced it would stop releasing historical numbers on cumulative deaths and the number of infections. The decision sparked outrage as it was seen as an attempt to cover up the worsening health crisis in the country.

 

By Angelica Maria via ZD Net

 

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São Paulo – A company called Metro Brazil sells Brazilian products to Arab consumers online. Owned by Syrian entrepreneur Alaa Kara Ali (pictured above), the business was started in 2017, two years after he had relocated to Brazil. Ali lives in São Paulo and has two Brazilian children. “I wanted to make a bridge between Brazil and the Middle East,” he told ANBA in interview by email.

Ali, who is also the company’s CEO, wanted to resell Brazilian products such as garments, underwear and accessories. He started on his own and now has a staff of 32 employees and exports to other regions beyond the Middle East. The company used to sell just to Arab countries but saw a demand from other regions, then started delivering orders all over the world. “Now we have clients on Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and others,” he said.

 

By Bruna Garcia Fonseca via Brazil-Arab News Agency

 

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First concrete was poured for Angra 3 – a 1405 MWe (gross) pressurised water reactor – in 2010, resuming a project that had first begun in the 1980s before a lengthy suspension. The project was again suspended in mid-2015. Two nuclear power units – Angra 1 and 2 – supply about 3% of Brazil’s electricity. The units are operated by Eletrobras subsidiary Eletronuclear.

Following a meeting of the PPI council yesterday, PPI Special Secretary Martha Seillier told reporters in Brasillia that the private partner in Angra 3 must be a minority stakeholder. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had also attended the PPI meeting, she said.

 

Via World Nuclear News

 

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China’s leading coronavirus vaccine developer signed an agreement with a drugmaker in Brazil to conduct further testing of its shot’s efficacy, as the global race intensifies to come up with the first viable candidate to prevent Covid-19.Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd. is teaming up with Instituto Butantan to conduct the final phase of a three-part human testing of a vaccine it developed against the novel coronavirus, the company said in a statement. A Sinovac spokesman said it will need to obtain regulatory approval in Brazil before conducting the trial.

Once approved, Sinovac and Instituto Butantan will kick off the trial involving 9,000 people in July. The Brazilian drugmaker will get to license the Chinese vaccine and make it available in the South American country, Sinovac said.

 

Via Hindustan Times

 

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The enterprise software market in Brazil is led by local firm Totvs and SAP, according to new research by Brazilian business school Fundação Getúlio Vargas about the local information technology market.

The report, which polled more than 2,600 businesses nationwide, shows Totvs as the leader with 33% of the overall ERP market. The Brazilian company is closely followed by SAP: the German software giant has a 32% slice of the market, according to the FGV study, now in its 31st edition. Oracle ranks third, with a market share of 12%.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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According to the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production (LSPA), released on Tuesday, June 9th, by the IBGE, the country will harvest 245.9 million tons of cereals, legumes and oilseeds by the end of the year, up 1.8% (4.4 million tons more) compared to 2019.

Rice, corn, and soy account for 92.2% of this amount. But the high dollar encourages other crops, such as wheat. The May estimate for the 2020 agricultural crop suffered a reduction of 0.5% compared to the previous month, influenced by the drought in the south of the country, but remains at a record level.

 

Via Merco Press

 

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The spirit of the women who participate in the movements fighting for housing in Brazil is as hard as lime and wood. As a majority in land occupations, they vigorously coordinate organizational and political practices of settlement and popular housing construction. It is no wonder that many of the occupations of the MST (Landless Rural Workers’ Movement) or the MTST (Homeless Workers’ Movement) carry the names of women such as Dandara, a quilombo leader from the colonial period.

 

By Cecília Garcia via Arch Daily

 

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Sherwin-Williams® has been present in Brazil for more than 75 years offering the best quality products sold through a chain of company operated stores and facilities, leading mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers and hardware stores.  Among its main brands in the market are Metalatex, Novacor, KemTone, Aquacryl, Superpaint and Colorgin.

Learn more here.

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell PLC <RDSa.L> is ready to start negotiating with potential clients the sale of future solar power on Brazil’s free energy market from its first farms due to start operating in 2023, Shell’s solar business development manager for Latin America said.

In a telephone interview on Monday, Maria Gabriela da Rocha said the startup date would depend on the negotiations and was part of Shell’s strategy to move into renewable energy, betting on industries’ increasingly wanting to sign long-term clean energy contracts.

By Luciano Costa via Yahoo Finance

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June 9 (Renewables Now) – Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) expects that in the next 10 years, roughly 36,000 MW of renewable energy capacity will be implemented thanks to a new protocol for the issuance of green debentures.

The 10,387 decree, published last week, creates new mechanisms for the issuance of debentures in order to finance infrastructure projects that provide relevant environmental or social benefits for the country, the ministry stated.

 

By Lucas Morais via Renewables Now

 

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With nearly 700,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, Brazil trails only the U.S. as the most-impacted country, but in pushing to maintain economic activity, leaders have allowed construction to continue.

Projects have not shut down in most of Brazil’s 27 states, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais—its three largest economies.

 

By Augusto Diniz via Engineering News-Record

 

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On May 27, 2020, the Governor of the State of São Paulo, Brazil unveiled the details for reopening the state. The plan, called Conscious Restart, divides the state into 17 areas. Each area can enter into a new reopening phase every 15 days, depending on the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, and the area’s hospital/ICU capacity. Each phase allows certain industries or sectors to restart operations with restrictions, which will be relaxed at each phase. The phases are marked in colors, from red (most restricted) to blue (“controlled normal”).

Starting June 1, 2020, several areas will enter Phase 2 (orange), including the City of São Paulo (but not the adjacent municipalities), as per the chart below:

 

By Renata Neeser Via Littler

 

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June 8 (Renewables Now) – Brazil has avoided more than 515 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions between March 2003 and May 2020 thanks to the use of ethanol, local sugarcane industry association Unica announced on Friday, analysing statistics by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.

 

By Lucas Morais via Renewables Now

 

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Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Brazil has been opening more than one virtual store per minute. In just over two months, 107,000 new establishments were created on e-commerce for different products, such as food, beverages, clothes, shoes and cleaning products, according to a survey carried out by the Brazilian Association of Electronic Commerce (Abcomm), reported by O Estado de S. Paulo.

 

Via LABS

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian sporting goods retailer Centauro priced its shares at 30 reais each in a follow-on offering aimed at raising 900 million reais ($175.84 million) to finance acquisitions, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Shares in Grupo SBF SA (CNTO3.SA), as Centauro is formally known, closed the trading day on Thursday trading at 31.50 reais, which implies investors in the share offering had a roughly 5% discount.

 

By Carolina Mandl via Reuters

 

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Brazil posted a net foreign exchange inflow of US$ 3.1 billion in May, central bank figures showed on Wednesday, its first net inflow since July last year.

The figures showed a surplus of almost US$ 4 billion from trade-related FX contracts and an outflow of US$ 882 million from financial FX contracts, resulting in the biggest monthly inflow since February last year.

 

Via Merco Press

 

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Hard hit Brazil will be the first nation to test the Oxford University vaccine for the new SARS. Two-thousand volunteers working on the front lines against the virus will be chosen for the trial, which will begin in Sāo Paulo this month.

Denis Mizne, executive director of the Lemann Foundation, the group that is financing the São Paulo trials, called it “an important milestone” for Brazil. The Foundation was funded and created by Jorge Paulo Lemann and his family. Lemann became a billionaire thanks to investments in Brazilian beer giant AmBev and Heinz through his private equity firm 3G Capital.

 

By Kenneth Rapoza via Forbes

 

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Nordex has received an order from its new customer, COPEL – Companhia Paranaense de Energia, for the supply and construction of 26 AW132/3465 wind turbines in Brazil. The order also includes the Servicing of the machines, with a contract term of 20 years.

The 90 MW wind farm “Jandaíra Copel” will be built in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, near the city of Jandaíra in eastern Brazil. The Nordex Group will manufacture the 26 turbines at its production facility in Simões Filho. The turbines will be built on 120 metre concrete towers, which the Group will manufacture at its local plant in Areia Branca, not far from the site. The company will also source the rotor blades locally. Completion of the wind farm is planned for 2022.

 

Via Reve

 

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LATAM Cargo in partnership with VTC LOG transported 50 tonnes of essential hospital goods to combat Covid-19 in Roraima, Brazil, on May 29 and 30. In addition, respirators will also be sent to Rondônia.

The transportation was carried out in three flights using Boeing 767 aircraft (a freighter and a passenger airplane adapted for cargo transportation) and Boeing 777 aircraft (also adapted for cargo). They left São Paulo/Guarulhos airport for Manaus, where the cargo will continue its trip in order to be delivered in both states.

 

Via Stat Times

 

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 2020 – Some 2,500 vulnerable and sick older people living in the slums of Brazil’s largest city, received hygiene kits to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Social Territories Programme, implemented by the City of Rio de Janeiro, with the support of UN-Habitat, organized the distribution of the kits in 10 informal settlements known as favelas.

The kits, which include sanitizer, liquid soap, deodorant, shampoo and toothbrushes, donated by UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, were given to older vulnerable people, those who are bedridden and with heart problems in Alemão, Maré, Chapadão, Pedreira ,Vila Kennedy, Lins, Penha, Cidade de Deus, Jacarezinho and Rocinha. The materials were distributed alongside food baskets of staple goods.

 

Via ReliefWeb

 

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The good performance in the production of soy and rice pulled the 1.9% growth of agriculture in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period 2019, according to the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA).

This result, published on Friday (29) by the IBGE, shows that the sector was the only positive performance in the first three months of this year, unlike the Brazilian economy, which fell 0.3% in the first quarter over the same period 2019, reflecting the coronavirus pandemic impacts.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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E-commerce sales in Brazil have achieved an all-time high as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, according to a new study referring to activity during April 2020.

Sales for the month practically doubled, with an increase of 98.74% in April in relation to the same month in 2019. Additionally, there was an 81.64% revenue boost for companies operating in digital sales that same month, according to an index produced by the Brazilian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (BCEC).

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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If you go up Santa Marta hill in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, you get a treat: the most amazing view of the famous statue of Christ and the Sugar Loaf, and you can take a selfie with a statue of Michael Jackson, who filmed parts of his “They Don’t Care About Us” video there. Jackson became possibly the first international superstar to go up the narrow lanes, unpaved passages, and cramped corners of the stacked bare zinc-roof cabins that make up this neighborhood.

Here, like in most favelas in Brazil, public services are all but nonexistent. So when the pandemic hit, a resident decided to act.

 

By Cecilia Tornaghi via Americas Quarterly

 

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São Paulo – The Brazilian 2020-21 sugarcane crop is just beginning but is promising and can allow Brazil to have a large sugar export supply. According to the “Fortnightly Monitoring of the Center-South Region Crop” through May 16 released by the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), the sugarcane grinding through mid-May surpassed 103 million tonnes, up 21.67% from a year ago. Out of this, 45.3% of the processed sugarcane was directed to the sugarcane production, up from 32.19% in the 2019-20 crop. These figures refer to Brazil’s Center-South production, which amounts to 59% of the Brazilian total.

The change in the ethanol-sugar production ratio is related to a change in the market demand. According to Grupo Tereos board member and Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) chairman Jacyr Costa Filho, the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war in early March and the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced oil and gas prices, which affected the ethanol competitiveness. The product is used as a fuel in Brazil. Moreover, the demand for fuels in general has dropped.

 

By Marcos Carrieri via Brazil-Arab News Agency

 

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Investidores de qualquer parte do mundo podem requerer o Visto Golden desde que reúnam os requisitos necessários.

O Visto Golden, igualmente, conhecido como Autorização de Residência para Atividade de Investimento (ARI) foi criado pelo governo Português em 2012. A finalidade do Visto Golden é atrair investidores estrangeiros interessados em investir em Portugal. O Visto Golden possibilita ao investidor e aos seus familiares morar em Portugal, circular pelo espaço Schengen, sem necessidade de visto e, eventualmente, adquirir a nacionalidade portuguesa.

Existem diversas opções para os investidores que desejam aplicar para o Visto Golden, tais como Investimentos Imobiliários no valor igual ou superior a 500.000€; Investimentos de Capitais num valor igual ou superior a 1.000.000€; criação de, pelo menos, 10 postos de trabalho em Portugal entre outras possibilidades.

Quem está apto a requerer o Visto Golden?

Investidores de qualquer parte do mundo podem requerer o Visto Golden desde que reúnam os requisitos necessários para a concessão do Visto e que não tenham restrição dentro do espaço Shenguen e que, igualmente, não tenham antecedentes criminais.

By Ingls Aguiar via CBN Recife.

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The first four months of 2020 were profitable for Brazilian ag exporters. Brazil’s agricultural exports to China were worth $31.4 billion from January through April. MercoPress reports that it marked a 5.9 percent increase year-over-year.

The growth in agricultural exports to China resulted in a more than 11 percent increase in export volume, while the index price actually suffered a drop of 4.7 percent. The Brazilian Department of Trade and International Relations says those sales numbers broke the record for the largest amount ever shipped between January and April.

 

Via Hoosier Ag Today

 

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The Brazil Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cisco via a virtual event on May 27th—the agreement works to boost digitization and accelerate technology skills development in the country. Hosted over Cisco TV, the event included Brazil’s Executive Secretary Julio Semeghini, Secretary of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Paulo Alvim,  and Secretary of Telecommunications Vitor Menezes Minister Marcos Pontes, Secretary Vitor Menezes, Cisco’s Global Innovation Officer Guy Diedrich, SVP and Brazil Country Sponsor John Kern, Cisco President Latin America & SVP in the Americas Jordi Botifoll , and Brazil Country Manager Laercio Albuquerque.

As a part of this agreement, Cisco announced the launch of “Brasil Digital e Inclusivo”, the company’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program that will spur the creation of initiatives and projects in education, healthcare, agribusiness, public safety, cybersecurity, smart cities, energy and manufacturing. Among the initiatives, the program will support Brazilian public healthcare system with telemedicine and remote patient monitoring digital platform, develop new talents in cybersecurity operations through the Cisco Cyber Education Program, help transform education with innovative smart and connected schools, and build an Industry 4.0 Experience Center to be used on professionals training on industrial networking and cybersecurity technologies for Industry 4.0.

 

By Stephanie Chan via Newsroom.cisco.com

 

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Santos — Hydrous ethanol price in Center-South Brazil started an upward price trend on May 13, mostly supported by the increases in the gasoline price ex-refinery and since then is moving up on a daily bases.

The Brazilian ethanol market was hit by the so-called perfect market turmoil, of consumption crises triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse in the international oil prices started on March 8. Both combined facts capped the ethanol price in the weeks prior to the beginning of the new Center-South crop 2020-21, adding a further negative tone for the pricing environment.
By Nicolle Monteiro de Castro via S&P Global Platts

A team of Brazilian girls have turned a school project into an mobile app aimed at confronting the world’s second leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds: suicide.

Generation Z, the generation who began to be born in the mid-nineties, has the highest recorded suicide rate in history, as well as a higher risk for mental illness than the previous generation. Teen girls, in particular, are three times as likely as boys to experience depression.

 

By Andrew Wight via Forbes

 

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Brazil’s worsening Covid-19 crisis is making waves in the commodities world with reduced iron ore shipments from the South American country lifting the price of the steel-making material by 30% to almost $100 a ton.

There could be more to come with some analysts forecasting a return to last year’s peak price of $125/t, an unexpected rise also caused by events in Brazil.

 

By Tim Treadgold via Forbes

 

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The full House approved late on Thursday (21) a bill that creates transitional rules for companies in bankruptcy and also to try to prevent other companies were experiencing difficulties to reach this point, which prior to bankruptcy, informs the “Agency Brazil.” The bill goes to the Senate. The measures cover situations that have occurred since March 20 this year and some are expected to last until the end of the state of public calamity due to pandemic COVID-19, scheduled to end on December 31, 2020. However, the terms do not apply to contracts and obligations of cooperative actions taken by the cooperatives to their members.

By substitute approved by the deputies, for 30 days from the effective date of the future law, are suspended judicial or extrajudicial executions of guarantees, lawsuits involving arrears after March 20, 2020, the declaration of bankruptcy, the unilateral termination or contract review activities. Also, it is suspended for the period, the penalty fee for late payment provided for in contracts in general and those arising from non-payment of taxes.

 

Via Datagro

 

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With the votes of senators on the afternoon of Thursday (21), Congress completed passage of the bill authorizing the executive branch to open additional credit in the amount of R $ 343.6 billion, inform the agencies’ House and Senate ” .

There were 74 votes in favor and none opposed. Most of this money – R $ 213.7 billion – will be used to pay pensions, pensions and other social security benefits. The PLN 8/2020 now goes to presidential approval. In the morning, the deputies approved this project by 451 votes in favor and 1 opposed.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Brazil’s pork exports rose 28.4% in the first 4 months of 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Between January and April 2020, the sector shipped 280,800 tonnes of pork – compared to 218,700 tonnes in the same period of 2019.

Pork exporters all over Brazil earned around US$ 650.3 million in the 1st 4 months, spread out over all types of products. That number is even 53.5% higher than registered for the same period of 2019, when it was US$ 423.6 million.

 

By Danieal Azevedo via Pig Progress

 

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Brazil country-specific exchange traded funds surged Thursday after the Central Bank of Brazil stated its intent to increase support of the real currency and Goldman Sachs argued that this emerging market was a prime cheap opportunity.

Among the best performing non-leveraged ETFs of Thursday, the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (NYSEArca: EWZ), the largest Brazil-related ETF, increased 4.3%.

 

By Max Chen via ETF Trends

 

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BETIM, Brazil (Reuters) – Before going to work these days, employees at the Brazilian unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCHA.MI) have to get a health check using a mobile app every morning.

It is one of several measures the automaker has implemented to fight the novel coronavirus in South America’s top auto producing country. Carmakers in Brazil cautiously restarted production this month, concerned not just about the virus spreading, but also about whether there will be any demand for the cars amid the health crisis.

 

By Washington Alves and Marcelo Rochabrun via Reuters

 

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Videoconferência realizada na quinta-feira passada (14/5) reuniu representantes brasileiros e norte-americanos para a sessão plenária da 18ª edição do Diálogo Comercial Brasil – Estados Unidos. As delegações dos dois países abordaram questões que afetam o comércio de bens e serviços e reafirmaram a importância de remover barreiras não-tarifárias para o crescimento do intercâmbio bilateral.

A delegação brasileira foi chefiada pelo secretário de Comércio Exterior do Ministério da Economia, Lucas Ferraz, que conduziu os trabalhos com o subsecretário de Comércio Internacional do Departamento de Comércio (DoC) dos Estados Unidos, Joseph Semsar. A reunião contou, também, com a participação dos embaixadores do Brasil em Washington, Nestor Forster, e dos Estados Unidos no Brasil, Todd Chapman.

 

Via gov.br

 

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SAO PAULO, May 20 (Reuters) – Bunge’s Brazil unit has signed a contract to acquire two soy crushing plants from Imcopa, according to a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday, marking another step to consolidate its position as Brazil’s largest soybean crusher.

Imcopa, which is operating under bankruptcy court protection, confirmed the signing of the contract and said the aim of the sale is to keep the plants running and protect jobs, according to a separate statement.

 

By Ana Mano via Successful Farming

 

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Brazil is the latest country to embrace open banking, rolling out a new regulation enabling licensed institutions to share customer data.

Under the new rules, banks, payment institutions and others licensed by the Banco Central do Brasil, can share – at the customers’ discretion – registration and transactional data from individuals or legal entities.
Via Finextra

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil recorded a $19.7 billion maritime trade surplus in the first four months of the year as imports by value fell as the real currency weakened and exports of agriculture goods remained strong, a port operators group said on Monday.

The surplus is 14.56% wider than in the same period of 2019 despite the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, which has disrupted transport systems worldwide, said ATP, which represents Brazilian private-sector terminal operators including miner Vale and grain merchant Bunge .

 

By Ana Mano via WHTC

 

Read full article here

Contxto – Yes, yes, you’ve heard it at least a dozen times already. Coronavirus (Covid-19) is accelerating the uprise of e-commerce. But that’s not all.

Self-isolation means users have grasped the utility of ordering something from the comfort of their couch. In addition, they’ve also sought out more meaningful experiences that give them a sense of connection despite being stuck at home. And because of this, Brazilian VTEX, says there’s no going back for businesses, digital or not.

 

Via Contxto

 

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The level of awareness and concerns over data privacy online is growing in Brazil, with more users looking to increase control over how their data is handled, according to new research.

According to a global study on data privacy by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, 74% of Brazilian Internet users polled have reported trying to remove their personal data from websites and social media platforms.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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The Brazilian government has launched a new app that unites the social security card and driving license as part of its digital identification and citizen service delivery plan.

The launch follows a move towards making the social security number the main proof of ID for Brazilians: since last year, it is used to access government services. This includes the emergency aid scheme announced in April for financially vulnerable citizens.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

Read full article here

(Bloomberg) — The rescue package to airlines in Brazil will total about 4 billion reais ($680 million), according to people familiar to the matter.

The package, which was presented to airlines on Wednesday, includes credit from development lender BNDES, which will provide 60%, or no more than 2.4 billion reais, the people said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. Other banks will provide another 10%, or no more than 400 million reais, they said, adding that the companies will have to seek at least the remaining 30%, or 1.2 billion reais, from investment funds via capital markets.

By Cristiane Lucchesi, Felipe Marques and Vinícius Andrade via Yahoo Finance

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Santos — Brazil exported 1.283 million mt of sugar in April, the highest for the month since 2017, as it ramps up sugar production after maximizing ethanol production in the last two seasons (April-March), according to data from shipping agency Williams published Thursday.

The Brazilian sugar line-up as of Wednesday was showing named vessels were expected to export 2.6 million mt up until June 29, more than triple the amount in the same period of both 2019 and 2018, Williams said.

 

By Nicolle Monteiro de Castro via S&P Global Platts

 

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The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) is seeking to evolve its space technology capability and identify new opportunities for new projects that can potentially bring socioeconomic benefits, in areas such as analysis of satellite data.

With a view of identifying opportunities around technology solutions based on space systems and building proximity to the industry to develop projects in the field, the AEB, an autarchy linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC) signed a protocol of intentions with Visiona, , a joint venture between Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer and state-owned telecoms company Telebras.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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Brazil’s soyabean shipments to China hit a monthly record of more than 9m tonnes in April, casting doubt on whether Beijing can meet the first-year targets of its trade deal with Washington.

Soyabeans are at the heart of US-Chinese agricultural trading, accounting for almost two-thirds of American exports to China in 2017, prior to the trade war. In January’s US-China phase one trade agreement Beijing pledged to buy at least $80bn of US agricultural products over two years, including $36.5bn in 2020 — $12.5bn more than it spent in 2017.

 

By Emiko Terazono and Sun Yu via Financial Times

 

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Craig Bell, the co-founder of premium milk company Leitíssimo, likens his product to a time machine. “We have a lot of consumers who told us that ‘this stuff actually tastes nice, this stuff reminds me of my uncle or my granddad or my father’,” he says.

This, he adds, is partly because in a country that has become one of the world’s breadbaskets in recent decades, Brazilians still have a connection to the rural environment.

 

By Andres Schipani via Financial Times

 

Read full article here

For Marcos Toledo, the notion of a “moonshot” should be interpreted differently in Brazil.

While tech giants and scrappy start-ups in the US and China can afford to reach for the stars with ambitious projects like spaceships and autonomous vehicles, Brazilian groups should focus on helping those closer to home, says the managing partner of Canary, a venture capital group in São Paulo.

 

By Bryan Harris via Financial Times

 

Read full article here

São Paulo – Poultry exports from Brazil were up 5.1% year-to-date through April from a year ago, the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) reported.

This was the increase in terms of shipped volume. Year-to-date through April, Brazil exported 1.36 million tonnes of raw and processed poultry, from 1.29 million a year ago.

 

Via Brazil-Arab News Agency

 

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Our members Lefosse Advogados wrote this very interesting piece on transport infrastructure in times of COVID-19. Please see below:

 

As we all know, transport infrastructure utilities are facing a storm. The drastic drop in demand due to the effects of COVID-19 is causing dramatic unprecedented losses. The future looks bleak while the government’s inertia leaves the concessionaires adrift.

 

Read the full article here

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and Bradesco (one of Brazil’s largest banks) are putting together a financing package for the country’s airlines. It is expected that a final agreement will be reached by the end of next week with the disbursement expected to take place in the second half of June. With airlines around the world suffering from decreased demand, they are left to explore various options to raise funds and keep operations going.

 

By Chris Loh via Simple Flying

 

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Brazilian beef exports in 2020 will likely set a new record in terms of volume and value despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, Antônio Camardelli, president of beef group Abiec, said on Thursday.

No beef plants in Brazil were paralyzed because of the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, he said during a live video session, adding that demand from China remained strong.

 

Via Merco Press

 

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Brazil’s Congress on Thursday ratified a landmark constitutional amendment allowing the central bank to begin what is expected to be the emerging market world’s biggest quantitative easing programme to fight the economic hardships of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country’s central bank has until now been banned by law from engaging in monetary financing — essentially buying bonds at government debt auctions — but was allowed to purchase them on the secondary market to provide money supply. Under the new measures, the central bank has been granted crisis-fighting powers to buy a range of private and public assets, including government and corporate bonds, to ensure liquidity and shore up an economy expected to shrink 5.3 per cent in 2020.

 

By Andres Schipani and Bryan Harris via Financial Times

 

Read full article here

Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said that according to initial estimates, the country’s economy would shrink 6% as a result of the recession caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, but now, thanks to the increase in exports to China, expectations are of a retraction of only 4% this year.

“Brazil was going to fall 6%, of which 2% was to be the external shock and 4% due to internal slowing down, although the 2% external shock we anticipate will not be happening”, the minister told a video virtual hearing of the of the Lower House and Senate combined committee that is monitoring and following the COVID-19 situation.

 

Via Merco Press

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, May 6 (Xinhua) — The Monetary Policy Committee of Brazil’s central bank (Copom) announced Wednesday its decision to cut the annual basic interest rate (Selic) from 3.75 to 3.0 percent, the lowest since the country adopted an inflation-targeting framework in 1999.

This has been the seventh consecutive rate cut by the central bank since July last year. The latest cut was made due to the harsh effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Brazilian economy.

 

Via Xinhua Net

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Latin American e-commerce company MercadoLibre is one of the few firms not scaling back spending amid the coronavirus pandemic and plans to move forward with a planned 4 billion reais ($717 million) investment in Brazil this year, an executive told Reuters on Tuesday.

After seeing a sharp drop in demand in the second half of March, the Argentina-based company reported strong sales in April with an increasing number of consumers shopping online while social distancing measures were in place.

 

By Aluisio Alves via WKZO

 

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The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil’s favelas, shantytowns that sprawl around the country’s largest cities, has left the 11.4 million Brazilians living in these densely-populated neighborhoods in a particularly vulnerable position.

In addition to their usual problems — violent shootouts, open sewage, military-style police operations against drug traffickers — they now struggle to embrace social distancing guidelines while living side-by-side in haphazard constructions and crowded homes.

 

By Shannon Sims via Bloomberg

 

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SAO PAULO, May 4 (Reuters) – Brazilian soybean exports in April reached 16.3 million tonnes, an all-time record for a single month and an increase from 9.4 million tonnes in same month last year, according to average daily export data released on Monday by the government.

The previous record was 12.35 million tonnes, set in May 2018. Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of soybeans, had shipped 11.64 million tonnes of soybeans in March, according to government data, as local farmers finish collecting another bumper crop.

 

By Roberto Samora via Successful Farming

 

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São Paulo – Brazil opened up its market to citrus fruit from Egypt. The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply published on April 27 a ruling on the matter in the Federal Gazette. This was the only step pending in the process, as reported by ANBA in early April. As a result, as of this Monday (4) authorization is in place for the shipping of citrus from Egypt to Brazil, in line with requirements agreed upon by Egyptian authorities and Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture (click here for the ruling in Brazilian Portuguese).

 

Via Brazil-Arab News Agency

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s battered retailers are starting to reopen after weeks of coronavirus lockdown but may exit the crisis transformed, with the e-commerce sector strengthened and brick-and-mortar chains facing an uphill path to normality.

That is potential good news for major local online retailers B2W Companhia Digital SA, Magazine Luiza SA and Via Varejo SA, despite increasing competition from international players Mercado Libre and Amazon.com in Latin America’s largest market.

By Gabriela Mello via Yahoo Finance

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Brasilia, May 1, 2020:   The United States is providing US $950,000 (approximately R$ 5.21 million) in new economic support funds to incentivize private sector investments in mitigating non-health COVID-19 impacts on rural and vulnerable urban populations in Brazil with a focus on the Amazon region. This assistance builds upon past U.S. investment in Brazil, which totals more than US $617 million over the past 20 years, including nearly US $103 million for health. These funds will be programmed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), working through its private sector and civil society partners and in coordination with the Brazilian government.

 

Via U.S. Embassies and Consulates in Brazil

 

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SÃO PAULO, Brazil, April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Businesses in Brazil are increasingly turning to Salesforce products to save money while they look for service providers to help consolidate their disparate installations, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2020 ISG Provider LensSalesforce Ecosystem Report for Brazil finds enterprises in Brazil increasingly interested in cloud-based solutions from Salesforce, with the country becoming a fast-growing market for Salesforce products, especially among mid-market customers who are increasingly investing in cloud applications.

Via Yahoo Finance

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The Brazilian guitarist Cainã Cavalcante was gearing up for tours of Cuba, Colombia and the United States when coronavirus struck.

Now, like thousands of musicians in the land of samba and bossa nova, he is in lockdown – trapped at home with six instruments, an empty gig schedule and a burning desire to resist the global health crisis with his strings.

 

By Tom Phillips via The Guardian

 

Read full article here

The week full 47 years, Embrapa launches the first volume of “agricultural dynamics in the cerrado: analysis and projections”. Involved 29 authors from different institutions. The analyzes have considered the period of the past four decades to projections for the next 20 years.

The research that led to the work was coordinated by Embrapa, in collaboration with the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), entitled Agricultural Dynamics in the Cerrado. The result is a retrospect of the region, analysis of challenges and opportunities that can base the decision public and private decision, thus favoring sustainable agricultural development.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Brazil’s JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, has a message for U.S. carnivores: We’ve got you covered.

Amid a rash of slaughterhouse shutdowns in the U.S. related to the coronavirus pandemic, the chief financial officer of JBS said his company can scale up exports from Australia and has idle capacity in Brazil for beef shipments to the U.S.

By Fabiana Batista and Tatiana Freitas via San Antonio Express News

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Lisa Goldman, CPA, TEP, M.Tax | Rebeccah Fontaine, J.D., LL.M of Berdon LLP Beth Tractenberg, J.D. | Zvi Hahn, J.D., LL.M, LL.B. | George McCormick, J.D., LL.M. of Steptoe & Johnson LLP

In our recent advisory—COVID-19 and the Unintended Resident; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly— we alerted non-U.S. citizens unable to leave the United States due to COVID-19 travel disruptions of the potential tax implications of their unintended stay in the country. The IRS apparently heard the call and recently issued Revenue Procedure 2020-20 that provides guidance and relief for foreign individuals and corporations as it pertains to U.S. tax residency.

 

Read the full document here

Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, issued Monday new rules and procedures for deactivating mature oil and natural gas fields that should result in about $5 billion in investments over the next five years as Latin America’s biggest producer shutters legacy assets amid the dramatic economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The measures represent “a benchmark for the industry, with the modernization and simplification of procedures will create new business opportunities and more investment in the country,” the ANP said in a statement.
By Jeff Fick via S&P Global Platts

No dia 24 de abril (sexta-feira) o governo dos Estados Unidos anunciou a retomada do Paycheck Protection Program, iniciativa que já ajudou mais de 1,66 milhão de pequenos empresários e protegeu mais de 30 milhões de empregos no país. Com a nova rodada de fundos disponibilizada pelo Congresso, muitos outros empregadores e empregadores serão beneficiados pela medida de alívio dos impactos ocasionados pela crise do coronavírus.

Além disso, o Setor de Promoção Comercial (SECOM) do Consulado-Geral do Brasil segue atuando em favor dos investimentos e da promoção do comércio de empresários brasileiros nos Estados Unidos, também com o objetivo de contornar os efeitos econômicos da pandemia.

Para explorar mais a fundo as opções disponíveis para empreendedores em território norte-americano, a Drummond Advisors convida o Ministro Fernando Sena, do Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Nova York, para um bate-papo esclarecedor sobre as ações que vêm sendo tomadas para auxiliar empresários a atravessar as próximas semanas de incerteza.

Convidado Especial: Ministro Fernando Sena – Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Nova York

O webinar é gratuito e contará com os experts do Time Drummond respondendo suas dúvidas sobre essas iniciativas ao vivo. 

29 de abril, 2020 –  05:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Inscreva-se aqui.

 

The Federal Government issued another set of rules to facilitate access to credit and minimize the economic effects of the pandemic COVID-19, informs the “Agency Senate.”

MP

According to the Provisional Measure 958/2020 published in the Official Gazette (DOU) on Monday (27), it was determined that until September 30, 2020, public banks are not required to fulfill certain obligations in time to renew and new loans. Before the MP, for example, without proof that the person voted in the last election, it was paid their fine or that if properly justified, the voter could not borrow to financial institutions. Now, such a requirement is temporarily suspended.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

The release of working capital facilities to companies affected by coronavirus pandemic totaled R $ 1.1 billion, today reported on Thursday (23) the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), informs the “Agency Brazil” . The amount is equivalent to 22% of R credit line of $ 5 billion announced last month to help micro, small and medium enterprises.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

São Paulo – Amid the crisis wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has countries around the world embracing self-isolation among other measures, Brazil stepped up its imports in some sectors this month. Foreign purchases went up for items including sanitary equipment and accessories, livestock, pipes, tubes and hoses, wheat, coal, fertilizers, taps, ethylene polymers and electric generators.

 

Via Brazil-Arab News Agency

 

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Module-level technologies are driving strong efficiency readings within Brazil’s portfolio of solar projects, data from the country’s industry regulator is finding.

GCL SI expects the market to rebound from any lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the market boasting a strong pipeline of projects and appetite for solar PV.

 

Via PV Tech

 

Read full article here

Our member Littler Mendelson PC is offering important tips to help employers navigate the Covid 19 pandemic.

As the federal, state, and local governments are starting to unveil their return-to-work plans, employers are anxious to resume operations and get employees back to the workplace. At Littler, we understand that the “next normal” looks different for every organization, each with its own unique workforce, business goals, and concerns. To address these and other issues stemming from the current pandemic, Littler continues to build on its COVID‑19 offerings through comprehensive resources that can help employers start the return-to-work conversation.

 

Access all of the resources here

The “Brazil – Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband – Statistics and Analyses” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.

The Brazilian fixed-line market continues to suffer from consumers substituting services for mobile and VoIP solutions, the latter offerings being treated as value-add and thus not being regulated. As a result, VoIP services are offered by many providers.

Via Yahoo Finance

Read full article here

The closure of the borders to contain the spread of COVID-19 has impacted not only tourism and business travel, but also international trade & supply chain.

Law firm Baker McKenzie recently estimated global trade fell 4 per cent during the first quarter of this year – only the second time it has plunged so deeply since the mid-1980s. The IMF predicts imports and exports in advanced economies will each fall by more than 11 per cent this year, “far worse” than the 2008-09 financial crisis. An idled economy needs far less transportation capacity, and a massive idling of ships, trucks and airplanes is already under way. But modern countries still require fertilizers, grains and food. They still need disinfectants to treat drinking water. The products still wanted and needed by consumers is moving through transportation networks that have become far more unpredictable and unreliable – leading to logistical nightmares and increased costs.

Of all the major modes of transport, air cargo seems to have been most affected. That’s because passenger aircraft carry large volumes in their holds – meaning that the suspension of passenger flights globally has resulted in a significant reduction of airfreight capacity, posing a massive challenge in the timely delivery of all types of cargo, especially refrigerated cargo.

Freight forwarders, which facilitate the movements of goods worldwide, are among the many parties grappling with this logistical whiplash. The constant changes in rates and frequent frequent last-minute cancellations are forcing them to search for alternative ways to ship goods.

Join the Brazilian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce this Friday, April 24th at 1:00 PM for a conversation with Arnon Melo, President at MELLOHAWK Logistics to understand what are the available solutions for companies looking to move reefer cargo between Brazil and Canada.

Register here.

 

SAO PAULO, April 20 (Xinhua) — Chinese truck maker Foton is moving to online sales in Brazil, due to an expected rise in demand for light commercial vehicles driven by the boom in online sales and home delivery services.

“Due to the lockdown, online sales have become more important, and that is a trend that is here to stay,” said Luiz Carlos Mendonca de Barros, president of Foton’s board of directors in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, in an interview with Xinhua.

 

Via Xinhua Net

 

Read full article here

Quem está fora do Brasil durante a pandemia se vê cercado por dúvidas sobre como proceder com questões imigratórias, onde obter informações específicas para expatriados, como obter auxílio financeiro e benefícios trabalhistas em meio à crise, entre tantas outras providências que devem ser tomadas para enfrentamento desse cenário inédito.

Para ajudar brasileiros na região de Nova York a tomarem decisões bem informadas em tempos de COVID-19, a Drummond Advisors se une ao Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Nova York e ao Grupo Mulheres do Brasil – Núcleo Nova Iorque em um webinar esclarecedor com orientações e recursos para enfrentar as próximas semanas.

O bate-papo vai explorar os serviços consulares emergenciais disponíveis aos brasileiros, impactos do coronavírus sobre a imigração e novos regulamentos em vigor, projetos voluntários para assistir a comunidade brasileira nos EUA, e o pacote de estímulo do governo americano (Cares Act).

Apr 23, 2020 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Inscreva-se!

 

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) said on Monday it will keep its factories in Brazil, South America’s top auto producer, shut through the end of the month, but that a decision has not been made on whether it will reopen them in May or later.

The automaker has just reached a tentative deal with its unions that will keep workers net salaries intact, Volkswagen said. Gross salaries will be reduced but Brazil’s government will help make up the difference with subsidies.

 

By Marcelo Rochabrun via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil appears set to embark cautiously on unconventional monetary policy using small interventions to tackle dysfunction in bond markets, as it does with foreign exchange, but the severity of the crisis may ultimately force it to emulate the dramatic steps taken in the United States and Europe.

Congress is debating a bill to grant the central bank emergency powers to carry out “quantitative easing” or QE as part of its crisis-fighting arsenal, allowing it to buy public and private financial assets during national emergencies.

By Jamie McGeever via Yahoo Finance

Read full article here

The Brazilian agribusiness exports to China are and [will] be preserved, says the study “Prospects of China’s economic development post-covid-19 and impacts on the Brazilian economy,” prepared by Inovasia Consulting. “We have not detected by China retreat requests to agricultural product orders from Brazil,” says Felipe Zmoginski, survey coordinator.

The survey was conducted between the months of February and March with interviews collected in China and use of data from Tsinghua University and the National Statistics Office of China. According to Zmoginski, the food chain has been little affected in China, with importers seeking to anticipate any supply problem.

 

By DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

SAO PAULO, April 15 (Reuters) – MercadoLibre’s financial services arm, Mercado Pago, is extending a 600 million-real ($114 million) credit line to help Brazilian medium and small businesses face the sharp drop in economic activity caused by the new coronavirus crisis.

“We aim to help sellers in our platform, mainly small businesses,” said Pedro de Paula, head of Brazil credit at MercadoLibre, an operator of online marketplaces.

 

By Aluisio Alves via Reuters

 

Read full article here

Published in an extra edition of the 22nd March 2020, Provisional Measure (MP) No. 927/20 regulates the adjustments in the labor laws announced by the government to minimize the impact of the declared public emergency until December 31, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The rule establishes that, during this period, the agreement between employer and employee will prevail over any other legal act, provided that the agreement is signed in writing, aimed at maintaining employment and obey the limits provided for in the Federal Constitution.

 

Read the full document here

BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Economy Ministry is talking with banks about providing bailouts to sectors such as airlines, automakers, power companies and large retailers to help them survive the coronavirus crisis, bank executives confirmed on Wednesday in live presentations.

Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that Brazil’s biggest lenders – such as Banco Bradesco, Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB4.SA), Banco Santander Brasil and Banco do Brasil SA (BBAS3.SA) – have discussed with the country’s central bank and development bank BNDES how and which financial instruments could be used to rescue embattled companies.

 

By Marcela Ayres and Carolina Mandl via Reuters

 

Read full article here

The Central Bank of Brazil has kicked off a new phase in the testing process for Pix, the upcoming national instant payments platform, with the simulation of transfers.

The tests of the technology underpinning the settlement infrastructure will see participating institutions testing their settlement flows, so the process where resources are transferred from the payer to the recipient, with fictitious data.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

China launched an online fair for 15 days on Tuesday (14) to promote cooperation between Chinese and Latin American companies, reports “Xinhua” agency. The digital display of international trade China-Latin America (Mexico), sponsored by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPCI), attracted around 2000 domestic companies and about 5000 foreign buyers.

The exhibition is closely monitoring the market demand in Latin America and offers the online trading opportunities companies and precise partnership services through big data, said Gao Yan, head of CCPCI.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO — When 97-year-old Brazilian Gina Dal Colleto was hospitalized on April 1 with coronavirus symptoms, few could have thought she would survive the deadly virus.

On Sunday, however, Dal Colleto was pushed in a wheelchair out of Sao Paulo’s Vila Nova Star hospital to applause from doctors and nurses, becoming the oldest known survivor of COVID-19 in Brazil, the Latin American country worst-hit by the outbreak.

 

Via NBC News

 

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A pandemia causada pelo coronavírus está acelerando alguns projetos que já tinham sido iniciados recentemente. Como o Delivery Robô, do Grupo de Mobilidade Inteligente da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (USP), que começou a ser projetado em julho de 2019 para realizar serviços de separação e entrega de medicamentos a pacientes e exames laboratoriais e até limpeza e esterilização do Hospital Universitário da USP, o HU.  Sua implementação pode resultar em um saldo menor de doentes e óbitos entre os profissionais da saúde.

 

By Deborah Moreira via SEESP

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO —  Netflix announced Tuesday April 14, the creation of a 5 million reals ($1 million) fund to support local below-the-line production employees and free-lancers not able to work due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The aid will be distributed by the Brazilian Institute of Audiovisual Content (ICAB), an arm of leading industry organization Brazil Audiovisual Independent (BRAVI). It will help up to 5,000 workers with one part of the local monthly minimum wage of US$200. It targets personnel involved in production tasks, such as cinematography, sound, art design, makeup, scenography, and logistics.

 

By Marcelo Cajueiro via Variety

 

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The Plenary of the House of Representatives approved on Monday (13), Union financial assistance to states, Federal District and municipalities to offset the revenue loss of ICMS and ISS this year compared to 2019. The decrease is forecast pandemic caused by COVID-19. The text (Project of Complementary Law 149/19) will be sent to the Senate, reports the “Agency Board”.

The matter was approved by 431 votes to 70, in the form of substitute Pedro Paulo deputy (DEM-RJ), and provides that the money should be used in actions against the coronavirus. The funds will be delivered from May to October and refer to the collection of difference, if any, between the months from April to September of both years. Thus, for example, in September is not observed drop in income, no pass.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Sao Paulo, the state at the epicenter of Brazil’s coronavirus cases, is using geo-referenced data provided by the nation’s main telecom firms to monitor the adherence to quarantine measures.

The government is now able to monitor areas where there’s greater movement and concentration of people so it can step in and reinforce the need for social distancing, state secretary for economic development Patricia Ellen said in a press conference Thursday. Firms providing data include Telefonica SA and Telecom Italia SpA’s Brazilian units, as well as Claro SA and Oi SA. The government doesn’t have access to individualized data to protect people’s privacy, she added.

 

By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

 

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Homebound the past few weeks, what I miss is pretty straightforward: I want to see friends again, go to galleries, visit my favorite Mexican restaurant. But every so often I find myself lingering on more grandiose possibilities, topmost of which is a trip to Inhotim, a 250-acre sculpture park about an hour and a half’s drive from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Full disclosure: I’m partially motivated by regret. As the Bloomberg Pursuits arts writer, I get to travel a lot for my job, and while far-flung art fairs and biennials can be eye-opening, I find that at these events I spend more time with the so-called art world than the art itself. That was one of the reasons I pitched a straightforward piece on Brazil’s art scene—no mention of commerce needed.

 

By James Tarmy via Bloomberg

 

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In December 2019 the group of collaborating economists released a paper stating that the value of all great whales worldwide is approximately one trillion US dollars.

 

Via Oceanographic

 

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Brazil is home to 13% of the world’s forested area.

But in recent years the country has seen a huge increase in deforestation due to land use change and agriculture.

While the largest proportions of greenhouse gas emissions in other countries comes from the energy and transport sector, in Brazil deforestation is a huge emitter.

 

By Barbara Brakarz via Climate Home News

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA – Brazil’s health minister said on Wednesday that the country’s attempts to purchase thousands of ventilators from China to fight a growing coronavirus epidemic had fallen through and the government is now looking to Brazilian companies to build the devices.

“Practically all our purchases of equipment in China are not being confirmed,” Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said at a news conference.

 

Via Voa News

 

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São Paulo – Egypt has accredited 42 new Brazilian companies to export meat to its market. The plants are 15 beef packers and 27 poultry packers that can now sell to the Arab country after Egypt’s General Organization for Veterinary Services issued the accreditation on March 31.

The agricultural attaché of the Embassy of Brazil to Cairo, Cesar Simas Teles, told ANBA the Arab country has also renewed the accreditation of 95 exporters that were already in the marketing, including 82 bovine slaughterhouses. According to Teles, the negotiation for the new accreditations involved the Secretariat of Trade and Foreign Relations and the Secretariat of Agricultural Defense of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, as well as Brazil’s Embassy in Egypt and Egyptian health offices.

 

By Thais Sousa via Brazil-Arab News Agency

 

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The coronavirus should affect all sectors of the economy, but, among all, one has advantage and should come out unscathed from the crisis: agribusiness. The statement is the professor and expert in the field FECAP José Luiz Tejon Megiddo.

According Tejon, the macro sector of agribusiness moves about U $$ 20 trillion in global market including the entire production chain of “before, in and post-gate” of the farms. And, in his evaluation, with high commodity prices and the dollar, they are great prospects for Brazil.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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BRASILIA, April 7 (Reuters) – Retail sales in Brazil surged in February, recording their biggest rise for that month in six years, with consumers’ urge to spend yet to be affected by the looming coronavirus crisis, official figures showed on Tuesday.

Sales volumes excluding cars and building materials jumped 1.2% in February from January, government statistics agency IBGE said, much stronger than the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists of a 0.3% decline.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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Quero supports private education providers through crisis

Private higher education firms are expected to see a 20% revenue drop in the period between June and September this year, according to Quero Educação, a Brazilian startup that provides technology to the sector. The edtech, owner of a marketplace that connects students to private education providers, predicts a greater number of students won’t manage to keep up their financial commitments in education over the period, compared to the same period in 2019.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

Read full article here

Brazil has launched a blockchain platform that will allow its three main market regulators to share information seamlessly. The platform is known as PIER and was launched jointly by the Securities and Exchanges Commission (CVM), the private insurance superintendent (SUSEP) and the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB).

While announcing the big move, the CVM stated that the use of blockchain technology is a leap in quality for information security in Brazil. PIER will make access of information siloed by the three institutions safer, broader and more direct, an analyst with the CVM, Frederico Shu stated.

 

By Steve Kaaru via Coin Geek

 

Read full article here

Residents are still running errands, and motorbikes are still weaving through traffic on the narrow, busy streets. Some shops have closed – but many are very much open, despite a state-wide quarantine. When people here live hand-to-mouth, how do you tell them to shut up shop?

Covid-19 is seen by many in favelas as a rich person’s disease brought in from abroad, but as the virus spreads, they worry that the poor will suffer the most.

 

By Katy Watson via BBC News

 

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Gathered in session of Congress on Thursday (02), Senators approved with 78 votes in favor and none opposed the bill that regulates the execution of impositive amendments to the budget (PLN 2/2020), informs the “Agency Senate”.

Moreover, the text was changed to allow the federal government has budgetary margin to increase spending to deal with the economic consequences, social and health pandemic COVID-19, a disease caused by a new coronavirus. Before the senators, federal deputies had approved the project in the morning, early in the virtual session of Congress by 441 votes in favor and 1 opposed. The PLN 2/2020 goes to presidential approval.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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As Brazilian companies adapt to new ways of working due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff are managing to do their jobs remotely, but other areas of people management are being impacted as companies don’t know how to handle certain processes away from the office.

A significant number of Brazilian medium and large-sized organizations had to improvise as employers shut offices down to slow the spread of coronavirus. Some 41% of 240 respondents polled by recruitment consultancy Robert Half said employers rushed to put policies together in the last minute to respond to quarantine measures introduced in states across the country between March 18 and 19.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA, April 1 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government on Wednesday launched a program that will allow companies hit by the coronavirus crisis to reduce workers’ salaries and hours, or temporarily suspend contracts, in order to preserve as many jobs as possible.

The program could potentially help save up to 12 million jobs, according to Economy Ministry estimates, and will cost the Treasury 51 billion reais ($10 billion).

By Marcela Ayres and Gabriel Ponte via Yahoo Finance

Read full article here

Our fellow Eduarda Zoghbi has created a platform for women empowerment that produces regular content in the form of podcasts.

“We strive to create a platform for dialogue among women from around the world. Our focus is on women change makers, their experiences and stories, and sharing it globally with our podcast.”

 

Click here to visit the website

The audit of imports of plant products and by-products is already being processed in a single system the federal government: the Single Foreign Trade Portal. The system enables a safer and more responsive control of imports.

It is a concerted effort between the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Supply and the Ministry of Economy, with the aim of reducing bureaucracy in Brazilian ports, promoting the facilitation of international trade insurance.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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The Senate approved on Monday (30) the payment of an emergency aid for three months in the amount of R $ 600, for the self-employed, informal and without fixed income workers, reports the “Agency Brazil.” Called “coronavoucher”, help comes to repair the losses of income for some slices of society during the period of isolation when job opportunities for these categories are scarce.

The approval was unanimous, with 79 votes in favor and support of the opposition senators and the government. The PSL leader in the Senate, Major Olimpio (SP), was one of several parliamentarians who have spoken. “We are in need of such initiatives in the vein inject money for citizens buy food and survive this calamity. The first time that money will come into the hand of the people will be in this project. It calamity, people are in need. ”

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO, March 30 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government is considering an emergency loan package for energy distributors struggling with lower energy use and facing lost revenues because of the coronavirus outbreak, an industry group told Reuters on Monday.

Marcos Madureira, president of Brazilian energy distributors association Abradee, said the package being negotiated by companies and the government could involve loans from state development bank BNDES or a pool of banks, but that the value of the loans and other details was not yet settled

 

By Luciano Costa via Reuters

 

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Governments across Brazil are looking to roll out a system developed that uses geolocation tracking to support actions around the lockdowns intended to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Brazilian startup InLoco develops the geolocation technology, which is normally used by companies from sectors such as retail, to securely target and engage with users without the need to share personal information. Users are geotracked through a location map that doesn’t use GPS or beacons, which InLoco claims to be 30 times more accurate than GPS.

 

By Angelica Mari Via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

Acting in defense of rights is hard work, which requires full dedication and commitment. Fundação Abrinq knows that if you have focus and passion, it is possible to make a difference and bring opportunities for thousands of children. 

Fundação Abrinq believes in a fairer world, and it was with that in mind the operations were conducted last year. With your feet on the ground, impacting one life at a time, transforming one history at a time; that is how Fundação Abrinq will continue working to ensure a more sensible society when it comes to helping those who most need support and protection: children and adolescents.

Meet Fundação Abrinq

As you approach the city of Sobral in north-east Brazil, the road worsens. Huge pot holes slow traffic to a crawl. The heat is suffocating, even worse when there is no cloud cover.

Sobral is poor. Jobs are scarce, salaries meagre, gangs the only option for many. For children, it’s a tough start to life. Ana Farias, headteacher of an early-years school in a low-income neighbourhood controlled by a gang, knows this only too well. Some of her students wouldn’t eat if it were not for free school meals.

 

By Sarah Johnson via The Guardian

 

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SAO PAULO, March 26 (Reuters) – Brazil’s monetary council on Thursday said the country’s fintechs will be able to obtain funding from development bank BNDES, as their usual financing channels have dried up due to coronavirus-linked market tensions.

The authority also said that fintechs will be allowed to issue credit cards as an alternative source of revenue.

 

By Carolina Mandl via Nasdaq

 

Read full article here

With the diagnosis that the encouragement of industry export capacity is essential for the recovery of the Brazilian economy, the National Industry Confederation (CNI) asked the government to draw up a national strategy for foreign trade, informs the “Agency Brazil.” It said foreign sales are one of the few engines for the resumption of growth will remain after the end of the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus covid-19.

The suggestion contained in the 5th edition of the International Agency of Industry, released on Wednesday (25) by CNI. The document lists 109 actions suggestions for the government and the entity itself, divided into four areas: trade policy, to support the internationalization services, actions in strategic markets and international cooperation.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Dear Members:

 

The Board of Directors of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce hereby welcomes and congratulates, as new President & Chairperson of the Board, Simoni Morato, Chief Executive Officer & Senior Executive Vice President, Safra National Bank of New York (bio attached).  Ms. Morato was unanimously elected by the Board of Directors to serve in this role on March 24, 2020.  Her leadership and insight will be integral to developing strategies and policies that pave the way for the future of the Chamber and further its mission of promoting trade, investment, and cultural ties between Brazil and the United States.

 

The Chamber also welcomes, as new Vice President, Amadeu C. Ribeiro, Partner, Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados LLP.

 

As newly-elected Directors, the Chamber congratulates:

 

Daniel Almeida Bogado Leite, Banco do Brasil

Elizabeth Madigan Jost, Morgan Stanley

Paula Kovarsky, Cosan Limited

William Landers, BTG Pactual

Renata Neeser, Littler Mendelson P.C.

Sandy Salgado, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

Helio Shinohara, Caixa Econômica Federal

Arnoldo Wald Filho, Wald, Antunes, Vita, Longo e Blattner Advogados

 

As re-elected Directors, the Chamber congratulates:

 

Marco Antonio Achon, Banco Santander S.A.

Marcio M. S. Baptista, TozziniFreire Advogados

Celso V.  Barison, Citrus Products, Inc.

Henry G. Burnett, King & Spalding LLP

Roberto De Paula, Royal Consulting, Inc.

Karyn K. Koiffman, Akerman LLP

G. Edward Montero, UBS

Francesca L. Odell, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Natalia Quesada, American Airlines

Gabrielle Trebat, McLarty Associates

 

Newly elected to the Executive Committee include, as Past Presidents, Alexandre Bettamio, Chief Executive Officer & President of Latin America Division, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Theodore M. Helms, former Executive Manager, Investor Relations, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – PETROBRAS and former Executive Director of the Chamber; as Vice President, Amadeu C. Ribeiro, Partner, Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados LLP; and as Members, Francesca L. Odell, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, and Paulo Vieira da Cunha, Partner, VERBANK Consulting, LLC.

 

Alexandre Bettamio was also elected as Co-Chairperson of the Awards Committee.

 

The Chamber hereby extends a warm congratulations to all now serving on its Board of Directors!

 

Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

 

Please find Simoni Morato’s biography here

The COVID-19 crisis will likely result in the postponement of the go-live date for Brazil’s general data protection regulations. According to industry observers, the pandemic is seen as a fair justification to delay the go-live date for the regulations, which are due to be enforced in August 2020.

A bill authored by congressman Carlos Bezerra presented in November 2019 had already proposed pushing the go-live date for the rules to August 15, 2022. In his proposal to delay the introduction of Brazil’s GDPR, Bezerra used the slowness in setting up the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD, in the Portuguese acronym), which will be responsible for editing the data protection and privacy regulations, as a key part of the argument.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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The Ministry of Infrastructure announced on Monday (23) that the folder will work together with the governors of the states of South and Southeast to avoid local decisions which determine the blocking of roads as containment measure of the spread of the new coronavirus, informs the “Agency Brazil.” The subject was treated in videoconference between the Minister Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas and the governors of the Consortium of South and Southeast Integration (Cosud).

According to the ministry, there was consensus that state decrees shall ensure the free movement of cargo transportation and the operation of services of tire stores, auto repair shops, restaurants and eateries along the highways.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) published two more ordinances framework of priority projects in the biofuels sector, aiming at issuing debentures encouraged. The measure encourages the expansion of investment by raising funds for infrastructure projects aimed at implementation, expansion, maintenance, recovery, adaptation or modernization of enterprises with tax breaks for investors and encouraging the growth of employment and income in the industry .

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO, March 23 (Reuters) – Brazilian wireless carrier TIM Participacoes SA said on Monday it has partnered with Rio de Janeiro’s city hall for data analysis that will allow authorities to track displacement and concentration of people in areas affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement, the local subsidiary of Telecom Italia SpA added it will use its antennas spread across Rio de Janeiro to provide real-time data on people’s displacement throughout the city.

 

By Gabriela Mello via Reuters via Reuters

 

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Agriculture Ministers from various countries in South America participated in this Monday (23) at the invitation of Tereza Cristina Minister, in a video conference to discuss the harmonization of standards and ensuring a smooth transit of goods and food supplies in the region during coronavirus pandemic. “It is essential to our alignment at the highest level policy, which should also be reflected in agile and clear instructions for the operational plan, especially for the tip, border authorities,” he said the Brazilian minister.

They participated in the virtual meeting with Tereza Cristina ministers Luis Eugenio Basterra (Argentina), Antonio Walker homage (Chile), Rodolfo Max Friedmann Alfaro (Paraguay), Carlos Maria Uriarte (Uruguay), Jorge Luis Montenegro Chavesta (Peru) and Beatriz Eliane Capobiano Sandoval (Bolivia), as well as representatives of the Brazilian ministries of Infrastructure and Foreign Affairs.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) – Brazilian mills are expected to make a sharp switch from ethanol to sugar production in the new season kicking off in the world’s largest sugarcane producer, as falling gasoline prices and a weak currency reduce the biofuel’s appeal, analysts said.

Mills in Brazil have the flexibility to partially switch cane toward sugar or ethanol production, depending on market prices. For the last two years, they have allocated an all-time low amount of cane for sugar, around 34%, as ethanol gave them higher returns.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira via Nasdaq

 

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) poses particular concerns for employers for several reasons, beyond the obvious need to protect employees who may be at risk and the need to address employee concerns: coronavirus might be transmittable in the workplace, and is serious; the incubation period after exposure but before symptoms appear is believed to be a minimum of several days; and early symptoms can mimic less severe respiratory problems, such as the flu.

We hope this page provides a useful resource for employers to learn how COVID-19 is affecting various aspects of employment law, and how different jurisdictions are addressing the outbreak. Because the COVID-19 situation is dynamic, with new governmental measures each day, employers should consult with counsel for the latest developments and updated guidance on this topic. 

 

More Information

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc., we regretfully inform you of the passing, on March 19, 2020 at the age of 99, of Sheun Ming Ling, President Emeritus of the Board of Directors of Évora S.A. and Founder of Instituto Ling, a longtime and valued partner of the Chamber.

With no formal education and few resources, Mr. Ling migrated from China to Brazil in 1951.  Shortly thereafter, he set off on an entrepreneurial journey that jumpstarted Brazil’s soy industry, creating Évora S.A.  In 1995, Mr. Ling and his wife, Lydia Wong Ling, founded Instituto Ling, a philanthropic entity that has provided 772 students, many of whom are Person of the Year Fellows, with educational scholarships.

Mr. Ling is survived by Lydia, to whom he was married for 66 years, four children, and nine grandchildren.  More information on Sheun Ming Ling’s great life and career can be found here.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) will work jointly to provide greater legal certainty and speed the implementation of public policies folder.

The cooperation agreement was signed on Tuesday (17) between the Minister Tereza Cristina and Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras. The partnership between the two bodies had already been signed in previous years, with the development of similar actions. However, with expansion of map structure, the current government, the agreement was renewed.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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With the increase of cases of contamination by the new coronavirus in Brazil, Companhia de Bebidas das Americas (AmBev) announced on Tuesday (17) that is producing alcohol gel to distribute 500,000 bottles to municipal hospitals in the cities of São Paulo , Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, where cities are concentrated the majority of cases of the disease so far, informs the “Agency Brazil.”

 

By DATAGRO

 

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The Central Bank of Brazil has launched its standard for QR Codes, to universalize cashless payments in the country. The new standard will become mandatory in September 2020.

“The new rules aim to increase transparency for end-users, both payers and recipients, by expanding and improving access to information and, thus, creating a pro-competitive environment in the Brazilian Payment System”, said the Central Bank, in a statement.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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Golar Power Limited has signed a “protocol of intentions” with the government of Brazil’s Pernambuco state to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the Port of Suape in northeastern Brazil, Golar LNG reported Monday.

Golar Power is a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Golar LNG and the private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, according to Stonepeak’s website.

 

By Matthew V. Veazey via RigZone

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Lua has a hungry look on her face as she holds her new book on Nelson Mandela, one of thousands the precocious 12-year-old has amassed for her new library in a poor Brazilian favela.

“I don’t read books. I devour them,” she says in Rio de Janeiro’s Tabajaras neighborhood, a shantytown perched in the hills overlooking the chic districts of Copacabana and Botafogo.

 

By Agence France-Presse via Rappler.com

 

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Artificial intelligence (AI) programs are already making decisions in different judicial processes. In these cases, legal professionals check and then confirm the guidelines suggested by the software.

AI also already performs actions such as reading, interpreting, selecting, and drafting legal documents, changing the profile of activities in courts and law firms.

 

By Flávio Ferreira via Folha de S. Paulo

 

Read full article here

The estimated gross revenue from all Brazilian crops, with reference to average prices received by producers in January, is estimated for 2020 at $ 438 billion, reports the “Embrapa”.

In calculating this amount, it is established a ranking of five products, it finds that the first figure soybean, R $ 158.6 billion, which corresponds to 36% of the said value; corn, second, with R $ 72.7 billion (15.5%); followed by sugarcane with R $ 59.16 billion (13.5%); upland cotton with R $ 41.4 billion (9.5%) in fourth place; and finally, billing the Cafés do Brazil, fifth place in the ranking, with R $ 25.06 billion, a figure equivalent to 5.7% of all crops. Thus, the estimated revenue from the coffee crop for this year represents an increase of approximately 25% compared to 2019 revenues, which reached R $ 19.94 billion.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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The month of February recorded that ethanol sales by mills in the South-Central region totaled 2.40 billion liters, with 2.28 billion liters for the domestic market and 120.79 million liters for export.

The export volume represents an increase of 41.40% over February 2019 (85.42 million liters), with 99.49 million liters sold in the last half of the month.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has registered a blockchain-based system patent in Brazil under the category of “insurance,” “financial business” and “monetary business,” according to the March 10th edition of the Industrial Property Magazine (NPI).

As reported by the NPI, the name of the mechanism is “Ant Unicorn.”

By Felipe Erazo via Cointelegraph

Read full article here

The opportunity to expand the ethanol consumption in the world is primarily linked to its use as an additive in the mix of fossil fuels, for example, in gasoline. This was underlined by the president of Unica, Evandro Gussi in “Opening Safra Cana, Sugar and Ethanol 2020/21 Santander DATAGRO” on Wednesday (11) in Ribeirão Preto (SP).

According to him, who recently made a tour of Asian countries [India, Thailand and Afghanistan] in order to delve into the reality of these markets biofuels, ethanol is in absolute harmony with the global agenda for decarbonisation. “The world wants to decarbonisation, but does not yet know the ethanol potential for it. In this regard, the electric car, which does not deliver what it promises in environmental terms, has been gaining in the field of communication. ”

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of agribusiness grew 3.81% in 2019 compared to 2018 and represented 21.4% of total GDP of the country last year, according to publication of the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), Center of Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea) and Agrarian Studies Foundation Luiz de Queiroz (FEALQ).

Services (6.77%), raw materials (5.54%) and agricultural industry (4.99%) grew in 2019. The primary sector was down 3.03%, pushed down by agriculture. “From the perspective of the branches, it is noted that, in 2019, agribusiness was driven by the excellent performance of the livestock sector, while the agricultural industry receded,” says the publication.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

Brazil’s soybean output in the current 2019-20 season is expected to reach a 126mn t record, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said today, in a 1mn t upward revision from last month’s forecast.

The estimate, if accurate, would represent a nearly 8pc increase from the prior year, according to USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (Wasde) report.

 

By José Roberto Gomes via Argus Media

 

Read full article here

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Heineken NV (HEIN.AS) will invest 865 million reais ($183.14 million) to expand its Ponta Grossa brewing plant in Brazil, the company said on Monday, as competition between the world’s two largest beer makers bubbles up.

The Dutch brewer will make the investment this year and next and focus on it Heineken and Amstel brands at the third-largest brewing facility in Parana state in Brazil, its most important market worldwide.

 

By Alberto Alerigi via Reuters

 

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Interested to strengthen the economic partnership between Brazil and the United States, the Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donaldo Trump instructed their negotiators to intensify the discussions prior to the possible signing of a bilateral trade package. The information was confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the folder, the intention is that an agreement will be signed later this year.

Bolsonaro and Trump met on Saturday night (07), during a dinner at a resort belonging to the very head of the US Executive, located in Palm Beach, Florida, announces the “Agency Brazil.”

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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(Reuters) – Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) said on Wednesday it was testing in Brazil a new type of tweet that disappears after 24 hours, similar to the stories feature popular on Snapchat (SNAP.N) and Facebook’s (FB.O) photo-sharing app Instagram.

Called ‘fleets’, the vanishing messages can be viewed by tapping on a user’s profile picture. They do not appear on the user’s timeline or receive retweets, likes or public replies, Kayvon Beykpour, the company’s product lead, said on Twitter.

 

By Ankit Ajmera and Katie Paul via Reuters

 

Read full article here

 

 

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF/BRASILIA, March 5 (Reuters) – A consortium formed by Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG TKAG.DE and Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA EMBR3.SA signed a deal on Thursday to deliver four frigates to Brazil’s navy between 2025 and 2028, the companies said in a statement.

The contract signed in Rio de Janeiro is part of Brazil’s drive to modernize its navy so it can patrol off-shore resources in the Atlantic, such as Brazil’s vast pre-salt oil reserves.

 

By Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff via Nasdaq

 

Read full article here

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA and state development bank BNDES are planning a simultaneous listing of JBS international operations in the United States and the sale of the bank’s stake in the company, five sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Sources close to the company say JBS is working on a transaction that is different from the one proposed in 2016.

 

By Tatiana Bautzer, Aluisio Alves and Carolina Mandl via WHBL

 

Read full article here

Join WE NYC and the Consulate General of Brazil in New York for this WE Master Leadership Conference!

This event is designed for women entrepreneurs with a goal of starting or growing a business in the United States. We will help you gain the critical management skills needed to start, operate, and grow a successful business.

*Please note the panel will be in Portuguese and the talks in English. For the talks, consecutive interpretation to Portuguese will be provided by Patricia Vittorazzi from New York Step-by-Step on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

The day will feature:

  • A thought-provoking panel discussion (in Portuguese) with successful Brazilian women entrepreneurs who will talk about the lessons they have learned throughout their entrepreneurial journey in the United States. Panelists will include Leticia Moreinos Schwartz, Chef Letícia, Jordana Guimarães, Co-Founder, FashInnovation, Jakeline Castanheira Co-Owner and Manager, Dog Room Club, and Sara Taublib, Founder, ModusRio. The panel will be moderated by Angelica Vieira, Executive Producer, Manhattan Connection.
  • A talk covering the Effective Communication Tactics (in English, with consecutive interpretation to Portuguese).
  • A talk covering Negotiation Techniques (in English, with consecutive interpretation to Portuguese).
  • An opportunity to network with business leaders and other entrepreneurs in the community.

 

More Information

The Brazilian economy will grow more than 2% in 2020 if the government-proposed reforms are approved, he said on Wednesday (04) Economy Minister, Paulo Guedes, informs the “Agency Brazil.” He said the coronavirus will have little impact on the country because the Brazilian economy is closed in relation to the economies of the rest of the world.

“In the second year [of government], I think we grow above 2%, even with the coronavirus. The Brazil has had two confirmed cases [the number rose to three today]. It is an economy that was relatively closed all these years, “said Guedes, he left the Ministry of Economy for a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Only two days after Latin America’s first case of coronavirus was confirmed in São Paulo, the largest Brazilian city, researchers at Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL), the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil and the University of Oxford in the UK have published the complete genome sequence for the virus, which they call severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

The report was published on February 28 on Virological.org, a forum for discussion and data sharing used by virologists, epidemiologists and public health specialists. This kind of information helps understand how the virus is spreading around the world, and is useful for the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests.

 

Via Technology Networks

 

Read full article here

OSLO (Reuters) – Online marketplace OLX Brazil has agreed to buy competitor Grupo ZAP for 2.9 billion reais ($642 million), forming a leading Brazilian player in digital real estate advertising, OLX and its European owners said.

By combining their operations, rapidly growing OLX and ZAP can slash costs and boost earnings margins while providing a broader range of services to the online real estate market, they added late on Tuesday.

 

By Terje Solsvik via Reuters

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA — Brazil posted a trade surplus of $3.1 billion in February, official data showed on Monday, far stronger than forecast and confounding any expectations that the coronavirus outbreak might have dampened exports.

February’s figure was double the median consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists of a $1.5 billion surplus, a result of exports totaling $16.4 billion and imports reaching $13.3 billion.

 

By Marcela Ayres and James McGeever via The New York Times

 

Read full article here

It’s a hot summer’s day in São Paulo – sadly a relatively rare one this year – and Euromoney is with XP Inc’s head of media relations and the assistant to chief executive Guilherme Benchimol in an air-conditioned meeting room on the 28th floor of the newly IPO’d company. The air con and the chilled water are refreshing; while we wait, the assistant checks her phone.

“He’s nearly here,” she says. “He’s on his way in from his farm.”

By Rob Dwyer via Euromoney

 

Read full article here

Brazilian construtech Ambar wants to take the hassle out of the millions of consumers across the country who are either building or renovating their homes with an all-in-one automation platform.

The startup founded in 2012 and backed by the likes of Texas Pacific Group, Endeavor Catalyst and e.bricks Ventures is known for its modular systems – dubbed “Lego for construction”, these are packages of items needed for building or renovation work, in areas such as hydraulics – aimed to facilitate and speed up the overall job.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

Read full article here

The Brazilian trade balance registered a surplus of US $ 520 million and total trade of US $ 7.412 billion in the third week of February 2020, as a result of exports worth US $ 3.966 billion and imports of US $ 3.446 billion. According to data released on Thursday (27) by the Secretary of Ministry of Economy of Foreign Trade (Secex / ME) in the month exports totaled US $ 12.364 billion and imports, US $ 11.259 billion, with a surplus of US $ 1,105 billion and total trade of US $ 23.624 billion.

 

By DATAGRO

 

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MADRID — Santander Brazil head Sergio Rial will join Santander’s board as a group executive director, the Spanish bank said on Thursday, giving the 59-year-old more influence over its overall strategy.

The Brazilian is viewed as one of the leading candidates to become Santander CEO in the medium term, several senior bankers have told Reuters, after the bank failed to hire Italian banker Andrea Orcel for the role in January last year.

 

By Jesús Aguado, Carolina Mandl and Pamela Barbaglia via The New York Times

 

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Since its establishment in February 1990, FUNDAÇÃO ABRINQ PELOS DIREITOS DA CRIANÇA E DO ADOLESCENTE has been active in alignment with the terms established by the Federal Constitution of Brazil and by the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, by the United Nations Organization (UN).

FUNDAÇÃO ABRINQ fosters political participation, the implementation of projects and programs, and the development of special actions for communication and involvement which seek to uphold the rights of children and adolescents in Brazil.

Their mission is to promote the exercising of citizenship among children and adolescents and to defend their rights.

In 30 years of existence, FUNDAÇÃO ABRINQ has benefited more than 8 million boys and girls throughout Brazil.

Learn more here.

São Paulo-based organization BlackRocks Startups (BRS) is currently readying a new and larger acceleration cycle to cater for the increase in tech-based products and services created by black entrepreneurs.

According to data from Brazilian research firm Instituto Locomotiva, consumption driven the black population currently injects about 1.7 trillion reais ($380 million) into the local economy. BRS wants to cater for that demand: the accelerator supported the development of five startups in 2019 and this year, 16 early-stage startups will take part in the program.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

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The Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA) participated on 20 and 21 February the 96th edition of the Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington in the US state of Virginia. The event was sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and brought together experts, technicians and representatives of the global agribusiness to discuss innovation and use of technology in the sector.

 

Via Datagro

 

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BUENOS AIRES/SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Brazilian stocks are forecast to soar nearly 19% by the end of 2020, logging a fifth year of solid gains, according to a Reuters poll of market strategists who were looking beyond current jitters over the coronavirus outbreak.

The benchmark Bovespa stock index .BVSP is forecast to rise to 135,000 points by the end of 2020, a 18.8% increase over its last mark before Carnival holidays this week, according to the median estimate of 15 strategists surveyed Feb 13-25.

 

By Gabriel Burin, Paula Laier and Miguel Gutierrez via Nasdaq

 

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LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Britain’s Centrica CNA.L chartered a vessel to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) this month to power firm Centrais Elétricas de Sergipe S.A. (CELSE) ELET6.SA, launching Brazil’s first private LNG terminal.

Brazil has been implementing reforms to end the monopoly of Petroleo Brasileiro SA PETR4.SA, known as Petrobras, in supplying natural gas to the domestic market. The new terminal was developed before the reforms were announced last year.

 

By Ekaterina Kravtsova via Reuters

 

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Through its subsidiary Aena Desarrollo Internacional, Aena has been awarded the concession for the Northeast Brazil airport group of six airports.

The concession is for 30 years, with the possibility of a further five. The airports included are: Juazeiro do Norte – Orlando Bezerra de Menezes; Recife/Guararapes – Gilberto Freyre; Joao Pessoa – Presidente Castro Pinto; Campina Grande – Presidente Joao Suassuna; Aracaju – Santa Maria; and Maceió – Zumbi dos Palmares.

 

By Tara Craig via Passenger Terminal Today

 

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Mairton Garbelotti is taking a gamble.

Like many Brazilians, the 67-year-old pensioner from São Paulo has grown accustomed to high interest rates, which for decades fed through to double-digit returns in money-market investments backed by Treasury bills. But those high yields have evaporated with cut after cut to the country’s benchmark interest rate. In response, Mr Garbelotti has joined a new army of investors who are turning to riskier assets in search of higher returns.

 

By Jonathan Wheatley and Andres Schipani via Financial Times

 

Read full article here

Brazil is poised to give its central bank independence from political control in a move spearheaded by the bank’s US-educated president Roberto Campos Neto to shore up its reputation with international investors. Legislation to implement the change was pushed through Congress’s committee stages last week and is expected to face a full parliamentary vote in the coming weeks.

 

By Bryan Harris via Financial Times

 

Read full article here

WhatsApp has chosen Brazil to launch its first major brand advertising campaign.

The Facebook-owned messaging service has published a seven-minute film showing people communicating via WhatsApp as a fire breaks out ahead of Carnival celebrations. Users are seen sending messages to organize costume donations for a rival’s dance school whose warehouse burns down, and the ad ends with “Rivals in public. Friends in private,” with WhatsApp’s logo, and “From Facebook,” underneath.

 

By Lucy Handley via CNBC

 

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PORTO FELIZ, Brazil (Reuters) – Beside the green pastures and sugarcane plantations surrounding the farming town of Porto Feliz is the strange sight of hundreds of blue, silicon panes turned towards the sun.

This solar farm, about 150 km (93.2 miles) from Sao Paulo, produces electricity for around 40 homes and small businesses like restaurants and gyms.

 

By Luciano Costa via Reuters

 

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Called PIX, the project from the country’s central bank will provide 24/7 payments in up to 10 seconds via mobile apps, internet banking and ATMs, according to reports from Reuters and local crypto news site Livecoins on Wednesday.

Slated for launch on Nov. 10, 2020, PIX is aimed to speed up and reduce the costs of fiat transfers between individuals and businesses.

 

By Daniel Palmer via CoinDesk

 

Read full article here

SAO PAULO, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Oil companies produced 3.17 million barrels per day (bpd) on average in Brazil in January, a volume 20.4% larger than seen in the same month a year earlier and an output record for the country, oil regulator ANP said on Wednesday.

Natural gas production increased 22% over January 2019 to 138.7 million cubic meters per day on average last month, also a record. The deepwater, pre-salt field known as Lula accounted for a third of all oil production in Brazil, reaching 1.05 million bpd of crude on average in January, ANP said.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira via Reuters

 

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(Bloomberg) — Amaggi, the Brazilian soybean group owned by entrepreneur-turned-politician Blairo Maggi, is in advanced talks to buy the local unit of Argentina’s El Tejar to capitalize on increasing crop demand from China, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The proposed acquisition of O Telhar encompasses all assets in Brazil, including about 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) of farming land, cotton mills, warehouses and machinery, one of the people said, asking to not be identified as talks are private. Amaggi declined to comment, while El Tejar representatives in Brazil didn’t immediately respond.

By Fabiana Batista and Tatiana Freitas via Yahoo Finance

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There will be a new airline in Brazil by 2021. The bus company Itapemirim Group received $500 million USD to set up, among other initiatives, a new airline in the country, said local newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

Sidnei Piva, Itapemirim president said that one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds provided with the $500 million USD to start up a new airline. The current name for this carrier is Ita, according to AirlineGeeks.

 

By Daniel Martínez Garbuno via Simple Flying

 

Read full article here

The InspIR Group is an investor relations and corporate communications firm that enhances the value of companies operating in dynamic environments. They are expert translators between private companies, investor and issuers and the markets. Their team members bridge companies and cultures to the global financial community, drawing on deep financial, operating, sell-side and journalism experience to advise some of the most prominent companies across geographies.

Their services are IPO Advisory, Investor Relations, Investor Access, Workshops & Coaching, Perception Research and Public Relations.

Learn more.

Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel has launched a public consultation to discuss the rules of what could be the world’s largest single auction for fifth-generation (5G) spectrum later this year.

The consultation will last for 45 days and will set the specific details of the auction. A draft version of the rules had been approved by Anatel’s board earlier this month.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

The smart home devices segment will be one of the highlights of the consumer technology market in Brazil this year, according to analyst firm IDC.

With new devices on offer as well as new features such as the ability to understand commands in Brazilian Portuguese, the analyst firm estimates an increase of 50% in units sold and a boost of over 40% in revenue.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

Chambers Global 2020 edition consolidates Mattos Filho’s outstanding position among elite firms in Brazil. Once again, the firm had the largest number of Band 1 professionals, in addition to maintaining the leadership in Band 1 practice areas and individual recognition of partners.

Among the novelties of this edition, there were seven new categories of recognition for professionals in the following categories: Capital Markets; Compliance; Dispute resolution: Arbitration; Corporate/M&A; Litigation; Oil & Gas and Projects.

Chambers Global is one of the most notable publications in the international legal market and annually brings together law firms and lawyers with excellence in more than 190 countries. In preparation for the ranking, the guide carries out interviews with clients, in house lawyers, and international offices, in addition to using information from other publications of the institution.

We thank the market for the trust as we continue to serve our clients with excellence. Click here and check more details about our performance in the ranking.

The grain harvest survey results impacted favorably on Agricultural Production Value (VBP) this year, estimated at R $ 674.10 billion, and represents a real increase of 6.7% compared to 2019, says the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA). The expected growth rates are 6.4% for crops and 7.3% for livestock.

Yields of information released this week by Conab (National Supply Company) and the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) indicate favorable performance for the grain harvest. To date, there has been no weather problems in major producing regions and forecasts of a crop of 251 million tonnes according to the Conab, and 246.7 million tons, according IBGE survey. These figures are records for the Brazilian grain production.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

Brazil’s largest for-profit education company raised about 2.56 billion reais ($590 million) in a sale of the firm’s shares, a move to cut debt and pave the way for new acquisitions.

Cogna, formerly known as Kroton, offered a total of 232.4 million shares, including an additional allotment, with stock priced at 11 reais each, the company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg.

 

By Vinicius Andrade and Rachel Gamarski via Bloomberg

 

Read full article here

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) — Retail sales in Brazil were up 1.8 percent in 2019 compared with 2018, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) announced on Wednesday.

According to the IBGE, only one out of the nine sectors analyzed by the agency registered decrease in sales volume — books, newspapers and stationary products, whose sales were down 20.7 percent in 2019.

 

Via Xinhua Net

 

Read full article here

Is it time to buy the dip in Brazil? Local assets have been tanking. The currency has dropped 7 per cent this year to a record low. São Paulo stocks have slumped by a similar degree.

Investors were spooked last week when December’s industrial production data disappointed. The nervous mood certainly has not been helped by the coronavirus outbreak. Brazil is far from the centre of that storm but its large commodities exports and relatively liquid markets make it an easy target when jitters hit.

 

By Jonathan Wheatley via Financial Times

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA, Feb 11 (Reuters) – The economic and financial impact of Brazil’s recent interest rate cuts may be greater than in previous periods, minutes of the central bank’s last policy meeting showed on Tuesday, thereby justifying a pause in its unprecedented easing cycle.

On balance, the minutes showed policymakers believe there may be less slack in the economy than previously thought, and that more flexible credit and capital markets have magnified the power of monetary policy.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

Read full article here

The Brazilian government has defined timescales for the sale of its technology companies to private sector buyers.

According to the goals announced by the team in charge of the government’s privatization initiatives, Dataprev and Serpro, companies accountable for the development, maintenance, and operations of thousands of government systems, will be sold by June 2021.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

GUELPH, OntarioFeb. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, today announced it has secured 225.2 million Brazilian reais (US$ 55 million) non-recourse project financing from Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A. (BNB) for its Lavras solar power projects. Since the beginning of 2019, Canadian Solar has secured BRL 1,007 million (US$ 247 million) solar project financing with BNB.

The 152.4 MWp Lavras project will be funded over 21 years across the construction and operation phases of the projects. The inflation-linked debt tied to the National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) will provide improved capital and resource alignment with the Brazilian economy.

Via Yahoo Finance

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In only one-year Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has been able to revert 13 years of socialist policies which were implemented by the previous leftist presidents Lula and Dilma. His accomplishments include passing important free-market reforms such as the pension reform and different de-regulation laws, such as the reduction of the number of Ministries from 29 to 22, and the privatization of logistics networks from roads to airports. Thanks to the approval of the anti-crime package crime rates have dropped by 22%. Also, 2019 was the best year for employment since 2013, with almost one million jobs created.

 

By Lorenzo Montanari via Forbes

 

Read full article here

The president of the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), João Martins, discussed the construction of a positive agenda for the carriage of cargo with the National Secretary of the Ministry of Land Infrastructure Transport, Marcello da Costa Vieira.

The Confederation has presented proposals for the sector in order to facilitate the flow of agricultural production. “For us the dialogue with the government is important to work to find solutions for road transport is vital for agriculture,” Martins said. “It is the quality of the production flow that will make the country the largest exporter of food in the world.”

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

(Bloomberg) — The Brazilian state development bank unloaded its voting stake in oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA, raking in 22 billion reais ($5.2 billion) as part of a wave of asset sales aimed at reversing years of growing government influence in Latin America’s biggest economy.

BNDES, as the bank is known, sold all 734 million shares, including over-allotments, for 30 reais apiece late Wednesday, the company said in a regulatory filing. That’s a discount of less than 2% to the closing price, an indication that demand held up well in the face of sinking crude prices. Shares rose more than 1% in early trading Thursday to top the offering price.

By Cristiane Lucchesi,  Vinicius Andrade and Sabrina Valle via Yahoo Finance

Read full article here

Brazil’s central bank intends to hold interest rates going forward to consider the impact of the record-breaking monetary easing cycle it concluded on Wednesday with a quarter-point cut.

The bank’s board, led by its President Roberto Campos Neto, lowered the Selic rate to 4.25%, as forecast by 35 of 45 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The remaining analysts expected borrowing costs to stay at 4.5%.

By Mario Sergio Lima via Yahoo Finance

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Part of a continuing series on how Latin America can overcome a decade of slow economic growth. 

Economic analysts, myself included, once thought that Brazil could reach a per capita income equal to Spain or Portugal by the early 2020s. Instead, the 2010s seem destined to go down as a lost decade for Brazil in many of the ways that matter most: productivity, living standards, health, education, and fairness.

 

By Thomas J. Trebat

 

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A newcomer in Brazil’s booming hedge fund industry says the country’s interest rate cuts will have to run much deeper than most investors expect, defying calls that the easing cycle is close to an end.

Persevera Asset Management, a firm created by former executives at HSBC Holdings Plc in Brazil, expects Latin America’s largest economy to once again grow less than forecast. That will force the central bank to cut the key rate from the current 4.5% to as low as 3% this year.

 

By Vinicius Andrade and Felipe Marques via Bloomberg

 

Read full article here

During a brief visit to Rio de Janeiro, taking in Sugar Loaf mountain, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, and dutifully drinking cool caipirinhas, my heart was really elsewhere – 1,200km inland to Brasília in the central plateau to be precise. It wasn’t sand, samba and rainforests I was after, but clean modernist lines and reinforced concrete laid out on the Cerrado (the country’s vast tropical savannah).

 

By Chris Hall via The Guardian

 

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American Airlines is teaming up with Brazil’s largest airline, GOL Airlines, in a new agreement allowing American to market GOL flights to its passengers and vice versa.

The codeshare partnership will allow American to connect its passengers on GOL flights to places outside the reach of its direct flights from Miami to Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Manaus and Rio de Janeiro. To prepare for the deal, American is adding 12 more daily flights from Miami International Airport to six cities across the U.S. this summer and a second daily flight from MIA to Rio de Janeiro next winter.

 

By Taylor Dolven via Miami Herald

 

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Program Fee:
Free for Members | $15 for Nonmembers

Description:  
While geographically distant, Brazil, Japan and the United States are economically tight-knit countries with important, longstanding ties that bind them together. Nowhere are these connections more readily apparent than in the corporate and antitrust space.  The panel will provide an overview of how companies from the three jurisdictions deal with antitrust regulators in one of the other countries. The panelists will also discuss the role of New York law in corporate transactions involving the three countries. Finally, the panel will also discuss potential opportunities for investors in Brazil, Japan and the U.S. and how to navigate risks and other strategic considerations.

Intro Speaker:
John Welch,
Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce

Moderator:
Jeff Amato, Winston & Strawn

Panelists: 
Yukio Kaiju, TMI Associates
Amadeu Ribeiro
, Mattos Filho
Thales Saito, Machado Meyer
Masaru Umeda, Nishimura & Asahi NY LLP
Harumi Urata-Thompson, HUT Consulting LLC

Sponsoring Association Committee:
Asian Affairs Committee, Jian Wu, Chair
Inter-American Affairs Committee, Michael A. Fernandez, Chair

Co-Sponsoring Association Committee:
Project Finance Committee, Ricardo S. Martinez, Chair
Antitrust & Trade Regulation Committee, Fred Taylor Isquith, Chair

Co-Sponsoring Organizations:

Columbia Law School Brazilian Association
Inter-American Bar Association New York Chapter

 

Where
New York City Bar Association
42 West 44th St
New York, NY 1003
UNITED STATES

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. government is ready to help Brazil design more effective oil auctions, the U.S. secretary of energy said on Sunday, after the South American nation’s attempt to sell tens of billions of dollars of production rights to private firms last year largely flopped.

In November, Brazil, a staunch U.S. ally under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, tried to sell the rights to four offshore oil producing zones in a process that could have fetched some 106.5 billion reais ($25.5 billion) for the government.

 

By Gram Slattery via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – The number of Americans booking flights to Brazil has jumped 39% since the government of President Jair Bolsonaro waived a visa requirement for U.S. citizens in June, according to its official tourism agency, which is devising plans to draw more.

BRASILIA (Reuters) – The number of Americans booking flights to Brazil has jumped 39% since the government of President Jair Bolsonaro waived a visa requirement for U.S. citizens in June, according to its official tourism agency, which is devising plans to draw more.

 

By Anthony Boadle via Reuters

 

Read full article here

First there is the tech itself. And while tech in finance is admittedly not a new addition to the beat, the pace of expansion has become to feel a little intense.

It’s not just that innovation is coming in faster waves or that it’s increasingly complex, it’s that technology is now actually changing business strategy. It is creating brand new ecosystems, rather than just giving a productivity jolt to existing financial segments.

By Rob Dwyer via Euromoney

 

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Responsável pela inovação e liderança do Magazine Luiza, a empresária Luiza Helena Trajano, 68 anos, vem abrindo portas para as mulheres há muito tempo. Recentemente, foi a segunda brasileira escolhida para receber o prêmio “Person of the Year”, criado há 50 anos pela Câmara de Comércio Brasil-EUA.

Em entrevista à FORBES, Luiza comentou alguns fatores que, na sua opinião, foram importantes para que conseguisse chegar a tal posição e como a utiliza para ajudar outras mulheres que estão no mundo dos negócios.

 

By Daniel Veloso via Forbes Brasil

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil put Economy Minister Paulo Guedes in charge of its drive to find investors to buy state assets, a presidential decree said on Friday, a day after the program’s deputy head was fired due to a controversy over improper use of an Air Force jet.

The move extends the broad authority Guedes already has over economic policy and he has said the government needs to speed up privatization of all state companies to help reduce its budget deficit and spur growth.

 

By Marcela Ayres via Reuters

 

Read full article here

A 36-year-old, Mandarin-speaking trade specialist is Brazil’s newest bet to boost food exports to China just as the Latin American country fights with the U.S. for a bigger share of the world’s largest commodities market.

Larissa Wachholz, who holds a masters degree from the Renmin University of China, was tapped in December by the Brazilian agriculture ministry to lead a trade unit dedicated to the Asian country, the first of its kind in Brazil. Her mission is to diversify Brazilian exports to its top trading partner beyond soybeans and beef, as part of a strategy to smooth out the ups and downs in trade flows between the countries.

By Samy Adghirni and Simone Iglesias via Yahoo Finance

Read full article here

OSLO, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Norway’s Equinor and partners ExxonMobil and Petrogal Brasil have awarded engineering contracts for a planned Brazilian oilfield development, the Norwegian operator of the project said on Thursday.

A design contract for a floating oil production and storage vessel (FPSO) was awarded to Japan’s Modec Inc, while seabed systems (SURF) will be planned by the Subsea Integration Alliance, formed by Subsea 7 and OneSubsea.

 

By Terje Solsvik via Reuters

 

Read full article here

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — Confidence in the Brazilian construction sector rose in January to a five-year record, Brazilian think tank Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) announced on Tuesday.

According to the FGV, the confidence indicator of the construction sector rose from 89.9 points in December to 91.9 points in January, the highest since May 2014.

 

By Xinhua Net

 

Read full article here

SAO PAULO, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc has received the go-ahead from Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade for certain solar energy projects in the country’s northeast, according to a decision published in the government’s official gazette on Tuesday.

The solar power plants, to be built in the state of Ceará, will have total capacity to produce 278 MW of electricity, according to a description of the projects in Cade’s decision.

 

By Ana Mano via Reuters

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s government is changing the rules to give foreign companies an equal shot at winning government contracts, the Economy Ministry said on Monday.

Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has pledged to fight corruption and open up one of the world’s most protected countries to foreign business and the overseas investment necessary to modernize Brazil’s crumbling infrastructure.

 

By Marcela Ayres via Reuters

 

Read full article here

The mobile network experience has seen “notable improvements” in Brazil, particularly in 4G metrics such as video and voice consumption, according to a new report.

The Mobile Network Experience Report by mobile analytics firm Opensignal has found that the introduction of 4G on the 700 MHz spectrum band in Brazil is having a big impact in the last six months, with users on networks that have implemented it spending more time on 4G and enjoying faster average download speeds.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

(Reuters) – India and Brazil have signed 15 accords aimed at forging closer ties between the two emerging market giants across a range of sectors, especially defense, both countries’ leaders tweeted on Saturday.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took to social media to hail the closer cooperation and agreements struck during Bolsonaro’s official visit to India.

 

By Ismail Shakil and Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA (Reuters) – The Brazilian government’s interest payment bill on the national debt could fall by 417 billion reais ($100 billion) over the course of its four-year term ending in 2022, by which time the primary budget deficit could also be completely eliminated, a senior Economy Ministry official said on Thursday.

The fall to a record low 4.5% in the central bank’s benchmark interest rate since the middle of last year accounts for the interest savings, and the public finances could be even stronger if economic reforms accelerate growth further, said Waldery Rodrigues, special secretary to the Economy Ministry.

 

By Marcela Ayres via KFGO

 

Read full article here

The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has announced the launch of a new regulatory sandbox containing specific guidelines for cryptocurrency and digital token issuance.

The news comes after the country’s regulator stated at the end of last year that the implementation of blockchain technology is a top priority for 2020.

By Pedro Febrero via Yahoo Finance

Read full article here

With the help of federal enterprises privatization program, Brazil rose from sixth to fourth place among the leading foreign investment destinations in the world in 2019, informs the “Agency Brazil.” According to a report released on Monday (20) by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), Brazil received US $ 75 billion in foreign investment last year, up from $ 60 billion in 2018.

The first three places in the ranking investment destination were with the United States, with US $ 251 billion last year; China, with US $ 140 billion and Singapore with US $ 110 billion. The $ 75 billion that arrived in Brazil amount to more than half of the $ 119 billion that South America received last year.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

SÃO PAULO, Brazil, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Enterprises in Brazil are moving toward fully automating their digital workplaces, and are looking for vendors to help them empower workers through self-support, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2019-2020 ISG Provider LensDigital Workplace of the Future Report for Brazil finds enterprises in Brazil focusing on improving worker experience with workplace tools. Enterprises are embracing automation, but they also want to improve user productivity by enabling better collaboration and discovering new ways of working.

Via Yahoo Finance

Read full article here

MEDIA CONTACT
Natalie Villanueva, Marketing / PR Manager
954.333.4308   |   natalie.villanueva@gmlaw.com

 

GREENSPOON MARDER PROMOTES SIX ATTORNEYS TO PARTNER IN 2020

 

Fort Lauderdale, FL – January 13, 2019 – Greenspoon Marder is pleased to announce the promotion of six attorneys to partner from various offices firm wide. The individuals recognized for their professional accomplishments and outstanding client service include: Marcela Bermudez, Matthew Ginder, Adam D. Kemper, Ron Lebow, Phillip Silvestri and Lawren A. Zann.

 

“Each of these new partners have reached this stage of success due to their hard work, ongoing dedication to our firm and legal skills,” said co-managing director, Michael Marder. “We are proud to call them partners, and know that this group of attorneys exemplify the type of quality and high professional standards that we hold here at Greenspoon Marder,” said co-managing director, Gerald Greenspoon.

 

Ms. Bermudez is a member of the firm’s Immigration & Naturalization practice group. She focuses her practice on business immigration. Ms. Bermudez advises and represents a diverse group of clients, including banks, global financial service companies, technology companies, and business and corporations of all sizes in the hiring, transfer and retention of foreign nationals. She also represents individuals, including artists, researchers, professors and scientists. Ms. Bermudez has a broad client base servicing LATAM with its evolving economic and immigration concerns. Ms. Bermudez is a frequent speaker on immigration issues at national and local conferences. She has been published and quoted in a variety of publications including Cannabis Business Times, SHRM Magazine and Bloomberg Law Daily Labor Report. She serves on the Tri-State Diversity Council’s New York Advisory Board and Greenspoon Marder’s Diversity Council. She received her J.D. from Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2000.

 

Mr. Ginder is a member of the firm’s Cannabis Law practice group. He represents various cannabis and hemp related businesses where he assists in many areas of the industry, including licensing, regulatory and compliance, and business transactions. Mr. Ginder is regularly quoted in a variety of publications including Marijuana Business Daily, SFBJ, Miami Herald and Sun Sentinel to name a few. Additionally, he is a frequent speaker on a variety of cannabis issues. Mr. Ginder is ranked among Chambers & Partners in the “Cannabis Law: Corporate/Transactional” category in 2019. In 2018, he was named one of the “30 Most Powerful Cannabis Attorneys” by mg Magazine. He received his J.D. from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center in 2009.

 

Mr. Kemper is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment practice group. Mr. Kemper has extensive experience advising companies on workplace compliance and also litigating employment-related disputes on behalf of both employees and companies. Mr. Kemper also does extensive writing, public speaking and training on relevant labor and employment topics. He has been published and quoted in a variety of publications including Law360, Daily Business Review, South Florida Business Journal, Miami New Times, HR Magazine, South Florida Business & Wealth, Cannabis News Florida, DecentraNet Market Report, among several others. He has also been recognized by South Florida Legal Guide as a “Top Up & Comer” in 2020 and by Super Lawyers magazine as a “Florida Rising Star” from 2017-2020. Mr. Kemper received his J.D. from the Florida International University College of Law in 2010.

 

Mr. Lebow is a member of the firm’s Health Law practice group. He focuses his practice on business, contract, corporate and regulatory matters. Mr. Lebow has extensive experience drafting and negotiating agreements and structuring operations and business arrangements for a variety of medical providers. He was recognized by the National Law Journal as a “Health Law Trailblazer” in 2019. Mr. Lebow received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 2001.

 

Mr. Silvestri is a member of the firm’s Litigation and Cannabis practice groups. His practice focuses on defending highly regulated businesses in state and federal courts. Mr. Silvestri primarily represents businesses in the cannabis, timeshare, and banking/finance industries. In addition to litigation, Mr. Silvestri has extensive mediation experience both as an advocate and neutral. He has been recognized by Super Lawyers magazine as a “Rising Star” from 2012-2019. Mr. Silvestri received his J.D. from Wake Forest University in 2008.

 

Mr. Zann is a member of the firm’s Litigation practice group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation and complex class action litigation. Mr. Zann has extensive trial experience and has defended companies facing complex class actions in state and federal courts covering a broad range of industries throughout the country. He received his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 2007.

 

About Greenspoon Marder

Greenspoon Marder is a national full-service business law firm with 240 attorneys and 26 locations across the United States. We are ranked amongst American Lawyer’s Am Law 200, as one of the top law firms in the U.S. since 2015. Since our inception in 1981, our firm has been committed to providing excellent client service through our cross-disciplinary, client-team approach. Our mission is to understand the challenges that our clients face, build collaborative relationships, and craft creative solutions designed and executed with long-term strategic goals in mind. We serve Fortune 500, middle-market public and private companies, start-ups, emerging businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs nationwide. For more information, visit www.gmlaw.com.

Brazil has inaugurated a new US$100 million Antarctic base, built by Chinese company CEIEC to replace a research station destroyed by fire almost seven years ago.

“Brazil is back in the Antarctic with great force,” Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes, Brazil’s only astronaut, wrote in a Twitter message from the Comandante Ferraz base on King George Island off the Antarctic peninsula.

Via South China Morning Post

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – The United States’ change of stance to support Brazil’s bid to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ahead of Argentina was welcomed by the Brazilian government on Tuesday.

The U.S. government’s plans, after having previously said they wanted Argentina to be next in line to join the rich nations’ club, are a win for far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, a longtime admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump who has sought closer ties with Washington since taking office last year.

 

By Anthony Boadle via Reuters

 

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Gross Agricultural Production Value (VBP) ended 2019 with R $ 630.9 billion, 2.6% higher than the previous year. The amount is a record for the series, which began in 1989, surpassing the VBP 2017 (R $ 627.1 billion). Last year, the crops have generated a value of R $ 411.1 billion and livestock, R $ 219.8 billion, reports “Ministry of Agriculture”.

According to the technical note of the Department of Finance and Information, of the Agricultural Policy Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), the year was marked by the “extraordinary growth in corn sales and also exceptional performance of livestock, with real increase of 9%. the crops were reduced by 0.5%. ”

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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The year 2019 was quite good for the Brazilian auto industry although it could have been better.

Last month, for example, daily average sales were the best in six years, topping 13,173 registrations. This resulted in industry and dealer stocks of 33 days in December 2019, down from 38 days in November, slightly below the 35 considered normal.

 

By Fernando Calmon via Just Auto

 

Read full article here

Brazil’s government has big plans for AI, despite having come late to the party. In Oxford Insights’ AI Readiness Index 2019, Brazil was ranked 40 out of 192 countries, a sign that the South American powerhouse is moving up in the AI world. The report looks at how ready countries are to take advantage of the AI technologies PwC forecasts will add $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

The 2019 report also cautions that the “Global South could be left behind by the so-called fourth industrial revolution.” But even as some of the planet’s richest nations, including Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the U.S, have become recognized AI innovation hubs, according to studies by Deloitte and others, South America — led by Brazil — is rapidly emerging as a leader in AI-enabled businesses.

 

By Bruno Henriques via Venture Beat

 

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The emergence of big techs is likely in Brazil this year as investment floods into the Southern Hemisphere’s largest economy, prompting a major shake-up for leading businesses scrambling to reinvent themselves.

This is the prediction of Fabricio Bloisi, founder of São Paulo-based Movile, a conglomerate that includes delivery app iFood, which has UK food delivery firm JustEat as one of its investors. Movile is part of the select club of Brazilian unicorns, which has 11 companies to date – a number that, according to Bloisi, will substantially increase in the months to come.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

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As of June 17, 2019, Americans no longer need a tourist visa to enter Brazil (nor do Canadians, Australians or Japanese), eliminating a longstanding hurdle that kept many casual travelers from visiting South America’s largest nation. It’s now easier than ever to visit Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil’s two largest cities, where you’ll find lush parks and gardens, mammoth murals, enviable beaches, futuristic museums and near-endless shopping, but whatever may be on your agenda for your Brazilian break, the best food and drinks are sure to be high on your list. You’ll certainly want to try Globos, the puffed cassava starch snack found in both salty and sweet varieties all over Rio, and pão de queijo, the cheesy bread puffs served as a snack or with meals everywhere, but you’ll stumble across these favorites without even trying. To guide you toward more refined culinary experiences with locally immersive hotel stays in this freshly accessibly country, check out what Marriott has to offer in both Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

 

By Brandon Schultz via Forbes

 

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BRASILIA, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Brazil added 99,232 payroll jobs in November, the best expansion in employment for the month since 2010, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday, as a gradual economic recovery brings improvement in the labor market.

The result was well above expectations, and more than double the forecast 47,500 new jobs in a Reuters poll of economists.

 

Via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Wednesday he had reached agreement with Congressional leaders on modernizing the country’s complex tax system next year and one option could be taxing on-line transactions.

Brazil has brought its snowballing public debt under control with reform of the costly pension system and spending cuts, he said, while interest rates are at record lows after the central bank cut its benchmark Selic rate to 4.50% on Dec. 11.

 

By Marcela Ayres and Anthony Boadle via Reuters

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian and Chinese government authorities are finalizing a protocol setting health standards for domestic processors to export soymeal to the Asian country, André Nassar, president of oilseeds industry group Abiove, said on Monday.

The health guidelines will allow companies to export and eventually compete with soy processors based in China, something they cannot do now. The change is happening as local processors are required to increase crushing to produce more biodiesel to boost local blending. The added output of soymeal, a byproduct, would need new buyers.

 

By Ana Mano via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA, Dec 17 (Reuters) – A Brazilian congressional committee on Tuesday approved the government’s budget for next year, with the bill based on projected 2.32% GDP growth in 2020 to be put to a vote in a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

The budget proposal would raise the minimum wage earned by Brazilian workers to 1,031 reais ($246) a month from 998 reais ($238).

 

By Maria Carolina Marcello via Reuters

 

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The Minister of Infrastructure, Tarcisio Gomes de Freitas, said on Friday (13) that the government plans to hold auctions 40 to 44 infrastructure assets next year, reports the “Agency Brazil.” The expectation is that the granting of port projects, airports, roads and railways reach R $ 101 billion in investments during the period of the contracts.

Among the projects is the concession to the private initiative of 22 airports (divided into three blocks), seven roads, nine port terminals, two railways and the early renewal of four railway contracts loads. During conference on the afternoon of Friday, the Minister took stock of the folder shares in 2019. In total, they sold 27 assets, which should result in R $ 9.4 billion in investments and R $ 5.9 billion in grants .

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Indicator that measures the distrust of investors in a particular economy, country risk fell on Monday (16) to the lowest level in nine years, reports the “Agency Brazil.” The Credit Default Swap (CDS) of five years in Brazil was 100.2 points at around 17h, but came to hit 98.2 points around 14h, the lowest score since November 2010 (96.9 points ), when the country was still investment grade – good paying stamp.

The CDS functions as an informal barometer of the probability of a country defaulting on global financial markets next five years. The lower the index, the greater the confidence of international investors.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Contxto – As far as reach goes, Amazon is certainly spreading its wings throughout Latin America. Proving this, the e-commerce goliath recently launched a new distribution center in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.

To expedite delivery in northeastern Brazil, this new location in Cabo de Santo Agostinho will permit deliveries in under two days to nearby state capitals. These include Recife in Pernambuco, João Pessoa in Paraíba, Natal in Rio Grande do Norte, Maceió in Alagoas, and Fortaleza in Ceará.

 

By Jacob Atkins via Contxto

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — A consortium of state-owned Chinese companies on Friday was awarded the contract to build and operate what will be the second-longest bridge in Brazil.

Under the project, a bridge will be built spanning the famed Bay of All Saints, which connects Salvador, capital of the northeastern Bahia state, with Itaparica Island. The project also involves the construction of related roads.

 

Via Xinhua Net

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Services sector activity in Brazil expanded in October far more than economists had expected, figures on Thursday showed, indicating that overall growth in Latin America’s largest economy continued to accelerate going into the year end.

The figures appear to back up the central bank’s statement on Wednesday accompanying its decision to cut interest rates to a new low of 4.50% that “economic activity since the second quarter indicates that the process of economic recovery picked up relative to the first quarter.”

 

By Jamie McGeever via KFGO

 

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Espoo, Finland – Nokia has signed a contract with telecommunications giant TIM to provide Internet of Things (IoT) services to its enterprise customers in Brazil. Using the fully virtualized Nokia Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) managed service offer, TIM and its enterprise customers across industries,such as automotive and agriculture, will be able to capture IoT opportunities faster and more securely.

The Brazilian market is the largest IoT market in Latin America, with widespread adoption of IoT technologies estimated to add USD 200 billion to the country’s economy by 2025. Nokia’s first WING deal in Latin America enables TIM to leverage new business models to tap this opportunity and generate additional revenue streams. Additionally, incremental services, such as device management and analytics, will help TIM extend SIM management capabilities to create value added opportunities.

Via Yahoo Finance

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Dec 11 (Reuters) – S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday revised the outlook on Brazil to positive from stable, citing the government’s continued implementation of measures to reduce its fiscal deficit.

“The approval of social security reform and expected progress on fiscal and growth measures, along with moderate growth driven by stronger domestic demand, could improve Brazil’s fiscal position over the medium term,” the agency said in a statement here

 

By Shivani Singh via Reuters

 

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SÃO PAULO–Brazil’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a half point Wednesday, as inflation has remained below target amid increasing signs the economy is improving.

The bank cut the benchmark Selic rate to 4.5%, a record low that follows a series of reductions that brought it down from 14.25% in 2016. In its post-meeting statement, the bank was less clear about its next step than in previous statements, but indicated it’s open to continue cutting rates next year.

 

By Paulo Trevisani via Market Watch

 

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XP Inc., Brazil’s largest brokerage by equity-trading volume, raised $1.96 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, pricing its shares above the marketed range.

The company and its existing shareholders sold 72.5 million shares Tuesday for $27 each after offering them for $22 to $25, according to a statement. That gives XP a market value of about $14.9 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

By Cristiane Lucchesi , Vinicius Andrade , Felipe Marques, and Crystal Tse via Bloomberg

 

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The Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) released on Monday (09) Innovation project in the Agricultural Production Chains for Forest Conservation in the Legal Amazon. The goal is to bring innovation to the productive chain of the beef, soy and wood to increase the productivity and value of products aligned with the sustainable use of natural resources and conservation of the Amazon rainforest.

The project will be implemented from 2020 to 2024 in five states: Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia and Tocantins.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Brazilian content marketing startup Rock Content has announced the purchase of US sector player ScribbleLive, creating one of the largest companies in the segment in the Americas.

The buyout, announced exclusively to Forbes, is the continuation of the company’s international expansion, which began in 2017 with the launch of operations in Mexico. With the addition of ScribbleLive (SL), which has offices in Boca Ratón and Toronto, the enlarged Rock organization will boost its 400-strong workforce with about 100 employees. The two companies combined have a freelancer base of about 80,000 professionals.

 

By Angelica Maria via Forbes

 

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When David Vélez walked into a Brazilian bank branch to open an account six years ago, he was appalled by the experience.

First, he had to check his bag in a locker outside. Next, he waited to pass through a security line manned by three armed guards. He sat there for 45 minutes and finally spoke to someone, who acted like they were doing him a favor by deigning to talk about opening an account. Then, he was sent off to make a phone call to bank employees elsewhere and was later forced to return to the bank a half-dozen times over the next four months.
By Julianne Pepitone via CNN Business

Notably, the nine-year-old company said in a statement that the investment gives it a valuation of $1.3 billion. According to Brazil Journal, the round makes Wildlife Studio “Brazil’s most valuable tech company with the widest global reach.”

In addition to San Francisco-based Benchmark, participants in the round include Bessemer Venture Partners; Javier Olivan, VP of growth at Facebook; Ric Elias, co-founder and CEO of Red Ventures; Micky Malka, partner at Ribbit Capital; Divesh Makan, partner at ICONIQ Capital; and Hugo Barra, former VP of VR at Facebook.

 

By Mary Ann Azevedo via Crunch Base

 

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It didn’t take much for the founders of Cora, Brazil’s newest startup to tackle some aspect of the broken financial services industry in the country, to raise their first $10 million.

Igor Senra and Leo Mendes had worked together before — founding their first online payments company, MOIP, in 2005. That company sold to WireCard in 2016 and after three years the founders were able to strike out again.

 

By Jonathan Shieber via Tech Crunch

 

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This weekend a group of executives from XP Investimentos, a Brazilian financial services firm, will fly to New York to oversee the company’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange, due to be priced on Tuesday.

They hope to raise $1.7bn in a sale that would value XP, which was founded 18 years ago by a newly unemployed 24-year-old, at about $14bn.

 

By Jonathan Wheatley, Bryan Harris and Andres Schipani via Financial Times

 

Read full article here

 

Rebel, a Brazilian FinTech that offers unsecured credit to middle-class citizens in the country, has raised $10 million in new equity funding, according to a press release.

Last year, the company also raised $4 million from XP and other companies. Participants in this round include Monashees, 99, Loggi and FinTech Collective. The company said it has gotten more than $1 billion in loan requests since it started.

 

Via PYMNTS

 

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Investment in infrastructure in 2019 should reach R $ 131.7 billion, compared to R $ 122.8 billion in 2018, updated figures by the IPCA 2018 prices, point calculations of the Brazilian Association of Infrastructure and Basic Industries (Abdib). In 2017, investments totaled R $ 115.2 billion. In 2016, R $ 117.5 billion, the same criteria.

Already in 2020 the infrastructure sector, whose investments are at a level too low after significantly retreat in recent years, will contribute more positively to the recovery of the economy as a whole.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Two world leading experts in helping international companies open businesses and operate successfully in Brazil will be teaming up to give a fast-paced webinar about using the smartest strategies for success in Brazil.

The webinar will be led by Francisco Mendez with Globalization Partners and Bruno Drummond with Drummond Advisors.

Topics include:

  • Fastest way to hire a full-time employee
  • Employer of Record process explained
  • Speeding up receipt of your Federal Tax ID Number (CNPJ)
  • Dos and Don’ts of setting up your company in Brazil
  • Avoiding delays in your M&A agreement
  • Understanding Brazil Labor laws
  • Preparing Visa Applications
  • Transfer Pricing Calculations

Participants are encouraged to ask questions at any time during the webinar.
We look forward to a very lively dialogue about business in Brazil and hope you will join us.

Register Here

BP and Bunge announced on Monday (02) who completed the formation of BP Bunge Bioenergia, a joint venture combining their business bioenergy and ethanol sugarcane in Brazil.

The continued growth of biofuels will be a key enabler for the decarbonisation of the transport sector, say the companies. The Brazilian market is one of the largest and fastest growing low carbon biofuels to the world and, through this transaction, Bunge BP Bioenergy becomes the second largest operator in terms of effective grinding in the Brazilian ethanol market.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

 

 

 

How to spend 4-6 kilos of meat per hectare per year for livestock productivity 20 to 30 kilos per ha / year? For the researcher Luiz Adriano Maia Cordeiro, EMBRAPA Cerrado, the answer is sustainable intensification of production systems. He said the technologies such as Integration Crop-Livestock-Forest (IAFP) Crop-Livestock Integration (ILP) and recovery of pastures are ways to promote this intensification with higher efficiency, lower pressure by opening and clearing of forest areas, increased production to improve the environment (water, soil, biodiversity, etc.) and an increase in productivity.

During the V Symposium IAFP the State of São Paulo, coordinated by Sudeste (São Carlos) and the Luiz Study Group de Queiroz (GELQ – ESALQ / USP), Lamb presented Embrapa’s research results with integrated production systems. In the experiments, after integration with crop and livestock (ILP), the meat productivity has increased five times.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO — Brazilian equities are expected to shine amid a fog of political and economic uncertainty in Latin America next year, outperforming regional peers due to record-low interest rates and a pending lineup of market-friendly economic reforms.

The latest Reuters quarterly poll shows Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa stock index extending this year’s rally to end 2020 at 130,000 points, according to the median of 18 forecasts from traders, brokers and economists.

 

Via Gabriela Mello via Financial Post

 

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November 26th, 2019 – About 20 Brazilian executives will soon test the U.S. Global Entry system according to a statement from Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro chief of staff.

This announcement on November 25, 2019, enables visitors from Brazil to stop at kiosks in certain airports in the USA to have their fingerprints scanned, fill out a customs declaration form, and easily enter the country, reported Reuters.

 

By Dani Reiter via Vax Before Travel

 

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OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s Equinor plans to drill 30-40 oil and gas exploration wells globally in 2020, similar this year, with Brazil being a “hotspot” of its international efforts, the company’s exploration head said on Tuesday.

The company will drill about 20-30 exploration wells on the Norwegian continental shelf, focusing on the North Sea, plus wells at the Johan Castberg and Wisting discoveries in the Barents Sea, Equinor’s Tim Dodson told Reuters.

 

By  Nerijus Adomaitis via Reuters

 

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Sugarcane production in Brazil could expand by more than 5 million hectares (19,305 square miles) by 2030 to meet demand for ethanol biofuels, according to a study published in the journal Energy Policy — with potential impacts on the nation’s carbon emissions and deforestation.

Biofuels are liquid fuels produced from crops, such as biodiesel produced from soybeans and ethanol made from fermented corn or sugarcane. They’ve been presented by advocates as a silver bullet for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, but critics argue that the clearing of native vegetation to make way for biofuel plantations, and the carbon emissions associated with that land-use change, can exceed the emissions savings gained by avoiding fossil fuels.

 

By Claire Asher via Mongabay

 

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From JP Morgan Chase & Co. to UBS Group, big Wall Street banks reinforced their bullish bets for Brazilian stocks this week, suggesting a year-long rally has further to go.

They are recommending clients to be overweight in stocks from Latin America’s biggest economy, saying a pickup in growth next year and record-low interest rates set a Goldilocks scenario for equities. The rally that took the Ibovespa benchmark index to an all-time high this month is just the start, they say.

 

By Aline Oyamada and Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

 

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November 22 (Renewables Now) – Brazil’s growth in distributed generation from renewable resources—especially solar—has increased since it implemented net metering policies in 2012, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) says in an overview. As of mid-November 2019, owners have installed more than 135,000 renewable distributed generation systems in Brazil, totalling about 1.72 GW of capacity, according to the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL).

 

By EIA via Renewables Now

 

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BRASILIA, Nov 22 (Reuters) – Brazilian inflation fell to the second lowest level in more than two decades, according to a mid-month measure of consumer prices released on Friday, a figure likely to give the central bank extra cover to reduce interest rates again next month.

The annual rate of Brazil’s IPCA-15 consumer price inflation in the month to mid-November fell to 2.67% from 2.72% the month before, marking the lowest rate since September last year and the second lowest since March 1999.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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China’s effort to fill a protein gap created by the spread of African swine fever is rippling through Brazil’s massive beef industry, pushing up prices and profits for both cattle ranchers and meatpackers.

While China has been increasing local poultry production and raising pork imports from several suppliers, Brazil is the only big beef exporter able to meet the Asian nation’s demand. Chinese importers are snapping up all types of cuts, inflating prices along the Brazilian chain from calves to animals ready for slaughter.

 

By Tatiana Freitas via Bloomberg

 

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The Gross Value of Agricultural Production (VBP) 2019 is estimated at R $ 609.5 billion, based on data for October. The value is 1.7% more than in 2018, which was R $ 599.4 billion. In estimating the crops reach R $ 399.9 billion and livestock, R $ 209.5 billion. The value of cattle was raised to 6.6%, while the crops were reduced by 0.7%.

Most of the products analyzed has shown good performance, according to the survey of the Agricultural Policy Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply. Among these, the main highlights are: herbaceous cotton (value of production increased by 17.5% compared to last year), peanuts (12.4%), bananas (18.7%), potatoes (101.4%) bean (56.4%), orange (4.5%), castor (37%), maize (23.8%) and tomato (10%). In some products, such as beans, potatoes and tomatoes English, prices were more important than the amount set for the result.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SoftBank has made plenty of headlines lately, but for all the wrong reasons (like the downfall of WeWork, its once-darling investment in the United States). In other regions, though, the Japanese investment firm is managing to quietly dole out its mega-bucks—minus the intense level of scrutiny that follows its fund or other investments.

The growing middle class and fast adoption of new technologies has made Latin America—and in particular countries like Brazil and Mexico—a prime target for SoftBank. The firm has already made bets on 10 different startups in the region, according to André Maciel, managing partner of the SoftBank Innovation Fund. The exec spoke at this week’s Fortune Global Forum in Paris, where he talked about the various reasons why this region is so attractive to SoftBank. (In total, SoftBank is committing $5 billion in investments in Latin America.)

 

By Michal Lev-Ram via Fortune

 

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HOUSTON — The government of Brazil is ready to move into the next phase of efforts to attract commercial launch business to the country with the ratification of an agreement with the United States.

Brazil’s Senate formally approved Nov. 12 a technology safeguards agreement that the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, signed in March during a visit to the United States that included a meeting with President Donald Trump. That agreement allows American spacecraft and launch vehicles to be exported to Brazil for launches there, ensuring compliance with export control and nonproliferation policies.

 

By Jeff Foust via Space News

 

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After decades shielded by closed economic policies, Brazil is changing its course on trade. President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration is slashing import tariffs on more than 2,300 products — reducing some to zero from as much as 20%.

For local businesses accustomed to protectionism, the policy change means being forced to adapt to the challenges of free trade. For American manufacturers, however, the world’s eighth-largest economy just became a new opportunity.

By Shelagh Dolan via ThomasNet

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The construction of a luxury tourism complex aimed at attracting foreign millionaires, where a bungalow will
cost between R$7.5 million and R$17.5 million, is expected to begin next year along 6.5 kilometers of beach in
Rio Grande do Norte state, in Brazil’s Northeast region.

The Eco Estrela venture, designed by Polish group Gremi in Baía Formosa, 100 km from state capital Natal, is
designed to compete with world-famous and environmentally sustainable destinations such as Porto Cervo, in
Sardinia (Italy), Sotogrande (Spain) and Mayakoba (Mexico). Hotels, resort facilities and luxury residential
units are planned.

Gremi group’s Polish businessman Grzegorz Hajdarowicz will do a roadshow in New York, London, Zurich,
Luxembourg, São Paulo and Lisbon between November 18 and December 15 to raise $100 million (R$417
million) with investors.

By Moreira Assis via Valor Internacional

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Brazilian consumers are increasingly looking to buy connected devices for personal use and for the home, according to research carried out by software firm Avast.

According to the study, 31% of consumers in Brazil are looking to get a smartwatch. More women want a smartwatch (33% versus 31% of the males surveyed). The wishlist of Brazilian consumers also includes Alexa or Google Home smart speakers (30%), smart lamps (29%) and smart thermostats (10%). The survey polled 609 people from March to May 2019.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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The 270 million hectares of native vegetation preserved by rural landowners (Legal Reserves and unprotected areas) yield Brazil the equivalent of some U.S. $1.5 trillion per year in ecosystem services, such as crop pollination, pest control, water security, rain production and soil quality maintenance.

The calculation is part of a paper published in the journal Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation and endorsed by 407 scientist signatories, including 371 researchers affiliated with 79 Brazilian institutions.

 

By Maria Fernanda Ziegler via phys.org

 

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SAO PAULO — Economic activity in Brazil accelerated in September, closing the third quarter on the upswing and offering hope that the country’s long-struggling economy may be turning the corner.

The central bank’s IBC-Br economic activity index, a leading indicator of gross domestic product (GDP), rose 0.44% in September from August, well above 0.07% growth the month before.

 

By Jose de Castro via Financial Post

 

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Brazil and China signed today (13) agreements and memorandums of understanding in the areas of politics, economy, trade, agriculture, health inspection, transportation, health and culture. Chinese President Xi Jinping, is in Brasilia to attend the 11th meeting of BRICS Summit and met early on Wednesday with President Jair Bolsonaro, at the Itamaraty Palace, informs the “Agency Brazil.”

Speaking to press, Bolsonaro said the government and Brazilian businessmen want to expand and diversify trade with China. For the president, the acts signed give impetus to these relations. “This bilateral relationship in various areas, including the Chinese government’s nod on adding value what we produce, all this is very welcome,” he said.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Our NEW Member Murphy & McGonigle invites you to their event The Post Lava Jato World to Feature Leading Authorities Involved in the Enforcement Effort in Lava Jato. How corporates must adapt to the changing regulatory and compliance environment in LATAM

Tuesday,  November 19, 2019 – 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

1185 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor

RSVP: mcurran@mmlawus.com / (212) 880-3989

Learn more: http://shorturl.at/lmXZ2

 

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s government on Monday announced measures and legislative proposals to create up to 4 million jobs by 2022 and inject tens of billions of reais into the economy through loans and projected savings for private and state-run firms.

The proposals are aimed at generating jobs and growth in Latin America’s largest economy, which is on track to expand at a sluggish pace of around 1% for the third year in a row and boasts a stubbornly high unemployment rate of just under 12%.

 

By Marcela Ayres via Reuters

 

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The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply Cristina (PR) signed on Tuesday (12), Agrobit held in Londrina (PR), the project’s term sheet Coalition Soy 4.0, along with the Innovation director and technology Embrapa, Cleber Soares, the general head of Embrapa Soja José Renato Bouças Farias, the innovation Secretary MPLS, Fernando Camargo, the president of the Rural Parana Society, Antonio Sampaio and AgroValley manager – Londrina innovation cluster George Hiraiwa.

According to Farias, the project Coalition Soy 4.0, under the leadership of Embrapa Soja, aims to strengthen the innovation assets for the soybean crop. Embrapa Soja engaged in the development of technological solutions for the soybean crop in Brazil, bringing technical guidelines for production systems and seeking innovative solutions to the field.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Online fraud and identity theft is a global problem. In Brazil, in particular, it’s estimated that those types of crimes cost the country about $15 billion a year. In fact, Brazil is ranked second in the world in terms of the number of online fraud and identity theft infractions. And, the country is home to one fraud attempt every 16 seconds.

Besides being a problem for its citizens, the issue also can negatively impact the country’s economic relationships with other countries, that may hesitate to do business there.

 

Via Mary Ann Azevedo via Crunchbase

 

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Few can claim to have visited the white-sand beaches and lush mountain jungles of Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha archipelago, but that’s not for a lack of trying. Around 75% of these 21 scenic islands set 350km off Brazil’s north-east coast were declared a protected national marine park and sanctuary in 1988, and in order to promote sustainable development, only 420 visitors a day are allowed to enter.

But while a trip to these volcanic clusters is highly sought-after by tourists now, it wasn’t always so. Between the 18th and 20th Centuries, the main island was used as a prison for some of Brazil’s most dangerous criminals.

 

By Ana Terra Athayde via BBC Travel

 

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Brazil’s iFood is a great example of a highly innovative company that is very much a product of Silicon Valley — even though it is founded and funded largely by Brazilians (and South Africans). It has raised nearly $600 million and has swiftly built a giant business. It is one of Brazil’s nine unicorns today.

I came across iFood earlier this year at the well-attended BayBrazil conference in Silicon Valley, where Fabricio Bloisi, founder and CEO of Movile, a Brazilian mobile apps and investment firm, was the keynote speaker. Bloisi is a colorful personality, and he’s funny and humble considering all the success he’s had in business.

 

By Tom Foremski via ZDNet

 

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Kovi, a fast-growing 17-month-old Brazilian mobility startup, has raised a $30 million Series A led by Global Founders Capital.

New investor Quona Capital and existing investors Monashees, Maya Capital, Accel partner Kevin Efrusy, Y Combinator, Broadhaven Ventures, Tinder founder Justin Mateen and ONEVC also participated in the financing, which brings Kovi’s total raised since its inception to $40.6 million.

 

By Mary Ann Azevedo via Crunchbase News

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s government unveiled a bundle of wide-ranging reforms on Tuesday, aimed at cutting spending and reducing the size of the state to drive down its chronic fiscal deficit.

Pushing ahead with an ambitious privatization plan, he sent Congress a bill to sell Brazil’s largest utility, state-run Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6.SA), known as Eletrobras.

 

By Marcela Ayres and Lisandra Paraguassu via Reuters

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Banco Inter SA , a SoftBank-backed online lender that has seen rapid growth thanks to its free checking accounts, is preparing to launch a smartphone app offering food delivery and ride hailing, its chief executive told Reuters.

The bank has seen deposits skyrocket in recent years but remains a relative bit player in Latin America’s largest economy.

 

By Carolina Mandl via KFGO

 

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Now the second largest market for podcasts in the world, Brazil is attracting increased investment from players active in the segment.

Brazil is only behind the United States when it comes to consumption of the audio format, according to Podcast Stats Soundbites. Large companies placing their bets in the format, like Google, expect non-English markets like Brazil and India to grow exponentially.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, is lowering interest rates and the Senate there recently passed much-needed pension reform. With those factors, among others, in mind, perhaps it’s not surprising some professional investors are again warming to Brazilian equities.

The iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF EWZ, +1.70% is up 18.53% year to date, a gain that’s well ahead of the 9.88% returned by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. EWZ has a three-year standard deviation of 28.48%, also well above that of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, but this year, Brazilian stocks are justifying the added risk.

 

Via Market Watch

 

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The world’s largest car rental provider, Enterprise Holdings, Inc. – which owns and operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands through its integrated global network of independent regional subsidiaries – today announced its further expansion in South America with the launch of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand in Brazil, joining the National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands in the country.

 

Via Travel Pulse

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a new all-time low of 5.00% on Wednesday as expected, but signaled that further easing may be less aggressive than it has been in recent months, despite inflation running well below target.

In a change from recent statements, the bank’s policymakers warned that the historically low level of rates could raise uncertainty and lift inflation within the time horizon for which the bank sets policy.

 

By Jamie McGeever via KFGO

 

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(Bloomberg)—When Amazon.com Inc., No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2019 Top 500, announced it was rolling out its popular Prime delivery subscription service in Brazil last month, shares of  local e-commerce competitors tanked. Investors also got jittery in 2017, when the world’s largest online retailer launched a marketplace to sell electronics. In both cases, the shares recovered quickly once investors reminded themselves of a durable truth about Brazilian ecommerce: Local firms have a firm igrip on the market and are in little danger of succumbing to the American interloper.

So it goes for Amazon in Latin America’s largest economy. Seven years after entering Brazil, the Seattle-based company is battling to gain traction against a handful of local competitors with extensive delivery networks, strong brands and a deep understanding of Brazilian shoppers.

 

Via Digital Commerce 360

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – The main aim of the Brazilian central bank’s monetary policy is to ensure low and stable inflation, Fabio Kanczuk, the monetary authority’s incoming director for economic policy, said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

In brief opening remarks, in which he made no further comment on his outlook for official interest rates, Kanczuk said “it is with monetary stability that we will get interest rates to the most appropriate levels, always firm in our objective of promoting an environment of sustainable economic growth.”

 

By Marcela Ayres via KFGO

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s benchmark interest rate will be cut to a record low of 5.00% on Wednesday, according to the unanimous view in a Reuters poll of economists, as the central bank battles to spur economic growth and prevent inflation from falling further below target.

All 31 economists surveyed say the bank’s rate-setting committee known as ‘Copom’ will reduce the Selic rate by half a percentage point for the third successive meeting. A dovish outlook for the next year from 25 economists was also unanimous.

By Jamie McGeever via Yahoo Finance

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Negotiations between Mercosur and Canada aimed at closing a free trade agreement are “intense”, with the possibility of being finalized by 2020. This was the information brought to the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense (CRE) of the Senate by the diplomat Pedro Henrique Lopes Borio on Thursday (24), when appeared before and had its name approved to head the Brazilian embassy in Canada.

“Interestingly, the coordinator of the negotiations on the Canadian side, David Usher, must occupy a prominent place in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has just been re-elected. This shows the importance that Canada gives the Mercosur because they want to reduce the dependence of the US economy have. They want to diversify its trade. But this agreement is also of paramount importance to Brazil. Will open the Canadian government procurement market for us, that comes to $ 300 billion [about US $ 1.2 trillion] per year, “Borio said.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian fuel distributor Petrobras Distribuidora SA is considering creating energy trading units as it seeks to reposition itself after its privatization last July, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported on Thursday.

The company is considering creating ethanol, electricity and natural gas trading businesses, Rafael Grisolia, BR Distribuidora’s chief executive, told the Thursday edition of Valor Econômico.

 

By Ana Mano via Reuters

 

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After decades of delay and political deadlock, Brazil has finally passed its long awaited pension reform. It is a big victory for the country’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro and his economic tsar, the University of Chicago-educated Paulo Guedes, who spearheaded its passage.  The costs of failure would have been high. Brazil’s ballooning pensions spending risked sparking “a social collapse” in Latin America’s largest economy, according to Rodrigo Maia, the Speaker of the lower house who shepherded the constitutional amendment required to reform the pensions system through a fractious Congress.

 

By Andres Schipani and Bryan Harris via Financial Times

 

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The Brazilian Research and Industrial Innovation (EMBRAPII) and Israel’s Innovation Authority (IIA, acronym in English) will support the development of four Innovation projects carried out in cooperation, Brazilian and Israeli companies. They will invest US $ 7.5 million. The resources include business investments in both countries, the agencies encouragements to innovation and research centers. The EMBRAPII finances non-reimbursable funds 1/3 of the Brazilian company in each project.

The projects, which cover several areas, are the first results of the cooperation agreement signed between EMBRAPII and the IIA, which aimed to expand mutual cooperation in science and technology of the two countries and facilitate the identification of business opportunities that can generate innovative products and systems to market. “The partnership with IIA showed that this initiative can lead the industries of Brazil and Israel to be more attentive to the wide range of opportunities to be explored between the two countries,” said Jorge Guimaraes, CEO of EMBRAPII.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) just scored another important order – this time from Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (part of Volkswagen Group) for commercial vehicles in Latin America.

The newly signed long-term strategic cooperation agreement between CATL and VWCO will initially focus on all-electric Volkswagen e-Delivery trucks (11 and 14-ton version), that from 2020 will be produced in Brazil.

 

By Mark Kane via InsideEVs

 

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BRASILIA, Oct 22 (Reuters) – A measure of Brazilian inflation this month fell to its lowest in over 20 years, figures on Tuesday showed, cementing the view that the central bank will cut interest rates to a fresh all-time low next week and probably again before the year is out.

Consumer prices rose 0.09% from mid-September to mid-October, marking the weakest rate of this particular measure of monthly inflation for any month of October since 1998, according to government statistics agency IBGE.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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SAO PAULO, Oct 18 (Reuters) – The Brazilian government awarded on Friday contracts for companies to build new power generation installations with combined capacity of 2.98 gigawatts, that will cost about 11.16 billion reais ($2.71 billion) to be built.

According to the power trading chamber CCEE, the new plants, which will need to be operational in six years, will sell energy for an average price of 176 reais per megawatt, a 33% discount over the initial price at the auction.

By Luciano Costa via Yahoo Finance

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(Bloomberg) — Banco do Brasil SA, Latin America’s biggest lender by assets, and a government-managed fund raised 5.8 billion reais ($1.4 billion) by selling shares of the state-owned bank, another step in Brazil’s effort to shrink the size of the state.

Shares of the company rose to a three-week high after the deal, which priced 132.5 million shares at 44.05 reais apiece, according to a regulatory filing. A little over half of the shares were sold by a Brazilian workers’ investment fund known as FI-FGTS, managed by another state-controlled bank, Caixa Economica Federal. The rest was sold by Banco do Brasil itself, which held some of its own shares through its treasury desk.

By Vinícius Andrade, Felipe Marques, Rachel Gamarski and Cristiane Lucchesi via Yahoo Finance

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RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Chinese power company State Grid is considering participating in the privatization of Brazilian state-run energy firm Eletrobras SA (ELET6.SA), Brazil Chief Executive Chang Zhongjiao said on Thursday.

“About Eletrobras there is no detailed information, if it is in accordance to our expansion plan, why not?” he told journalists in Rio de Janeiro.

 

By Rodrigo Via Gaier via Reuters

 

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CHICAGO/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese importers have been busy booking fresh purchases of soybeans from Brazil this week, despite the White House announcement that China had agreed to buy up to $50 billion of U.S. farm products annually during trade talks last week.

Two traders said China has booked at least eight boatloads, or 480,000 tonnes worth $173 million, of Brazilian soybeans since Monday.

 

By Karl Plume and Hallie Gu via Reuters

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Senate passed the main text of a bill late on Tuesday defining the distribution of proceeds from a blockbuster auction of oil prospecting rights, a key milestone for the enormous offshore region known as TOR – the ‘transfer-of-rights’ area.

The bidders who win exploration and production rights in the massive Nov. 6 auction will be obliged to pay the government a combined signing bonus of some 106.5 billion reais ($25.8 billion), making it the largest oil bidding round in history, according to Brazilian authorities.

By Gram Slattery and Marta Nogueira via Yahoo Finance

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Ebanx, the newly minted Brazilian financial services unicorn, expects to process $2 billion in payments by the end of the year and is looking to expand its offerings into domestic payments as it grows.

Since its launch in 2012, Ebanx has primarily focused on helping international merchants sell locally in Brazil. The Brazilian business accounts for nearly 90% of the company’s revenue, but as it expands into other markets the company is also broadening its suite of services.

 

By Jonathan Shieber via Tech Crunch

 

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A source has revealed that Brazilian lender Banco Inter SA is currently in discussions with Uber about partnering in financial services.

The move is another move by Japan’s SoftBank Group — which is a shareholder in Uber — to integrate its business in Latin America. While the source wouldn’t comment on the terms of a possible deal, it would target the rideshare giant’s drivers and Banco’s more than 3 million clients. Brazil is now Uber’s largest market outside the United States, with São Paulo boasting more Uber rides than any other city in the world.

 

By Pymnts

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s largest truckmakers are expressing optimism again about the growth prospects for Latin America’s largest economy, even as the country continues to struggle to rebound from a deep recession that began in 2015.

“We are breathing optimism,” said Martin Lundstedt, Volvo Group’s President and CEO (VOLVb.ST), who traveled to Sao Paulo to take part in the biennial Fenatran expo, the largest truck and machinery trade show in the country.

 

By Marcelo Rochabrun via Reuters

 

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No dia 4 de novembro acontecerá em São Paulo, o lançamento do livro “Entendendo a Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil” de Cooordenação e Coautoria de Felipe Neves.

Felipe é Fellow do nosso POY Fellowship Program e Presidente e Fundador do Projeto Constituição na Escola. O objetivo do Projeto, através das aulas sobre a Constituição Federal Brasileira, é expandir a noção cívica dos estudantes, ensinando-lhes sobre seus direitos e deveres constitucionais, para que tenham uma base educacional sólida para compreender a importância de ser um cidadão consciente.

Saiba mais aqui

In an encouraging development for Brazil’s offshore oil exploration and production (E&P) sector, a bevy of big industry names queued up for the latest rights on offer agreeing to fork up $2.2 billion.

On Thursday (October 10), the country’s government confirmed that ten companies had agreed to pay the amount for drilling rights in 12 offshore oil blocks, with the country’s pre-salt deposits, i.e. exploration prospects in which billions of barrels of oil are trapped beneath a layer of salt underneath the ocean bed, attracted the most attention.

 

By Gaurav Sharma via Forbes

 

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The Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) said on Thursday (10) that Brazil is already recognized as an agricultural powerhouse, but has room to continue growing in a sustainable manner. By participating in the Brazil Panel: Sustainable Agricultural Power, during the Investment Forum Brazil 2019 in Sao Paulo, the minister said Brazil wants to move beyond the current 7% share in world trade.

“We are one of the few countries in the world with the capacity to significantly expand the provision of sustainable food. To follow increasing domestic production and minimizing impacts on the environment, the Brazilian government and the private sector need to continue working together, “said the minister, noting that Brazil should effectively assume their global agri-environment power vocation.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Coffee trees all over Brazil’s top producing state Minas Gerais have bloomed this week, marking the first major flowering for the new Brazilian coffee crop that could indicate the size of next year’s production.

Farmers and analysts shared pictures and videos of their crops, with trees full of flowers or flower buds. Agronomists say a good flowering, ample and uniform, followed by adequate moisture and mild temperatures, could lead to good production.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Federal Audit Court known as the TCU unanimously approved on Wednesday the ground rules for a major auction of pre-salt oil concessions in a “transfer of rights” (TOR) area off the country’s southeastern coast.

The government expects to raise 106 billion reais ($25.8 billion) from the auction scheduled for Nov. 6, which is expected to attract a range of major global oil companies to tap one of the world’s most promising conventional oil plays.

 

By Gabriel Ponte via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Brazilian consumer price inflation fell to its lowest in more than a year in September, official figures on Wednesday showed, a reading below the central bank’s target that is likely to strengthen expectations of another cut in interest rates.

The benchmark IPCA index of inflation rose 2.89% in the 12 months through September, down from an increase of 3.43% in the previous month, government statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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As part of its grander geostrategic ambitions, Brazil aims to expand its strategic reach in the Indo-Pacific region. Moving from a regional power in South America to a global player will entail Brasilia extending its influence across the Pacific to the west coast of Africa and eventually around to the wider Indo-Pacific region.

This grand strategic vision has accelerated under the current Brazilian leadership.

 

By Balaji Chandramohan via The Diplomat

 

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BRASILIA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday submitted to Congress a bill drafted by the Central Bank of Brazil to modernize the foreign exchange market.

“The objective of the bill is to establish a new, more modern, more concise and legally secure framework for the foreign exchange and capital markets in Brazil and Brazilians abroad,” said the bank in a press release.

 

Via Xinhua

 

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BRASILIA, Oct 4 (Reuters) – President Jair Bolsonaro signed a law modernizing Brazil’s telecommunications regulations on Friday in a move long expected by the industry to allow new investment opportunities and help salvage bankrupt carrier Oi SA .

The law, which took five years to clear Congress, will boost telecom companies by lifting restrictions on sales of their formerly state-owned assets. It will also allow for a secondary market for trading cellphone frequencies.

 

Via Reuters

 

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Congratulations to Bruno Yoshimura and the ONEVC team for this important achievement. Bruno is a fellow of our POY Fellowship Program and a member of our Young Professionals Committee. 

**

In recent years, Brazil’s startup scene has exploded as investor interest in Latin America as a whole has increased. And ONEVC, a cross-border fund dedicated to investing in U.S. and Latin American startups, is ideally poised to capitalize on that.

The firm, with offices in São Paulo and San Francisco, has closed its first fund, ONEVC FUND I LP, Crunchbase News has learned exclusively.

The firm has $30 million under management, along with $8 million to invest in “special opportunities” (more about those later). Since it was formed in November 2017, ONEVC has already seen two portfolio companies become unicorns and another (San Francisco-based HeyDoctor) exit.

By Mary Ann Azevedo via Crunchbase News

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s services sector activity expanded in September at the fastest pace in six months, a closely watched purchasing managers index survey showed on Thursday, with employment growth in the sector hitting its highest in over five years.

The latest IHS Markit PMI figures suggest Brazil is bucking a global trend consistent with sharply slowing activity and even recession across the United States, Europe and Asia.

 

By Jamie McGeever via KFGO

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc will launch its virtual assistant Alexa in Brazil starting this month, with plans for three different devices with the software installed, as it rapidly expands operations in Latin America’s largest economy.

The move comes only three weeks after the U.S. e-commerce giant introduced its Prime subscription service to Brazilian consumers, toughening the competition with local retailers by offering unlimited nationwide free shipping and a maximum 48-hour delivery time in over 90 municipalities.

 

By Gabriella Mello via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Industrial production in Brazil rose in August at its fastest pace in more than a year, official figures on Tuesday showed, a sign that Latin America’s largest economy may slowly be turning a corner after flirting with recession earlier in the year.

The recovery may be on an uneven footing, however, as intermediate goods production was the only one of four broad economic categories to grow, and only 10 of the 26 narrower sectors surveyed managed to expand in the month.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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The fintech segment continues to grow in Brazil with most startups focused on B2B offerings, according to a new study.

There are 504 fintechs operating in Brazil across 10 segments currently – this compares to 377 fintechs active in Brazil in 2018, according to the data compiled by Finnovation, a local website that has been monitoring the segment since 2011.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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At the end of the 9th Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of BRICS held in Bonito (MS), on Thursday (26), representatives of the five countries signed the Nice Charter, with 27 items that reaffirm commitment to cooperation in the area agricultural. The ministers said the potential to enhance collaboration in the food production areas, food security and environmental security.

“This can be achieved through good agricultural practices, developing digital agriculture and value chains for better agricultural marketing and improvement of income for farmers,” says the letter, which deals with issues such as innovation, industry communication, startups, trade facilitation, scientific principles, regionalization and sustainability.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SoftBank  did not let up the flow of capital to Brazil this month, staying busy despite the WeWork debacle. With two more $100 million-plus rounds in QuintoAndar and MadeiraMadeira, the Japanese investor has funded at least one more unicorn in the Brazilian ecosystem. Their investments in Brazil from the past two months alone far outstrip Latin America’s venture capital funding in all of 2016.

In early September, SoftBank backed QuintoAndar  for a $250 million Series D round alongside Dragoneer, General Atlantic and Kaszek Ventures, which recently made headlines for raising $600 million to invest in Latin America. QuintoAndar is a real estate rental startup that simplifies the process of locating and renting an apartment in Brazil. Although the startup only has 2% of the rentals market share in Brazil, QuintoAndar’s  tech solution enabled them to scale rapidly, beating out traditional incumbents in the region’s bureaucratic rental structure.

 

By Sophia Wood via Tech Crunch

 

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In an exclusive interview to the entry portal Uagro / DATAGRO, this Monday (23), at the International Congress of Wheat Industry in Campinas (SP), the president of Embrapa, Celso Moretti said the search body reduce dependence the budget of the National Treasury, looking increasingly tailor agreements with the private sector, resulting in new resources for agricultural research.

In this sense, Moretti said he saw very much welcome the approval of the Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) of the Senate’s bill, which includes between the resources of Embrapa those from the licensing for commercial exploitation of technologies, products, services and brand use rights.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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(Bloomberg) — Ari de Sa Cavalcante Neto was spending so much time away from home selling his firm’s shares to U.S. investors that he felt he owed his seven-year-old daughter an explanation.

“I told her I had entered a very long competition and, if I won, I’d bring home a unicorn,” Cavalcante, chief executive officer of Brazil’s Arco Platform Ltd., told a group of entrepreneurs earlier this year.

By Felipe Marques, Cristiane Lucchesi and Vinicius Andrade via Yahoo Finance

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Seven months into the presidency of Roberto Campos Neto, Brazil’s central bank has implemented a quiet revolution in its monetary policy, with the former trader showing a willingness to tolerate a weaker currency.

In selling international reserves for the first time in 10 years to meet demand for dollars, while slashing interest rates to new lows to revive growth, the blue water between monetary and exchange rate policy is becoming ever clearer, analysts say.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Chinese state-owned commodities trader COFCO INTL [CNCOF.UL] plans to continue to invest in Brazil in the near future after having quickly achieved a significant position in the local commodities market, but will be very selective in choosing next targets.

COFCO sources and trades grains, oilseeds, sugar, coffee and cotton in Brazil, where it hosts most of its 36 Latin American warehouses, eight food processing plants and 10 port terminals.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira and Roberto Samora via Reuters

 

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The Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) and the Brazilian Agency for Export and Investment Promotion (Apex-Brazil) organized the participation of Brazilian companies in the main fair of specialty coffee Asia, SCAJ World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition 2019 held between 11 and 13 September in Japan.

In the three-day event, 21 members of the Association conducted 395 business contacts with potential buyers from Japan, China, Taiwan, UK, Netherlands, South Korea, Malaysia, England and the United States have closed $ 2.1 million in business. For the next 12 months, they predict also the realization of over US $ 9.47 million.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Canadian storytelling app Wattpad is headed to Brazil, South America’s biggest media market, after signing a development and production deal with indie studio Wise Entertainment.

The agreement hands Wise Entertainment, which has offices in Los Angeles and New York City, the exclusive first-look rights to develop Wattpad stories into Portuguese-language film and TV projects for global distribution.

 

By Allen Lau via The Hollywood Reporter

 

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(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. is expanding its Brazil fixed-income business to include local bonds as issuance hits a record amid record-low interest rates and optimism about President Jair Bolsonaro’s economic reforms.

The bank started working with corporate clients earlier this year to manage their sales of bonds denominated in reais, according to Lucianna Lorenzo, the head of international and local debt capital markets at JPMorgan in Brazil.

 

By Pablo Gonzalez via Yahoo News

 

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“We have around 40 companies that fit in Brazil,” the group’s head in Brazil, André Maciel, told the news outlet during an event at Cubo, a technological hub funded by Itaú Unibanco, the largest private bank in Latin America.

 

Via PYMNTS

 

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ENTRE RIOS DO OESTE, Brasil, Sep 20 2019 (IPS) – Biogas has the potential to provide 36 percent of the electricity consumed in Brazil or replace 70 percent of diesel if purified as biomethane, according to the Brazilian Association of Biogas and Biomethane (Abiogas).

This new source of energy is only recently gaining a foothold in this country, especially in the agricultural south. Its future is promising in an agro-diverse Brazil, which is the world’s largest producer or exporter of sugar, coffee, meat and soybeans.

 

By Mario Osava via IPS News

 

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SAO PAULO, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Brazilian telecommunications firm Oi SA is in talks with Spain’s Telefonica SA and Italy’s Telecom Italia SpA to sell its mobile network to avoid insolvency, five people with knowledge of the matter said.

Oi has been struggling to turn around its business since filing for bankruptcy protection in June 2016 to restructure approximately 65 billion reais of debt.

 

By Carolina Mandl and Gabriela Mello

 

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Brazil is known for its complex business environment, and its byzantine tax system is a big reason why. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings, Brazil is the world’s seventh-worst place to have to pay taxes, roughly on par with the Republic of Congo and Bolivia. President Jair Bolsonaro’s government, continuing to tackle some of the most vexing issues facing Latin America’s largest economy, hopes to simplify taxes for both business and ordinary citizens, a goal that eluded prior heads of state.

 

By Rachel Gamarski via Bloomberg

 

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Over the past few months, there has been some movement in the Brazilian political sphere which seems to be targeting increased transparency and auditability for cryptocurrency transactions.

New regulation has been approved that requires users to disclose more information about their cryptocurrency trades, and businesses are now required to register their holdings as well. Taxes have also been clarified and new measures are being discussed which could add additional taxes to any crypto-to-fiat trading.

By Pedro Febrero via Yahoo Finance

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> on Thursday announced a 1 billion reais ($243.29 million) expansion at a plant in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, joining Volkswagen and General Motors in new investments in the region.

Toyota said the funding would allow the Sorocaba plant, which builds the Etios and Yaris sedan models, to produce a new vehicle model. It did not provide details on the new model.

By Marcelo Rochabrun via Yahoo Finance

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SAO PAULO, Sept 17 (Reuters) – A spike in oil prices following recent attacks on facilities in Saudi Arabia is expected to boost an already positive outlook for ethanol in Brazil, according to analysts and industry representatives, further relegating sugar to the background for mills that largely process ethanol.

If higher oil prices lead to increased gasoline prices in Brazil, ethanol would keep its price advantage over the fossil fuel at the pumps, potentially leading to strong demand and good profit margins for cane mills, market participants said.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira via Nasdaq

 

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The Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) began on Monday (16) the datebook in Saudi Arabia, the second destination of the mission to the Middle East. The first engagement was a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Mansour bin Hilal Al Mushaiti. The two discussed bilateral technical cooperation in agriculture.

The minister also spoke of exports to the Arab country. Major importers of chicken and beef, Saudi Arabia expressed interest in the marketing of fodder for animal feed produced in Brazil.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Twenty-one-year-old Brazilian Anna Luisa Baserra always wanted to be a scientist. From washing liquid to shampoo, no household item escaped the potential for becoming the next scientific experiment.

“I used to play with my cousins, trying to make chemical compounds from any liquids we could find, mixing them up and pretending to be professional scientists,” she recalls.

 

By Lis Mullin Bernhardt via UN Environment

 

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Marco Krapels left Tesla Inc. and started a battery company in a place that’s a hemisphere away from California’s rarefied clean-energy scene: Brazil.

Krapels, Tesla’s former vice president for international expansion of solar and storage, now runs Sao Paulo-based MicroPower-Comerc. The company, backed by Siemens AG, is pushing to use big mobile batteries to wean Latin America’s largest economy off oil-fired generators during blackouts.

 

By Laura Millan Lombrana via Bloomberg

 

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Virgin Atlantic and GOL are opening up Brazil with a codeshare agreement that will allow passengers on the UK airline’s forthcoming London-Sao Paolo service to connect to 37 destinations.

GOL is Brazil’s biggest domestic carrier and connections will include leisure favorites such as surf hotspot Florianopolis, Amazon jungle launchpad Manaus and the pristine coastline of Recife.

 

By Steve Creedy via AirlineRatings

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Brazil’s development bank BNDES is mulling strategies to sell its stakes in listed companies such as state-controlled oil company Petrobras SA , two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

As discussions are still ongoing, BNDES may start divestments only next year, the sources added.

By Rodrigo Viga Gaier via Yahoo Finance

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(AMZN) — Amazon today announces the launch of Amazon Music for Brazil, bringing customers millions of songs and thousands of playlists and stations ad-free, with two music streaming tiers. Beginning today, customers can access Amazon Music Unlimited, the premium music streaming tier with unlimited access to more than 50 million songs, including chart-topping releases from Brazilian and International artists including Pabllo Vittar, Post Malone, Ivete Sangalo, Billie Eilish, Gustavo Mioto and many more, along with locally curated playlists and stations, developed specifically for today’s music fan in Brazil. This follows Tuesday’s launch of Amazon Prime in Brazil, offering members a selection of more than two million songs at no additional cost to their Prime membership. Customers can learn more about Amazon Music, and begin a three-month free trial for the Unlimited tier today at amazon.com.br/music.

 

Via Yahoo Finance

 

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BRASILIA, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Brazil’s services sector grew in July at its fastest pace this year, official figures showed on Thursday, another indication that Latin American’s largest economy started the third quarter on a solid footing.

A day after figures showed retail sales posting their biggest rise of the year in July, government statistics agency IBGE said service sector activity climbed 0.8% in the month and 1.8% on the year, both smashing forecasts.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA, Sept 12 (Reuters) – The Brazilian Senate late on Wednesday approved a bill that will modernize Brazil’s telecommunications law and boost companies in the sector by lifting restrictions on asset sales, according to the upper house’s news service, Agencia Senado.

The bill, known as PLC 79, had already passed the lower house of Congress and will now go to President Jair Bolsonaro to be signed into law.

By Anthony Boadle via Yahoo Finance

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Sao Paulo-based real estate startup QuintoAndar has raised a $250 million Series D in a round that is considered massive by U.S. standards but is positively gargantuan in Brazil. The round takes the company “to unicorn status,” according to CEO Gabriel Braga, although he would not disclose its exact valuation.

SoftBank Group International led the round, which also included participation from another new investor Dragoneer as well as existing backers General Atlantic and Kaszek Ventures. The financing brings the six-year-old company’s total raised to over $335 million, according to its Crunchbase profile, and comes just nine months after its $70 million Series C.

 

By Mary Ann Azevedo via CrunchBase News

 

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Use a sensor to predict whether it will rain on a property and thus identify the best time to apply a crop protection product. Have equipment on a tractor that monitors whether it stops or breaks to allow for quick maintenance. Insert small appliances into the soil to have indicators for planting, such as moisture level. These are some of the applications of the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) that are beginning to be implemented in projects in the field, according to “Agência Brasil”.

Internet of Things (IoT) is a name given to a set of technologies that enable more efficient real-time, multi-area monitoring through multi-purpose machine-to-machine communication dynamics. , such as increasing the ability to monitor and control a given activity, as in the examples above.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Brazil and Mexico have begun talks on a free trade deal, a Brazilian official said on Monday, seeking to deepen commercial ties between the two largest economies in Latin America as trade tensions threaten to undermine global growth.

Marcos Troyjo, Brazil’s deputy economy minister for foreign trade, said Brazil had formally started free trade talks with Mexico, which recently ratified a new trade pact with the United States and Canada to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

 

By Ana Mano via Successful Farming

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it will launch its Prime subscription service in Brazil, where it has struggled against tough local competition in Latin America’s largest economy.

Shares in Brazilian retailers tumbled after Amazon announced it is offering Prime subscribers unlimited nationwide free shipping and a maximum 48-hour delivery time in over 90 municipalities for goods ranging from clothes to electronics.

By Aluisio Alves via Yahoo Finance

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BRASILIA, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Consumer price inflation in Brazil was well contained in August, as forecast, reinforcing expectations of deeper interest rate cuts by the central bank as it tries to fire up economic growth.

Prices measured by the benchmark IPCA index , rose 0.11% in August, government statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, in line with forecasts in a Reuters poll.

 

Via Nasdaq

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Norway’s power generator Statkraft AS [STATKF.UL] plans to sharply increase its capacity to produce renewable energy in Brazil in the next four to five years, the head of the Brazilian unit, Fernando de Lapuerta, told Reuters.

The company is looking to acquire some Brazilian projects and also plans to take part in coming rounds where the government awards licenses for construction of new power plants, the executive said in an interview on Tuesday.

 

By Luciano Costa via Reuters

 

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Mobile devices were the main channel used by Brazilians to transact with their banking institutions in 2018, according to data from the Brazilian Central Bank (BC).

Some 29 billion transactions were completed through smartphones and tablets last year, up 18.4 percent on 2017. This builds on a trend that emerged in Brazil last year, when mobile devices surpassed other remote channels such as Internet banking.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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“Brazil is the country of the future” was a familiar phrase for many years – or as we say in Portuguese – “Brasil, país do futuro”. For tech startups, that future is now. The country is showing signs that the sleeping giant is finally waking up and moving towards its tipping point.

In 2010, I founded an organization called Brazil Innovators, a network that gave innovators and ecosystem builders direct access to Silicon Valley. When I launched, the venture capital community was very small, but it was clear that Brazil was producing great minds and future talent.

 

By Bedy Yang via Forbes

 

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Data from 2018 from the International Responsible Soy Association (RTRS) show that 4.5 million tons of oilseed were certified and made available to the market last year on over 1.2 million hectares. Compared to 2017, there was an increase of 500 thousand tons.

Increasing demand for responsible soy is one of the main incentives for producers to further extend certification of their properties.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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IBM plans to spread its cloud computing load across multiple data centers in Brazil, by building a “multizone” region there.

With just one data center in São Paulo, Brazil, it has promised it will extend that next year to a multizone region, where customers who put servers in one of its data centers have them replicated automatically across numerous other data centers in the same region.

 

By Peter Judge and Mark Ballard via Data Center Dynamics

 

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The Brazilian trade balance registered a surplus of US $ 3.284 billion in August, up 23.7% from the same month last year, which was US $ 2.775 billion. The data were released by the Special Secretariat of Foreign Trade and International Affairs of the Ministry of Economy (Secint / ME) on Monday (02).

“It is the largest surplus for August since 2017,” said Undersecretary of Intelligence and Foreign Trade Statistics, Herlon Brandão, at a press conference held at the Ministry of Economy, in Brasilia (DF), to comment on the numbers. From January to August, the surplus reaches US $ 31.759 billion.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO — Volkswagen will invest 2.4 billion reais ($577 million) in one of its Brazil factories, Sao Paulo state governor Joao Doria said on Thursday during a visit to the automaker’s headquarters in Germany.

Sao Paulo state is the heart of Brazil’s auto industry, although its relevance has been in decline in recent years as other states have offered more generous tax incentives.

 

Via Automotive News Europe

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s ethanol industry is looking to grab a chunk of China’s ethanol market as the Asian nation targets a 10% blend in gasoline to improve air quality, but a short-term jump in exports is unlikely, according to people following the matter.

China wants to add 10% of ethanol to all gasoline used in the country by 2020, a policy that could sharply boost the country’s ethanol market and potentially increase imports, since local production capacity is too small to meet the target.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira via WSAU

 

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Brazil avoided falling into recession on Thursday with the release of new economic data showing South America’s largest economy grew by 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the three months to June, a better than expected performance. The figures showed that Brazil’s economy moved back into expansion after shrinking by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, and its performance was better than analysts had expected; economists polled by Reuters had forecast 0.2 per cent growth.

The figures showed that Brazil’s economy moved back into expansion after shrinking by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, and its performance was better than analysts had expected; economists polled by Reuters had forecast 0.2 per cent growth.

 

By Bryan Harris and Andres Schipani via Financial Times

 

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SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s planned privatization of eight Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4.SA) refineries has lured several of the world’s largest trading and oil companies as prospective bidders, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Around 20 companies have signed non-disclosure agreements granting them access to the refineries’ data and signaling that they are considering a bid, the sources added, speaking on condition of anonymity to disclose private details of the sale.

 

By Tatiana Bautzer and Rodrigo Viga Gaier via Reuters

 

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The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MPLSa) has signed an agreement with Banco do Nordeste (BNB) to subsidize public and private innovation policies aimed at the sustainable development of agriculture in the Caatinga biome. The partnership will allow the structuring of the Strategic Intelligence, Management and Territorial Monitoring System (SITE), which will gather scientific data from the region.

The agreement was signed on Friday (23) by Minister Tereza Cristina, the president of BNB, Romildo Rolim, the president of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Celso Moretti, and the Foundation for Support for Research and Development ( Faped).

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Brazilian power companies are raising a record amount of debt in local markets this year to finance construction of generation assets and transmission lines.

Tax-exempt local infrastructure bonds have been the main instrument to finance power investment in the country. Power companies have issued 12 billion reais ($2.9 billion) of the local bonds in the first seven months of the year, 83% of the total amount issued across all industries.

 

By Luciano Costa via Reuters

 

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Brazil is readying a plan to accelerate the sale of state-controlled assets as well as partnerships with private companies, as part of President Jair Bolsonaro’s push to shrink the public sector and spark investments.

The federal government will put state development bank BNDES in charge of organizing and paying for feasibility studies, which are mandatory for asset sales and auctions and are crucial for their success. BNDES will also be able to hire outside consulting companies based on technical capacity and not just price.

 

By Simone Preissler Iglesias via Bloomberg

 

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The Secretary of Aquaculture and Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Jorge Seif Júnior, is in Norway to attend the Aqua Nor 2019 fair, which takes place in Trondheim. According to Seif, Brazil and Norway are studying the possibility of establishing a technical cooperation that facilitates and promotes the development of Brazilian fishery, aquaculture and fishery health.

“It is one of the largest fish producers in the world, with different technology in both fisheries and aquaculture. It has an excellent health defense system, including some of the best laboratories in the world,” says Seif.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Imagination The Americas Inc.

Imagination Ltd. is a global independent experience agency founded in 1968. With 13 offices worldwide, Imagination has specialized in designing experiences that change how people think, feel, and act. Whether it be increasing brand reputation and preference, driving sales or shaping product design, ultimately, Imagination believes in the power of experience to transform behavior. We measure the impact of everything we do, ensuring our experiences are insight driven, optimized and aligned to our clients’ objectives.

Additionally, Imagination’s dedicated Investor Communications team has over 40 years of unrivaled roadshow experience, spanning over 700 roadshows that have included some of the world’s most high-profile transactions. Our integrated creative agency team provides end-to-end IPO marketing and investor communications support, delivering on all facets of the IPO, from: design and development of the management roadshow slide deck and prospectus covert art; to production of the roadshow management presentation video (and accompanying opening video, modules, sizzle and walk-in video for a clear and compelling investment case); to group meeting brand experiences, production and events surrounding listings.

The Investor Communications team can continue to add value after listing for the investor relations, finance, and marketing teams, maintaining a dialogue with the investment community through IR presentations, annual and corporate responsibility reports, investor and analyst events, and annual general meetings. Imagination is proud to have partnered with a wide variety of public companies providing end-to-end investor and corporate communications support.

Learn more here

Brazil’s pig industry is eagerly awaiting the foreseen surge in demand to pig meat from China. Currently, Brazil is not really feeling the effects of the African Swine Fever crisis in Eastern Asia yet. Although prices grew over the first 6 months of 2019 by 70%, in July the prices dropped again by 15.6%.

The main reason for this phenomenon is that prices are still on ‘speculation’ levels and that the demand has not really started increasing. As a result, the generalised expectations of a non-stop increasing margins for Brazilian pig meat and quotes have started to drop.

 

By Daniel Azevedo via Pig Progress

 

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A “silent revolution” in Brazil will drive the mergers-and-acquisitions business for the next three years as the government privatizes state-owned assets at a pace far exceeding early estimates, according to one of the nation’s top M&A advisers.

“What we’ve seen so far is nothing compared to what’s yet to come,” Ricardo Lacerda, chief executive officer of investment-banking boutique BR Partners, said in an interview in Sao Paulo. “Even assets that are considered crown jewels will end up being sold.”

By Cristiane Luccchesi and Pablo Rosendo Gonzalez via Bloomberg

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Brazil is finally getting serious about loosening the hegemonic grip of Petrobras, the state-owned oil and gas company, on the country’s gas industry, almost ten years since regulatory reforms failed to kickstart greater market competition.

Allowing Petrobras to sell off assets and get out of non-core sectors is central to the government’s natural gas strategy. In July, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro inaugurated the New Gas Market programme, aimed at cutting the domestic price of gas 40pc within two years, guaranteeing participation of new entrants and attracting greater investment to the natural gas sector.

 

By Charles Waine via Petroleum Economist

 

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China this week put in a large order of Brazilian soybeans as it increasingly turns to the South American nation to fill a supply gap after halting purchases from the U.S., according to people familiar with the situation.

Chinese companies have already bought between 25 to 30 cargoes of soy from Brazil so far this week, which is equivalent to about 1.5 million to 2 million tons, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deals are private. Buyers are looking for more Brazilian supply and still haven’t bought enough to cover their needs through October, the people said.

 

Via Bloomberg

 

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Brazil-based software-as-a-service firm Resultados Digitais (RD) has raised a new investment round led by Riverwood Capital following a “significant shift” in international interest in the country’s tech ecosystem.

The investment of 200 million reais ($50 million) is the company’s fifth funding round and brings it closer to the coveted valuation of $1 billion. The transaction includes the firm’s existing backers TPG Growth, DGF Investimentos, Redpoint eventures, Astella Investimentos and Endeavor Catalyst.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

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There are 332 million cars on the road in China, more than anywhere in the world. Most run on pure petrol, but from next year Chinese fuel companies will add 10% ethanol, a move that could have far reaching implications for the consumption of fossil fuels.

Brazil’s biofuel industry is the world’s second largest behind the US. In recent years it has suffered from fuel price shocks resulting from shifts in government policy, but it has been buoyed by the enormous potential of the Chinese market.

 

By Sarita Reed and Vinicius Fontana via China Dialogue

 

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Sid Efromovich, member of our Young Professionals Committee, has just launched his online course on how to learn any foreign language.

A few years ago, he delivered a TEDx talk on how to learn foreign languages. It became the most viewed TED talk by a Brazilian in history, and the 19th most viewed talk on the TEDx channel with other 10 million views. He has now taken everything he knows about language learning and created the 6 Techniques course. It’s a quick 6 hour course that can teach anyone how to learn any language faster and better.

“Languages let us build a bridge to other cultures, and allow us to open up so much more of people’s hearts and minds.”

Learn more here

SAO PAULO, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Latin America’s largest independent investment bank, Banco BTG Pactual SA, reported a 50.2% jump in second-quarter recurring profit on Tuesday, as trading and proprietary investment gains increased as well as management fees.

Recurring net income, which excludes one-time items, rose to 1.029 billion reais ($258 million) from 685 million reais a year earlier.

 

By Carolina Mandl via Reuters

 

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Thanks to the Brazilian government waiving the visa requirement for U.S. citizens – and those from Canada, Australia and Japan, too – in June 2019, planning a trip to Brazil has gotten easier. While Rio de Janeiro can first come to mind, perhaps followed by San Paulo, as a destination, there is another city within Brazil that offers much culture and cuisine, and sand and surf. It’s Salvador.

Within Brazil’s northern state of Bahia, Salvador is a coastal destination that is ushering in new developments while maintaining its past. A convention center to be named Antonio Carlos Magalhães is anticipated to open at the end of 2019. This spring, LATAM began offering a new direct flight from Miami to Salvador, departing on Sunday afternoons and returning to Miami early Monday mornings.

 

By Michelle Herrmann via Forbes

 

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When U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross toured Latin America, President Trump hinted to reporters of his main mission: “We’re going to work on a free trade agreement with Brazil.”

Trade agreements that reduce barriers for the exchange of goods, services, and terabytes have the ability to raise incomes and boost opportunities for all countries involved, if they play by the rules.

 

By Philip Thompson via Washington Examiner

 

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The Ports of Paraná handled in July this year about 5.36 million tons of cargo. The volume represents an increase of 19% compared to the same month of 2018, when the movement reached almost 4.5 million tons. The segment with the highest increase in the period is the solid bulk, both import and export, with a high of 23%.

In 31 days, almost 3.75 million tons of this type of cargo were handled – the volume reached just over 3 million tons in July of the previous year.

Considering only the main solid export bulk together – bran, corn and soybeans together – the increase in handling, compared to July 2018 and 2019, was 33%. Exports of the three products totaled almost 2.4 million tons exported.

Grain sugar also stands out. In July this year almost 334,600 tons left the Port of Paranaguá to other countries, 20% more than the 279,600 tons handled in the same month last year.

Sugar in bustling sack in the Port of Antonina is also high. There were just over 17.7 thousand tons in July 2019 and almost 15.7 thousand tons in July of the previous year.

Via DATAGRO

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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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Brazilian state lender Banco do Brasil SA (BBAS3.SA) is readying a secondary share offering that may raise up to 7.9 billion reais ($2 billion), three people familiar with the matter said.

One of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the transaction has not been announced, said the banks are planning to price the offering by the end of September.

The investment banking units of Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB4.SA), XP Investmentos SA, Caixa Economica Federal, Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Banco do Brasil have been hired to manage the deal, sources said.

State bank Caixa Economica Federal has said it is looking to sell a 2.4% stake in Banco do Brasil held by a workers severance fund, according to a Tuesday securities filing. The transaction could raise nearly 3.1 billion reais for the FI-FGTS fund, which Caixa manages, based on Monday’s closing share price.

Reporting by Carolina Mandl and Tatiana Bautzer; editing by Jonathan Oatis 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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The Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) reported on Friday (02) that the ministry will bring technical assistance and projects for farmers served by the Public Project Irrigation Ceraíma, Bahia. Alongside the Minister of Regional Development, Gustavo Canuto, the minister participated in the launch of the restructuring and modernization works of the project in Guanambi (BA).

Tereza Cristina stressed that the ministry today is one and works to support small, medium and large farmers in the country, with emphasis on those who need more help.

“We need to give the door to those who can produce, those who can earn from their sweat. And with the help of public policies so that you have the dignity and freedom to produce, sell and dream more and more for you, your children and your grandchildren, ”he said.

According to the Ministry of Regional Development, about 3,000 people are expected to benefit from the project in the cities of Guanambi, Urandi, Pindaí and Caetité. In the region, there is cultivation of mango, banana, guava, pumpkin, cassava and vegetables. The irrigation project has been in operation since the 1970s. Investments for the new works amount to R$ 15.9 million, from the Parnaíba and São Francisco Valleys Development Company (Codevasf).

Via DATAGRO

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Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday delivered its strongest message yet that it’s poised to pump more stimulus into an ailing economy after lowering its key rate by a half percentage point.

The bank’s board, led by its President Roberto Campos Neto, cut the benchmark Selic to a record low of 6%, as forecast by 18 of 45 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The others expected a smaller reduction or even no cut at all. While stating that their next move will depend on activity and inflation data, policy makers signaled that forecasts for below-target consumer prices in 2020 leave the door open to more easing.

By Mario Sergio Lima via Bloomberg

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WASHINGTON/BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will pursue a U.S. trade agreement with Brazil, suggesting a friendly relationship with President Jair Bolsonaro could help lower trade barriers between the two biggest economies in the Americas.

“We’re going to work on a free trade agreement with Brazil,” Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving details.

 

By Alexandra Alper, Marcela Ayres and Marcelo Rochabrun

 

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SAO PAULO, July 25 (Reuters) – Brazilian beverages firm Ambev SA on Thursday posted a better-than-expected 8.5% rise in second-quarter net profit, triggering strong gains in its shares.

The Latin American unit of Anheuser Busch InBev said net income reached 2.616 billion reais ($693.42 million), beating a consensus estimate of 2.286 billion reais ($606.58 million) compiled by Refinitiv.

By Gabriela Mello via Yahoo Finance

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Fortaleza, the fifth-largest city in Brazil with a population of about 2.7 million, is set to accept bitcoin (BTC) payments for public transportation by the end of this year.

Local news outlet O Povo reported the news late last week, saying that the Ceara State Co-operative Autonomous Passenger Co-operative (Cootraps) will provide Fortaleza citizens the options to buy bus tickets using bitcoin, credit and debit cards, in addition to the current cash system.

By Yogita Khatri via Yahoo Finance

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O Amigos da Poli ficou entre os finalistas do Prêmio de Responsabilidade Social oferecido durante o Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner, premiação que ocorreu no dia 14 de Maio, na cidade de New York.

O evento organizado pela Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, elegeu o fundo como finalista na categoria Responsabilidade Social, juntamente com a Renovatio/VerBem, Instituto Brasil Solidário e Aliança Empreendedora.

Gostaríamos de parabenizar o Instituto Brasil Solidário e dizer que termos sido nomeados é um orgulho e nos motiva a continuar trabalhando em prol da melhoria do ensino no Brasil.


Clique aqui para acessar o site do Amigos da Poli

The president of the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), João Martins, met on Wednesday (24), in Brasilia, with the President of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, to present the proposals of the entity to stimulate private financing in agro and improving the business environment in the sector. “We need to be at the forefront, always looking to the future,” said Martins during the meeting at Confederation headquarters.

The funding-related agenda focuses on the following fronts: seeking external resources; promoting the development of new products in private banks for the sector; intensification of cooperative action in new markets and financial support to its members; and stimulating the investments of complementary social security funds in agriculture.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Brazil’s economic recovery after the 2015−2016 recession remains sluggish. Real per capita growth has fallen by 8 percent since the beginning of the recession in 2014, and poverty and inequality are on the rise. While the unemployment rate did fall this year, it is still high compared to pre-crisis levels.

To boost growth and create more jobs, Brazil needs to vigorously pursue pension and tax reforms, trade openness, investment in infrastructure, and key financial reforms, the IMF stated in its latest annual economic assessment.

 

Via International Monetary Fund

 

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The firm continues to expand corporate & business capabilities nationwide with the addition of

Nicole Ostrowski and Angela Ramey as senior counsel and Skylar Marshall as associate.

 

New York, NY – July 25, 2019 – Greenspoon Marder is pleased to announce the expansion of the firm’s Corporate & Business practice group with the addition of partner, Michael Smith in New York.

 

“Our firm is committed to providing seamless client service across our national platform. Michael will enhance our corporate team in New York and throughout the U.S., as we continue to strategically grow nationally,” comments Michael Marder, co-managing director at Greenspoon Marder. “Michael’s extensive transactional experience adds a greater range of corporate services to our client offerings,” comments Gerry Greenspoon, co-managing director of Greenspoon Marder.

 

Mr. Smith is an international lawyer with more than 25 years’ experience who advises on international capital markets, cross-border M&A, global fund formation and Shari’ah finance. Mr. Smith has significant experience advising on transactions into and out of the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and China, and regularly counsels boards, senior management and private equity firms on corporate governance, deal structuring and strategy.

 

The firm has continued to expand our corporate & business capabilities nationwide with the addition of senior counsels, Nicole Ostrowski in Los Angeles and Angela Ramey in Miami, and associate, Skylar Marshall in Denver.

 

Ms. Ostrowski is senior counsel in the Corporate & Business Practice Group at Greenspoon Marder LLP. Ms. Ostrowski’s practice focuses on complex corporate transactions, including private equity transactions, strategic organizational structuring, debt financings, securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, venture capital investments, asset purchases, and joint venture arrangements.

 

Ms. Ramey is senior counsel in the Corporate & Business Practice Group at Greenspoon Marder LLP. She focuses her practice on all aspects of secured financing transactions including single lender, syndicated and mezzanine facilities involving cash flow, secured, asset-based, and acquisition facilities.

 

Mr. Marshall is an associate in the Corporate & Business Practice Group at Greenspoon Marder LLP. Mr. Marshall focuses his practice on corporate and commercial transactions. He has experience representing companies ranging from start-ups to multi-national corporations.

 

About Greenspoon Marder

 

Greenspoon Marder is a national full-service business law firm with 240 attorneys and 26 locations across the United States. We are ranked amongst American Lawyer’s Am Law 200, as one of the top law firms in the U.S. since 2015. Since our inception in 1981, our firm has been committed to providing excellent client service through our cross-disciplinary, client-team approach. Our mission is to understand the challenges that our clients face, build collaborative relationships, and craft creative solutions designed and executed with long-term strategic goals in mind. We serve Fortune 500, middle-market public and private companies, start-ups, emerging businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs nationwide.

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – New measures unveiled by the Brazilian government on Wednesday allowing employees to access cash from worker guarantee funds will be worth 0.35 percentage points to gross domestic product over the next 12 months, the Economy Ministry said on Wednesday.

Freeing up 42 billion reais ($10.6 billion) from the “FGTS” severance fund and more cash from the social contribution fund known as “PIS/Pasep” will also create 3 million jobs and increase GDP per capita by 2.5 percentage points over 10 years, the Ministry added.

 

By Marcela Ayres and Lisandra Paraguassu via Reuters

 

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Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA sold down a majority stake in its fuel distribution unit, effectively ending government control over the biggest player in the industry as part of a drive to privatize state-run assets and stoke competition.

The Rio de Janeiro-based energy producer raised 8.6 billion reais ($2.27 billion) selling shares in Petrobras Distribuidora SA, reducing its position to 41% from 71%, according to a regulatory filing. It’s Latin America’s biggest equity offering this year, topping the $1.98 billion sale of shares in reinsurer IRB Brasil Resseguros SA earlier this month.

 

By Sabrina Valle, Vinicius Andrade and Felipe Marques via Bloomberg

 

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The Brazilian trade balance registered a surplus of US $ 409 million in the third week of July, according to a survey released on Monday (22) by the Ministry of Economy. The positive balance is the result of US $ 4.829 billion in exports and US $ 4.420 billion in imports, according to data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat.

In the month, exports total US $ 13.550 billion and imports reach US $ 11.367 billion, with a positive balance of US $ 2.182 billion. Year-to-date exports totaled $ 123.392 billion, with imports of $ 95.134 billion and a positive balance of $ 28.258 billion.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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O governador Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior apresentou nesta quarta-feira (17) oportunidades que o Estado oferece a um grupo de executivos de corporações internacionais que mantêm investimentos globais. A apresentação foi na Câmara de Comércio Brasil-EUA, em Nova York, que recebeu a terceira edição do Paraná Day.

Durante a abertura do evento, na principal palestra do Paraná Day, Ratinho Junior falou de concessões na área de infraestrutura, principalmente de rodovias, ferrovias e aeroportos, e também de Parcerias Público-Privadas (PPPs) em setores como turismo, segurança e saúde. Além disso, ressaltou o ambiente propício para negócios que tornam o Paraná um Estado atrativo.

 

Via Agência de Notícias do Paraná

 

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Delivering mail in Rio de Janeiro’s slums – or ‘favelas’ as they are known in Brazil – is harder than one can imagine. They are informal neighborhoods that the government has never mapped. But a group of entrepreneurs found an ingenious solution to provide this key basic service.

Located in Rio de Janeiro’s south zone, Rocinha is considered Brazil’s biggest favela, with a population of around 70,000 people, but it could be much higher, depending on who did the counting.

 

By Lucrecia Franco via CGTN America

 

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BOGOTÁ, Colombia , July 18, 2019 /CNW/ — Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) reports that the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil has authorized the transfer of a 10% stake in the Saturno block, located in the Santos basin, to its subsidiary, Ecopetrol Óleo e Gas Brasil. Previously, this percentage was equally held by Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda and Chevron Brasil Óleo e Gas Ltda.

Renewables (excluding hydropower) are expected to reach 60.8GW capacity in 2030 registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4%, according to analysts GlobalData.

The company’s latest report ‘Brazil Power Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2019 – Market Trends, Regulations, and Competitive Landscape’ reveals that, installed renewable capacity in Brazil increased from 2.9 Gigawatt (GW) in 2000 to 31.1GW in 2018, at a CAGR of 14%.

 

By Global Data Energy via Power Technology

 

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GUELPH, OntarioJuly 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, today announced it has been awarded a 51.1 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) project in the Sixth Brazilian Federal Energy Auction (A-4) held on June 28, 2019.

Canadian Solar will develop and build the project located in the State of Minas Gerais. Construction of the solar project will start in early 2021 and it is expected to reach commercial operation before January 2023.

Via Yahoo Finance

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil and India are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on production and trade of ethanol when leaders of the two countries meet in Brasilia later this year, an industry group said on Tuesday.

According to UDOP, a Brazilian association of sugar and ethanol producers, the suggestion to discuss a partnership on ethanol came from the Indian government, which has a target to gradually increase blending of ethanol to gasoline to up to 20%.

By Marcelo Teixeira via Yahoo Finance

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SAO PAULO, July 15 (Reuters) – Recently announced plans to foster competition in the Brazilian natural gas market may trigger a wave of privatizations among state-controlled distribution companies, luring international and domestic bidders, experts on the sector say.

Brazil’s Cosan SA and Spain’s Naturgy Energy Group SA, are among the companies potentially interested in the segment, which also include Portugal’s Galp , France’s Engie and Spain’s Repsol , consultants, lawyers and other experts said.

By Luciano Costa via Yahoo Finance

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Brazil, the biggest soybean exporter, is strengthening its lead against the U.S. after trading giants spent billions of dollars on building new terminals and developing routes to ports in the north through the Amazon region.

“Brazil’s northern ports are allowing the country to export big volumes of grain without the historical loading delays or vessel queues,” said Sergio Mendes, general director at the grain-export group Anec. “Traders are shipping through the north the same soybean volumes they usually export from Santos, Latin America’s largest port,” in the south, he said. “This is a huge conquest.”

 

By Tatiana Freitas via Bloomberg

 

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Brazilian stocks have extended their year-to-date gain to about 20% on renewed optimism that Latin America’s largest economy will finally overhaul its heavily indebted social security system. But the rally that has pushed the market to record highs still may have some juice left.

The benchmark Ibovespa index may climb 11% from current levels to about 115,000 by the end of 2019, according to the average forecast of 10 strategists surveyed by Bloomberg. Their targets range from 105,000 to 123,000, implying an increase of as much as 18%. That would mark the fourth year of double-digit gains for Brazilian stocks.

 

By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

 

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In Brazil, the state of Bahia has launched a blockchain application to track the process of public bidding on government contracts, according to a report by Cointelegraph Brazil on July 12.

The blockchain-based solution, called Online Bid Solution (SOL), was reportedly developed by Cayenne Technology and Design. Bids will reportedly be completely transparent and secure due with the application of blockchain tech.

 

By Max Boddy via Cointelegraph

 

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SAO PAULO, July 11 (Reuters) – Brazilian power company Light SA priced its shares at 18.75 reais ($4.99) per share in a primary and secondary offering that raised 2.5 billion reais ($665.57 million), the company said in a securities filing on Friday.

The offering will increase Light’s capital stock to 4.1 billion reais ($1.1 billion), and the company will use proceeds from the sale to reduce debt, it said.

By Carolina Mandl via Yahoo Finance

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Latin America’s largest e-commerce retailer is optimistic that economic growth is set to pick up in Brazil, its biggest market.

MercadoLibre Inc. expects a turnaround in the country, Chief Executive Officer Marcos Galperin said in an interview with Bloomberg Television, rejecting the views of economists who have slashed their forecasts for the region’s biggest economy. The retailer’s profitability was hurt last year after postal service Correios hiked freight fees, adding to woes caused by a trucker strike that paralyzed the country for 10 days.

 

By Carolina Millan and Paul T. Sweeney

 

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Coffee farmers in Brazil’s countryside could be soon be using cryptocurrency for their day-to-day needs.

A major arabica-bean cooperative, Minasul, is planning to this month launch a blockchain-based digital coin that will be backed by coffee supplies. Farmer members will be able to use the “coffeecoin” to buy fertilizer, machinery and other non-farm products, including cars and food, Jose Marcos Magalhaes, Minasul’s president, said in an interview during the Global Coffee Forum in Campinas, Sao Paulo state.

 

By Fabiana Batista via Bloomberg

 

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Brazil is on a tear lately. Its Bovespa Index is the beating all of the emerging markets. It’s besting China. It’s besting Trump’s super-duper stock market here at home. It’s all thanks to a once unpopular pension reform bill, which saw tens of thousands rally late last month in support of the new president’s push to overhaul Brazil’s teetering public pension system.

Over the last month, the iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ) has gained 7.5% versus just 2.24% for the benchmark MSCI Emerging Markets Index. If you had put $10,000 in that Brazil ETF last Fourth of July weekend you’d have $3,700 extra for summer play money as your 12-month gain.

 

By Kenneth Rapoza via Forbes

 

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By 2028, Latin America and the Caribbean will account for more than 25% of global exports of agricultural and fishery products, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The publication highlights the expansion of regional protagonism in the midst of the slowdown in world production and trade.

According to the Agricultural Outlook 2019-2028 survey, over the next ten years, global demand for agricultural goods is expected to increase by 15%. On average, trade in agricultural and fishery commodities is expected to rise 1.3% per year in the period under review. Despite the growth estimate, the index is lower than the 3.3% annual average for the 2009-2018 decade.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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The Brazilian Senate has approved a proposal to add protection of data in digital platforms to the list of fundamental rights and individual citizen guarantees set out in the country’s constitution.

According to senator Simone Tebet, rapporteur of the proposal – which will now be voted by the lower house of the National Congress – the federal government should be responsible for legislation. She noted that adding the topic to the constitution demonstrates central government recognizes the importance of the topic.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZDNet

 

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The Brazilian diplomatic academy, the Rio Branco Institute, will now require that candidates have knowledge of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, Cointelegraph Brazil reported on July 8.

The Rio Branco Institute — established in 1945 and offering two advancement courses for diplomats — has published the 2019 edict for the selection of new diplomats in Brazil where it included the requirement that candidates know about blockchain and digital currencies.

 

By Ana Alexandre via Cointelegraph

 

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The agreement between Mercosur and the European Union will modernize and increase the competitiveness of Brazilian agriculture. The evaluation was made by the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, during a press interview. At the time, she said the agreement will allow the country’s products to become more attractive and reach a market of approximately 700 million people.

“It will bring to Brazil a quest for more quality and competitiveness to access this market, which is a market accessed by countries such as Canada, Korea. Brazil will be on an equal footing,” said the minister.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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The announcement of the closure of the Mercosur-European Union agreement will provoke the emergence of a “negotiating appetite” from other nations in favor of investments in Brazil or in association with the South American bloc, the Brazilian chancellor Ernesto Araújo, informs the “Agência Brasil”.

“We are very close to an agreement with the EFTA (Free Trade Association composed of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and with Canada, perhaps in the second half of 2019,” said Araújo. According to him, the closure of a Mercosur agreement with Singapore and South Korea is also close.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Küdos is a NYC-based fintech startup, led by entrepreneurs with ties to Brazil that offers employer-sponsored benefits for making childcare affordable to working parents. With Küdos, more kids have access to education earlier on in their lives; more parents continue working and preserve their income in the long term. Companies invest in their future by supporting the career progression of their future leaders and avoid the turnover costs. To learn more about Küdos, please visit their website.

A new world record low price for solar power generation has been achieved in Brazil, where the government’s latest renewables auction saw contracts for six solar PV projects awarded at an average of just 1.65 cents per kilowatt hour.

Brazil’s regulator Agencia Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ANEEL) announced the latest auction results on Friday, confirming a total of 401.6MW of electricity capacity has been contracted across 15 projects with supply slated to start in January 2023. The successful bids include five hydroelectric plants, one biomass thermal facility, and three wind farms.

 

By Michael Holder via BusinessGreen

 

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In 2018, Brazil was the world’s largest exporter of beef, providing close to 20 percent of total global beef exports, outpacing India, the second-largest exporter, by 527,000 metric tons carcass weight equivalent (CWE). Moreover, USDA projects that Brazil will continue its export growth trajectory for the next decade, reaching 2.9 million metric tons, or 23 percent of the world’s total beef exports, by 2028.

Brazil has the world’s second-largest cattle herd—232 million head—and its production is largely based on grass. Increased beef demand worldwide has stimulated increased production and productivity gains. In 2018, Brazil reached its highest level of beef production at 9.9 million metric tons. According to a September 2018 report by USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS), programs that subsidize and improve pastures and crossbreeding are primary drivers of the overall increase of cattle production in 2019 (another significant factor is improved pasture conditions in major production regions). Between 1990 and 2018, the Brazilian cattle herd expanded by 56 percent (based on estimates from the FAS Production, Supply and Distribution database). Brazil’s beef production last peaked in 2014, when it reached 9.7 million metric tons CWE. During Brazil’s 2014-16 recession, coupled with devaluation of Brazil’s national currency, the Brazilian real, beef output continued to grow, though at a slower pace, while higher local-currency denominated prices compensated for higher production expenses.

 

Via USDA

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Andre Laloni, a veteran of investment banks from Goldman Sachs & Co to UBS Group AG, seemed like an unlikely pick to become chief financial officer of Brazilian state bank Caixa Economica Federal, long a sleepy mortgage underwriter.

Yet in just a few months the 46-year-old banker has made Caixa the talk of Faria Lima Avenue, the epicenter of Sao Paulo’s dealmaking scene.

By Tatiana Bautzer and Carolina Mandl via Yahoo Finance

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After 20 years of long negotiations, Mercosur and the European Union sealed a free trade agreement between the blocs. According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture, the two sides came to an understanding on Friday (28) during a meeting held in Brussels, Belgium. In a statement, the ministry stressed that this is a historic moment.

According to MAPA, negotiations between the parties have intensified in recent days, and on the Brazilian side were led by the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto Araújo; and the special secretary of Foreign Trade and International Affairs of the Ministry of Economy, Marcos Troyjo.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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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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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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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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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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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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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

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 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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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

 

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 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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(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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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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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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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

[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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 educationhealth, transport, and housing.

 

By Ana Alexandre via Cointelegraph

 

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PASADENA, Calif., May 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via OTC PR WIRE — Brazil Minerals, Inc. (BMIX) (the “Company” or “Brazil Minerals”) announced today that it has obtained the rights to an iron project area with 4,120 acres in the “Quadrilátero Ferrífero” (Iron Quadrangle), one of the premier iron regions in the world with multiple operating mines. Iron ore is in high demand with strong sales of Brazilian iron ore for export (mainly to China) or for use by local steelmakers. Recently, the price of iron delivered at a foreign port spiked to US$109 per ton, the highest since 2013.

 

By GlobeNewswire via Yahoo Finance

 

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The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais – the site of two recent disastrous tailings dams disasters – has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with technology firm Inmarsat providing to provide smart monitoring for the dams.

Inmarsat and the Brazilian state will explore several options to “achieve improved awareness and transparency of the tailings dams in the region,” which may lead to Inmarsat providing Internet of Things technology to the local government for dam monitoring.

 

By Jax Jacobsen via Forbes

 

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Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo said on Wednesday (29), in an audience in the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, that the government’s objective is to increase Brazilian agricultural participation in world trade from 7% to 10% in two years, informs the “Chamber Agency”.

In the assessment of the chancellor, the trade war between China and the United States can bring opportunities for Brazilian agribusiness. In his presentation, the minister pointed out that there is an effort by Itamaraty to counter what he called “misinformation” published by the international press about the environmental sustainability of Brazilian agribusiness.

 

By DATAGRO

 

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Brazil-based exchange broker Frente Corretora de Câmbio (The Front Exchange) has launched its fintech collaboration with San Francisco-based startup Ripple. The new blockchain platform, Simple, is designed to allow people in Brazil to send money abroad without the high fees and the slow transaction times that are common among traditional payment rails.

The team behind Simple aims to deliver a robust cross-border remittance solution for everyday Brazilians, such as families  with students abroad who are studying and need to receive money to cover basic living expenses.

 

By The Daily Hodl

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The builders of a new power transmission line to the northern Brazilian state of Roraima have pledged to deploy 200 inspectors to reduce the environmental impact on an indigenous reservation where they will erect 250 pylons, according to an environmental assessment document seen by Reuters.

It said they also had committed to keeping secret any geological information on the discovery of mineral resources to avoid drawing illegal mining interests that have long set their sights on the land of the Waimiri Atroari tribe.

 

By Luciano Costa via Reuters

 

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Luiz Cláudio de França, director of the Department of Innovation Support for Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MPLS), met last Friday (24), during the 8th Green Rio Conference in Rio de Janeiro, with representatives of the State Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Supply (Seappa-RJ), the Agricultural Research Company of Rio de Janeiro (Pesagro-Rio), and Embrapa Solos, to discuss the implantation of an agricultural innovation pole in Rio de Janeiro.

The idea is to join public agencies related to agriculture, science and technology, universities and private initiative in search of regional agribusiness development and also the dissemination of knowledge to benefit agriculture in other regions of the country.

 

By DATAGRO

 

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OSLO (Reuters) – Oslo-listed BW Offshore said it will float BW Energy this year to help expand the oil and gas business, particularly in Brazil, as its first quarter earnings rose 72%.

Shares in BW Offshore, originally an owner of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels operated on behalf of oil companies, were 17.6% higher at 60.6 Norwegian crowns by 0901 GMT on Thursday.

 

By Terje Solsvik and Victoria Klesty via Reuters

 

Read full article here 

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is bringing new models to Brazil and expanding production at two local factories as part of a 16 billion reais ($4 billion) plan to regain lost market share in Latin America’s biggest economy, CEO Mike Manley said.

FCA increased its investment plan for Latin America by 2 billion reais through 2024, though it extended the time frame of outlays first announced in June by a year.

 

By Gabrielle Coppola, Vinicius Andrade and Leonardo Lara via Automotive News Europe

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s lower house of Congress voted on Tuesday to allow foreign-controlled airlines to operate domestic flights in Latin America’s largest economy, opening the door to more competition in an increasingly concentrated market.

The chamber approved the original text of a decree issued by former President Michel Temer in December that removed the 20% limit on foreign ownership of Brazilian airlines.

 

By Maria Carolina Marcello and Anthony Boadle

 

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In the southeast region of the country of Brazil lies Guanabara Bay, off the coast of the major metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second largest bay in Brazil, but other than that there is nothing particularly special about it other than perhaps the large amount of pollution here. However, lying approximately 15 miles offshore, buried down in 100 feet of water across an area around the size of three tennis courts is a rather strange oddity. Here scattered along the bottom are various relics from ancient Rome, far from where they have any business being, and which have remained a baffling historical anomaly and conundrum that remains unsolved.

 

By Brent Swancer via Mysterious Universe

 

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As South America’s largest country, Brazil has the potential to be an economic powerhouse. But over time, political turmoil, largely as a result of corruption, has marred the economic landscape.

Still, despite the political upheaval in recent years, the country’s startup scene has seen some serious acceleration, reflecting a general trend we’re seeing in Latin America as a whole.

 

By Mary Ann Azevedo via CrunchBase News

 

Read full article here

If it’s going to conquer the world one foreign market at a time, Uber has considerable work to do in Latin America. Populous cities with iffy public transit portend big business, but the competition there is fierce and well-funded, with local taxi operators plus Chinese giant DiDi and its subsidiary 99, and the Daimler-backed scrappy Greek upstart Beat. Now the newly public company could get a boost in its driver rosters in Brazil, thanks to a partnership between backseat mini-convenience store Cargo and the local ampm operator Ipiranga.

 

By Julia Walmsley via Forbes

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Spanish tourism and transportation company Grupo Globalia will launch a new air carrier in Brazil, Brazilian Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas said in a message posted on Twitter on Saturday.

Globalia owns the Air Europa carrier and companies in the tourism sector, including hotel operators and travel services such as Travelplan and Groundforce.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira and Roberto Samora via Reuters

 

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Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) launches this week the program Bioeconomia Brasil – Sociobiodiversidade. The objective of the program is to promote the structuring of productive systems based on the sustainable use of products of biodiversity and extractivism.

The launch will take place during the first day of programming at Green Rio 2019, a business fair for organic and sustainable entrepreneurs. The eighth edition of the event will be held from next Thursday (23) until Saturday (25) at Marina da Glória, Rio de Janeiro.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Brazil’s move towards cryptocurrency regulation took a step closer this month as the government in Brasilia agreed and published ‘instruction 1888’.

The instruction passes new rules that come into force on August 1, meaning that individuals, legal entities and brokerage firms that carry out operations with crypto will have to inform the treasury of every detail of their transactions.

By Gabriel Quintanilha via Yahoo Finance

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 49th Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner
 Tuesday, May 14, 2019
 New York Marriott Marquis
 Opening Reception: 6:30pm / Gala Dinner: 8:00pm
 New York City
Dear Sponsors and Guests,
The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce hereby ratifies that the 2019 Person of the Year Gala will take place as scheduled, on May 14th at the Marriott Marquis in New York.
The Chamber will be celebrating its 50th year of promoting trade, investment and cultural ties between Brazil and the United States. During the Gala, the Chamber will award Instituto Brasil Solidário for their contributions to Social Responsibility and Neoway for their leadership in Digital Innovation.
Cordially,
Awards Committee
Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

Brazilians have embraced mobile banking as their preferred means to handle their banking affairs as the channel accounted for nearly half of all transactions carried out last year, according to a new report.

The latest research on banking technology trends carried out by Deloitte on behalf of the Brazilian Banking Federation (FEBRABAN) also shows that the number of transactions overall, so any interaction involving a financial element or not, has seen an increase of 24 percent in 2018 in relation to the prior year.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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The state of Paraná will have the first energy plant in Brazil generated from “waste” – that is, a combination of organic waste and sewage sludge. The plant will use biodigestion technology: from this input, it will produce biogas which, in its turn, will be converted into electric power.

The project aims to reuse 1,000 cubic meters of sewage sludge and 300 tons of organic waste daily – a volume which would be disposed into the environment. It’s also planned to convert organic waste into biofertilizers and recycle waste plastic to produce bags.

 

Via Bluevision Braskem

 

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In partnership with seven agricultural machinery manufacturers, the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry (Abimaq) presented the latest Agrishow the Farmer Collaborative Database (BDCA).

According to the partners, this is a digital platform that aims to store – in an independent environment – data collected from machines, implements, sensors, among other devices and equipment, used in the field, for later consultation.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

The veteran emerging-market investor Mark Mobius said he plans to add to his Brazil holdings, lauding the first few months of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration even as other investors have shown skepticism.

Mobius, who left Franklin Templeton Investments in 2018 to set up Mobius Capital Partners, said the president’s performance has been “terrific” as he works to push through a pension overhaul that analysts see as key to revitalizing Brazil’s economy. He expects the bill to pass this year and predicted more money will flow into Brazil as the agenda takes hold.

By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

 

 

 

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian healthcare provider Hapvida Participacoes e Investimentos SA will look for more acquisitions in the near future after agreeing to acquire rival group Sao Francisco Saude for 5 billion reais ($1.26 billion), Chief Executive Officer Jorge Pinheiro told reporters on Tuesday.

The deal will enable Hapvida to expand to Brazil’s southeastern, southern and center-west regions, from its current focus only on the north and northeastern regions.

 

By Carolina Mandl via Reuters

 

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HOUSTON (Reuters) – Brazil expects to collect at least $47 billion in signing bonuses this year from three upcoming offshore oil auctions set for October and November, an official said on Monday.

An Oct. 27 sale of production rights in Brazil’s so-called transfer-of-rights area – one of the world’s most promising offshore oil areas off the coast of southeastern Brazil – could draw $27 billion (106 billion reais) in signing bonuses, said Marcio Felix, executive secretary for oil, gas and biofuel at Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy, at a Houston energy conference.

 

By Collin Eaton via Reuters

 

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The president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Joaquim Levy, said on Monday (06) that Brazil has enormous opportunities for the application of technologies in mobility that allow for lower carbon emissions and increasing use of energy efficiency, reports Agência Brasil. For him, public policies that stimulate the development and application of these technologies, as well as the production of low-carbon fuels, are fundamental for growth and have a high benefit for society.

“The future of mobility goes through different paths such as the use of public or individual transport, zoning determining routes for greater or lesser distance, as well as the choice of different modalities for the transportation of cargo,” Levy said at the opening of the seminar Future of Mobility – More Energy Efficiency and Less Environmental Impact, promoted by the BNDES, at the institution’s headquarters, in downtown Rio.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Online firm Grupo Zap is chasing a billion-dollar opportunity by introducing the instant home buyer (i-buyer) model in Brazil, with plans to nearly double its workforce and enhance data analytics capabilities to support the new business.

With Grupo Globo, one of Latin America’s largest media conglomerates as a majority shareholder and the likes of Monashees and Kaszek Ventures as backers, Zap owns the two largest real estate marketplaces in Brazil and provides a range of data-driven services to the industry.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

Read full article here

Flying to South America from the U.S. often means an overnight flight and multiple stops.  In other words — no sleep.

LATAM Airlines Group, Latin America’s biggest airline, is aiming to change that and, in the process, attract more U.S. visitors to Latin America.  Along with more flights, the airline also is adding more comfortable seats.

 

By Barbara Redding via Travel Weekly

 

Read full article here

 

 

May 2 (Renewables Now) – Spanish energy company Iberdrola (BME:IBE) informed on Tuesday that shareholders of its Brazilian unit Neoenergia SA had voted to approve the company’s initial public offering (IPO) of shares.

Iberdrola, which holds a 52.45% stake in Neoenergia, said ahead of the vote this Monday that the listing would take place in the first half of the year.

 

Via Renewables Now

 

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Rio de Janeiro — Brazil’s Petrobras plans to sell eight refineries, accounting for nearly half the country’s refining capacity, amid an aggressive move by the company’s new management to ramp up asset sales and open the domestic refined product market.

 

“The new directives for asset sales, with a focus on the refining and distribution segments that includes the full sale of PUDSA, a service-station network in Uruguay; eight refineries totaling 1.1 million b/d of refining capacity; and the sale of an additional stake in Petrobras Distribuidora, or BR,” the company said in a filing made with stock regulators Friday.

 

By Jeff Fick via S&P Global Platts

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on Tuesday launched two high-end smartphone handsets in Brazil, making its second attempt to penetrate the world’s fourth-largest smartphone market, broadening its footprint in Latin America.

 

“We are in a very different market share position than we were five years ago and we’re seeing tremendous brand momentum,” Ketrina Dunagan, Huawei’s vice president of marketing for the Americas, said in an interview on the sidelines of the launch event in Sao Paulo.

 

By Gabriela Mello via Reuters

 

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Brazil has taken another step towards further developing its financial services ecosystem by approving the implementation of open banking.

The country’s central bank has also approved and issued guidelines to be considered while the model is implemented.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

Embrapa has made available the updated version of its Social Balance Sheet. It is a publication that focuses on the use and adoption of the technological solutions generated by the Company and its impacts on society. The balance is made for the 22nd consecutive year.

Of the total results delivered by the Company, throughout its history, 165 technological solutions were evaluated in 2018 and the economic impacts it generates form the so-called “social profit”. The results of the Embrapa Social Report show that Embrapa has a social return of R $ 43.5 billion.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – International private companies have increased their investment in Brazil’s power sector over the last three years even as the country’s cash-strapped state-controlled companies have cut back, a Reuters survey of power companies shows.

 

Eight out of 11 large foreign private firms operating in Brazil boosted investments in the power sector from 2016 to 2018, some of them by more than 200 percent, the poll showed.

 

Via The Rio Times

 

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Singapore — Malaysia’s Petronas said Friday it bought a 50% equity stake in deepwater concessions in the Campos Basin in offshore Brazil from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras.

 

The deal represents Petronas’ efforts to boost its upstream reserves and production, growing cash flows and shrinking domestic output. A price was not disclosed.

 

By Eric Yep via S&P Global Platts

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian supermarket chain Grupo Pão de Açúcar SA on Wednesday posted first-quarter sales up 12 percent from a year ago, closing the gap on Carrefour Brasil, the market leader in Latin America’s largest economy.

GPA, which is owned by France’s Casino Guichard Perrachon SA, reported gross revenues of 13.8 billion reais ($3.46 billion), driven by gains in its wholesale division, Assaí.

 

By Gabriela Mello via Reuters

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Top consultants McKinsey and “Brazil at Silicon Valley” have produced a report that aims to shed light on Brazil’s digital development. And the result seems clear to the authors: Brazil has the potential to become the next big thing in the digital revolution.

 

Mauro Mantica from the famous Bocconi University in Milan is also convinced of the digital potential of Brazil.

 

Via The Rio Times

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza on Tuesday announced it would start selling physical books online for pickup in its chain comprised of almost 1,000 stores, using its national footprint to compete with traditional booksellers and Amazon.com Inc.

Brazil’s more established booksellers are facing financial headwinds, leading Saraiva Livreiros SA and Livraria Cultura to file for bankruptcy protection last year.

 

By Gabriela Mello and Alberto Alerigi Jr.

 

Read full article here

 

SAO PAULO, April 23 (Reuters) – U.S. agricultural machine maker AGCO Corp said on Tuesday it would launch its flagship Fendt line of equipment in Brazil later this year, targeting large soybean farmers in the vast center-west region.

AGCO will first bring the German-made line of Fendt Vario high-power tractors to Brazil’s grain heartland, the company’s South America chief Luís Felli said at a presentation in Sao Paulo.

By Marcelo Teixeira via Yahoo! Finance

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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The man in charge of Brazilian sugar giant Cosan Ltd. has little interest in talking about the sweetener. These days, he’s all about railways, writes Bloomberg in its latest report. Cosan is controlled by 69-year-old Rubens Ometto, one of the sixty most powerful men in Brazil.

 

The business that gave life to Cosan — the world’s biggest sugar-cane operation — has been stuck in the doldrums following years of depressed global prices and government policies that curbed the expansion of cane ethanol in Brazil. In stark contrast, the commodity powerhouse is ready to invest “tens of billions” in a plan that will reshape how the nation’s crops get transported, Chief Executive Officer Marcos Lutz said.

 

Via The Rio Times

 

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Brazil’s coastline of some 3,000 nautical miles includes several large cities in a layout that makes Brazil the ideal location to develop, manufacture and operate maritime transportation technology that could also have international market potential.

While Russia is internationally recognized in high-speed maritime transportation technology courtesy of their construction and demonstration of the Caspian Sea Monster ground-effect plane, Russia is also at a disadvantage in terms of testing, demonstrating, domestically operating and improving a commercial version of such technology. Much of Russia’s population lives at western inland locations and not along Russia’s coast. A mega-size commercial freight transport ground effect vehicle might optimally be developed in a nation with an extensive coastline that includes multiple large cities spread along that coastline. The vehicle needs to be proven in domestic coastal transportation service.

 

By Harry Valentine via The Maritime Executive

 

Read full article here

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Common parts in science fiction films and cartoons, flying cars are becoming closer to reality. Brazil wants to lead the development of this segment in the world, according to executives from Embraer’s Atech subsidiary, present at the 12th LAAD Defense & Security.

“We are already anticipating, preparing a vision and a concept of how we will be able to see the future of the future. It will be air traffic. This is what our project will be”, stated Marcos Resende, director of technology at Atech.

 

By Xiu Ying via The Rio Times

 

Read full article here

The Brazilian government has launched a tender to find projects based on emerging technologies as the latest stage of a project aimed at bridging the business and academic worlds.

The program, dubbed TechD, is a public-private partnership with funding of 18 million reais ($4.6 million). The latest stage of the program is looking for startups, incubated projects, IT companies or consortiums and research groups focused on emerging technologies to participate.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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Investment worth $621 million will be provided by BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) to Brazil, according to the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea).

It said the bank has approved Brazilian projects on renewable energy, road building, railway construction, sanitation, telecommunications and an oil refinery. NDB has also plans to launch its Americas Regional Office in Brazil.

 

Via RT

 

Read full article here

We are pleased to announce that Jack will be speaking in the upcoming GRC Educators live webinar, “FIRPTA Tax Planning And Compliance After Tax Reform” scheduled for Monday, April 22, 2019 at 12:00pm EST.

 

The program will provide participants with the U.S. federal income, estate, and gift tax implications and planning techniques to properly advise their foreign investor clients on how to best structure their U.S. real property investments under the new tax rules of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

 

Advising foreign real property investors requires tax and other professionals involved with foreign real property investors to understand the U.S. tax reporting and withholding requirements to best advice their clients and provide investment structuring options.

 

The new tax law did not change the existing liability and withholding requirements on the disposition of U.S. real property interests but did affect change in possible FIRPTA investment structures because of the lowered withholding tax rate on capital gains and liquidating distributions paid by REITs. There are additional Net Operating Loss and interest expense limitation rules as well as depreciation rule changes under the new tax law. Also, the use of a blocker corporation may likely be subject to Base Erosion Tax (BEAT) on interest payments made to or accrued by blocker corporations to its related foreign lender.

 

Additionally, participants will be exposed to the use of offshore common law and civil law wealth transfer structures to invest in U.S. real property and the U.S. tax implications and reporting requirements of said structures investing in U.S. real property.

 

Areas Covered

 

·    Overview of tax rules that apply to foreign investors in U.S. real estate

·    U.S. income, estate, and gift tax

·     Income tax residency and estate and gift tax residency rules

·      FIRPTA and withholding requirements

·    Treaty application

·    A typical structure of blocker corporation for foreign persons or corporations to hold U.S. real property assets

·    Changes in TCJA tax reform that will specifically impact income from owning or disposing of U.S. real property

·        Corporate rate reduction and FIRPTA withholding rates

·      Treatment of REITs

·        Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT)

·       Depreciation changes

·        New NOL carryforward rules

·       Planning opportunities through entity selection or change

 

After the presentation, there will be a live question and answer session.

 

We do hope you will join us. Form more information or to register:

 

Go to: https://www.grceducators.com/FIRPTA-TAX-PLANNING-AND-COMPLIANCE-AFTER-TAX-REFORM

 

Or call (704) 870-0321 / +00 1 704 870 0321

Ask for FIRPTA Tax Planning And Compliance After Tax Reform on 22-Apr-2019

CODE: Jack-0001

Telecommunications company Angola Cables has announced the opening of its carrier-neutral data centre, Angonap Fortaleza in Fortaleza, Brazil.

The completed facility is now open for business and offers scalability, continuous connectivity, host and cloud services for local and external entities.

The facility is a primary interconnection point for the region, which will host Angola Cables’ two newest intercontinental submarine cables, SACS (South Atlantic Cable System) and Monet.

 

By Abigail Opiah via Data Economy

 

Read full article here

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The craze for cryptocurrencies has reached an all-time high in South American countries, particularly Brazil. The recorded trading volume in the country surpassed 100 thousand Bitcoins last week – a new Latin American record, according to data from the CoinTrader Monitor, a tool that analyzes and monitors Bitcoin prices in Brazil.

According to the site’s index, cryptocurrency exchanges mediated by NegocieCoins and TemBTC contributed the most to this record. Exchanges made through Bitcoin Market, Bitcoin Trade, BitBlue, bTCBolsa, 3xBit, and BitCambio also played a part, facilitating trades of over 100 BTCs in a period of 24 hours.

 

By Richard Mann via The Rio Times

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA, April 16 (Reuters) – China could agree to allow more Brazilian meat imports following high-level talks set for May, the Chinese ambassador to Brazil told Reuters on Monday.

Yang Wanming declined to comment on how many meat processing plants could be approved to export to China but said the issue would be discussed when Brazil Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias travels to China in May.

 

By Jake Spring via Reuters

 

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Joint statement from the American Museum of Natural History and the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce:

“With mutual respect for our work and goals of our individual organizations, we have jointly agreed that the American Museum of Natural History is not the optimal location for the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce Gala Dinner. This traditional event will go forward at another location on the original date and time.”

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – When Alvimar da Silva realized Uber did not reach some of the more dangerous, far-flung areas of São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, he saw an opportunity: If the popular ride-sharing service did not go there, he would.

 

After six months of driving for the US application in the gridlocked city, da Silva launched in 2017 his own rival service JaUbra in the sprawling northern district of Brasilândia.

 

By Richard Mann via The Rio Times

 

Read full article here

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – While working to renovate Rio de Janeiro’s zoo, workers found historical artifacts dating back to Brazil’s imperial past at the Quinta da Boa Vista park, in the northern part of the city.

 

Classified as an ‘archaeological treasure’ by Rio’s city government, the more than 30,000 items found are believed to be from the beginning of the 19th century to the first years of the 20th century.

 

By Lise Alves via The Rio Times

 

Read full article here

(Reuters) – Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Wednesday he is “optimistic” that Congress will pass a pension reform bill that will generate savings of 1 trillion reais ($261.68 billion) over 10 years, in line with the government’s ambitious proposal.

 

Guedes is also confident Brazil will exceed its 2019 privatization goal of raising $20 billion from the sale of public assets by as much as 40 percent, he told a conference in New York, without giving any detail on which sectors or assets.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

 

Read full article here

One of Brazil’s best-funded startups, iFood is making a multimillion-dollar investment in artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its offerings.

The Sao Paulo-based food delivery company will plough $20m into a new AI “academy”, which will be focusing on research in machine learning, deep learning, behavioral science and logistics efficiency.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

 

Read full article here

Miami real estate agents have one reason to be happy – Brazilian buyers are back as a dominant buyer pool in South Florida, amid an increase in foreign investment.

Political turmoil in Brazil and a strong dollar have kept buyers away from South Florida in recent years – until now. Brazil ranked as the top country buying South Florida homes in 2018, according to a new report from the Miami Association of Realtors.

 

By Katherine Kallergis via The Real Deal

 

Read full article here

Brazil has seen a return to growth in IT investments in 2018 with numbers surpassing global average spend, according to data released by the Brazilian Association of Software Companies (ABES) and IDC.

IT spending for 2018 in Brazil went up 9.8 percent, reaching $47 billion, according to the research. This compares to the initial predictions of 4.1 percent growth for that market and average global spending of 6.7 percent.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

Read full article here

All the tensions that have rattled Brazil traders over the past few weeks have done nothing to shake Teresa Barger’s optimism over the country.

The chief executive officer and co-founder of the $2.6 billion Cartica Management LLC hedge fund is sticking to her “very bullish” views on Brazil, confident that growth in Latin America’s largest economy will start to pick up and that a planned overhaul of the nation’s pension system will be approved. That means she avoids watching the developments too closely, sidestepping the jitters that come with it.

 

By Aline Oyamada via Bloomberg

 

Read full article here

BRASILIA, April 3 (Reuters) – Growth in Brazilian economic activity picked up to its strongest in over a year in March, driven by solid increases in domestic new orders across both the manufacturing and services sectors, IHS Markit Insight said on Wednesday.

The closely-watched purchasing managers indices (PMIs) for March, often seen as a leading indicator of overall economic growth, showed the sixth straight month of service sector growth and ninth consecutive month of rising manufacturing activity.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Nasdaq

 

Read full article here

Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply) launched this Wednesday (03) the Rural Landscapes Project, to preserve the Brazilian savannah, in an event with the participation of the German ambassador to Brazil, Georg Witschel, the interim director of the Bank (Bird) in Brazil, Doina Petrescu, and the president of the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), João Martins.

With support from Bird and a partnership with the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GIZ), the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTI), through the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), Embrapa and the National Rural Learning Service (Senar), Rural Landscapes will train and provide technical and managerial assistance to 4,000 rural producers from nine states and the Federal District, focusing on the productive recovery of the cerrado and income generation. The initiative is coordinated by the Brazilian Forestry Service of the Ministry of Agriculture.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

Read full article here

A potential solution to the ailments of modern-day health care may be burgeoning from inside one of Brazil’s biggest slums.

Startup firm Dr. Consulta is betting it can capitalize on demand for affordable, a la carte services for the increasing number of Brazilians who don’t have private health insurance. It’s proven to be an attractive proposition, luring investors including the billionaire co-founder of 3G Capital Inc., Jorge Paulo Lemann, and venture capital firms like Kaszek Ventures and Madrone Capital Partners.

 

By Vinicius Andrade via Bloomberg

 

Read full article here

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University’s College of Agriculture and the Brazilian Ministry of Education through CAPES, a public foundation for the development of graduate education in Brazil, have signed an agreement to forge a new educational partnership.

Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture at Purdue University, welcomed Mauro Rabelo, Brazilian national secretary for higher education; Connie McManus Pimentel, director of international relations for the Brazilian agency CAPES; and Luiz Valcov Loureiro, executive director of Fulbright Brazil, to Purdue on March 26. The delegation met with Suresh Garimella, executive vice president for research and partnerships, and College of Agriculture associate deans and department heads, and toured campus facilities. The visit culminated with a signing ceremony to establish a new CAPES-Purdue Agriculture Ph.D. Fellows program.

 

By Maureen Manier via Purdue University

 

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This is a soft launch of EBANX new business and the product is available to selected customers. Over the next few months, the option will be available to all Brazilian companies that sell on the Internet and wish to use EBANX solutions to process online payments within Brazil. In addition, for the next year, local processing of EBANX is expected to begin in four other countries in Latin America.

 

Via Finextra

 

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SAO PAULO — Traffic lines, honking cars  and a polluted Pinheiros River that lacks any sign of life are routine sights for the more than 1 million people who drive daily through the Pinheiros Expressway.

But this scenario is about to change. At least partially.

Legado das Águas (Legacy of the Waters), a startup owned by the Votorantim Group, was appointed last December by the Secretariat of the Environment of the State of Sao Paulo to join Projeto Pomar Urbano (Urban Orchard Project) to help recover the Pinheiros River’s riparian vegetation using only native species of the Atlantic Forest.

 

By Eugenia Álvares Affonso via Boston University News Service

 

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SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, March 28 (Reuters) – Brazilian logistics company Rumo SA on Thursday won an auction to build and operate a 1,537-kilometer freight railway for 30 years, with a bid of 2.7 billion reais ($694 million), according to the government.

Rumo Chief Executive Julio Fontana said that the Norte-Sul Railway would be used to transport primarily agricultural commodities, but would also ship some fuel and bauxite. The railway could be operational within 2 years, Fontana said.

 

By Aluisio Alves and Jake Spring

 

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China is open to negotiate trade and investment agreements with Brazil, including a double tax treaty, as part of a broader move to engage the Latin American commodities giant, Beijing’s new ambassador in Brasilia said.

“We’re willing to study, together with the Brazilian side, measures to facilitate and liberate trade and investments, negotiate agreements to protect investments and avoid double taxation,” Ambassador Yang Wanming wrote in response to questions from Bloomberg.

 

By Samy Adghirni via Bloomberg

 

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Join Brazilian and U.S. law firms’ partners, representatives from the public sector,
law professors, economists, and business leaders to discuss economic, political and
legal issues about the country’s priorities on reforms, privatization, foreign
investments, cross-border transactions, and technology.

The Brazilian government signed a space technology safeguard agreement (TSA) with the US with hopes to revive its own activities in the sector and cash in on commercial opportunities.

The idea is that Brazil would be able to claim a share of the space launch business, estimated to generate nearly $300 billion a year, by allowing US companies to launch out of the Brazilian Air Force’s Alcantara Launch Center.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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Travelers are scrambling to get plane tickets to Brazil now that the country has erased the need for a visa.

Australian, Canadian, Japanese and American tourists will no longer need a visa starting June 17, 2019, and a new Kayak survey revealed searches for flights have shown double-digit increases. The highest increase was registered in Australia (36 percent), followed by the United States (31 percent), Canada (19 percent) and Japan (4 percent).

 

By Janeen Christoff via Travel Pulse

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, March 27 (Reuters) – Brazilian energy firm Eneva SA announced a secondary offering of 49.97 million shares in a securities filing on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

The firm, which owns gas-fired power plants and natural gas exploration and production assets in northeastern Brazil, said shareholders Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Uniper Holding GmbH, Banco BTG Pactual SA, Banco Pine SA , and Dommo Austria GmbH, a unit of Brazil’s Dommo Energia SA, plan to sell shares in the offering.

 

By Gram Slattery via Reuters

 

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On Wednesday (03), the Rural Landscapes Project will be launched in Brasilia, an initiative focused on environmental conservation and restoration and the promotion of low-carbon farming practices in selected basins in the Cerrado.

The launch will be hosted by the Agriculture and Livestock Confederation and will be attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, the German ambassador to Brazil, Georg Witschel, the interim director of the World Bank in the country, Doina Petrescu, and the president of CNA , João Martins.

 

By DATAGRO

 

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O Consulado-Geral do Brasil em Nova York / Consulate General of Brazil in NYC tem o prazer de informar que a ICC World Chambers Federation organizará, em parceria com a CACB – Confederação das Associações Comerciais e Empresariais do Brasil, o 11 Congresso Mundial de Câmaras, no Rio de Janeiro, entre os dias 12 e 14 de Junho de 2019.
Estão previstos mais de 1200 participantes de 100 países e 80 palestrantes.

O material do congresso está disponível em https://bit.ly/2JJyffd

Para informações adicionais, entre em contato com juliana.kampf@cacb.org.br

SAO PAULO, March 25 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Raízen Energia SA, the world’s largest sugar maker, raised 900 million reais ($233 million) using Agribusiness Receivables Certificates (CRA), the company’s chief financial officer told Reuters on Monday.

Guilherme Cerqueira, the CFO, said the company initially expected to earn 750 million reais from the operation but raised more due to demand, which exceeded expectations by more than double.

 

By Roberto Samora via Reuters

 

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Brazil has just overtaken China in terms of consumer sentiment, as the world’s second-largest economy slows down and spending intention on big ticket items decline, according to a Credit Suisse survey released Monday.

Speaking to CNBC at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong on Monday, Eugene Klerk, the bank’s managing director of global thematic research said China showed weaker readings in spending intentions compared to Brazil and India.

 

By Shirley Tay via CNBC

 

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Brazil and Chile promise to intensify the rapprochement between Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, as Venezuela is temporarily suspended) and the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru) to a free trade area , informs the “Agência Brasil”. From July, Brazil will hold the presidency-pro tempore of Mercosur and Chile will be at the forefront of the Pacific Alliance.

In Santiago, on the last day of the visit to Chile, President Jair Bolsonaro and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera ratified on Saturday (23) the terms of the free trade agreement between the two trade blocs.

 

By DATAGRO

 

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Amazon is taking its first steps towards evolving its artificial intelligence-enabled voice assistant Alexa in Brazil.

The company said it was “excited to bring Alexa to Brazil” and that it will be asking some of its customers “to help refine her capabilities over the coming months.”

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said on Thursday that the government will present a program for overhauling the natural gas sector by June, a move aimed at lowering energy costs in the country.

The program will be called the “New Gas Market” and is separate from the “Gas for Growth” program pursued under previous President Michel Temer, Albuquerque told reporters in a briefing.

 

By Jake Spring via Reuters

 

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Brazil’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at an all-time low in the first meeting under its new boss and signaled it could lower borrowing costs in the future if growth continues to disappoint.

The bank’s board on Wednesday kept the Selic rate unchanged at 6.50 percent for the eighth straight meeting in an announcement expected by all 39 economists in a Bloomberg survey. It was the first monetary policy decision under Roberto Campos Neto, who was sworn in as head of the monetary authority earlier this month.

Petrobras is expected to receive more than $18 billion from a mixture of government and private sources as payment for oil reserves, people familiar with the matter said, potentially resolving a dispute that has dragged on since 2013.

Brazil’s government anticipates that companies seeking to join in deep-water oil projects would need to pay Petrobras more than $9 billion, said the people, who asked not to be named because the information hasn’t been made public. That will add to about $9 billion the state would be willing to pay Petrobras from its own coffers, according to the people.

 

By Sabrina Valle via Bloomberg

 

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The meeting between presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump brought some impacts to bilateral trade in agribusiness. The US government issued a joint statement saying it agreed to take new steps to free the purchase of fresh meat exported by Brazil.

According to a note, a technical visit will be scheduled by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to audit Brazil’s beef inspection system as soon as the Brazilian government has provided food safety documentation.

 

By DATAGRO

 

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In attending a panel on investment opportunities at Brazil Day in Washington, Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply) said on Monday (18) that Brazilian agriculture has the capacity to increase food production by 30% without destroying even one tree in all our territory. ” The statement was made to business owners and executives of large US companies in response to a question raised by Donna Hrinak, CEO of Boeing in Brazil, moderator of the event, about alleged environmental impacts caused by Brazilian agricultural production.

“The Brazilian farming industry will continue to grow without deforesting a single tree,” said the minister. “We have the capacity to include almost 30% more production without destroying even one tree, a tree stand all over our territory.”

 

By DATAGRO

 

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Qualcomm is pressing ahead with its plans to develop the semiconductor industry in Brazil and exploit opportunities in the mobility and Internet of Things segments.

Along with Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) and Asus, the company has announced new Asus smartphones that utilize its system-in-package (SiP) technology developed in Brazil.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

 

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Following the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in mid-2016 and the inauguration of President Michel Temer, who had been Vice President, the new team responsible for Brazil’s international economic agenda worked diligently for greater integration of our country into the world economy. That has happened in many areas, including relations with international organizations, the domestic framework for officially supported export credits and trade policy.

With regard to relations with international organizations, the team has contributed to deepen Brazil´s participation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the mandate of which focuses on the discussion and international consolidation of best practices in public policies. 

 

By Marcello Estevão via International Banker

 

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President Jair Bolsonaro’s market friendly agenda faces a key test on Friday with an airport auction that will serve as a gauge of investors’ appetite for the administration’s massive privatization plan.

The tender is expected to generate 3.5 billion reais ($910 million) in investments in the next 30 years. That figure includes a minimum initial fee of 219 million reais and a minimum investment of 1.48 billion reais in the next five years –starting on the sixth year of the license, operators will also pay the government a percentage of their gross revenue.

 

By Vinicius Andrade and Fabiola Moura via Bloomberg

 

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What makes some oil plays more valuable than others? The answer: big discoveries in excellent reservoirs that are cheap to exploit. Few places on earth do all three. Brazil does, as I was reminded on a trip to Rio last month. Its pre-salt Santos basin fields, such as Lula and Libra, have these attributes in abundance.

The reservoirs in these giants lie at the “Goldilocks” depth – not too expensive to drill, but deep enough for oil to flow freely to surface. Individual wells in the exceptional pre-salt carbonate reservoirs can produce up to 50,000 barrels in a single day – a good Permian fracked well takes two months to do that. Many producing wells are choked because the subsea flow lines or platform just can’t cope with the sheer volumes. Nice work if you can get it.

 

By Simon Flowers and Wood Mackenzie via Forbes

 

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Brazil’s central bank would be better equipped to keep inflation low if its autonomy to decide on monetary policy were guaranteed by law, the bank’s new chief said as he was sworn in on Wednesday.

“It’s important to keep the recent gains obtained in monetary policy,” Roberto Campos Neto said, stressing that increased central bank credibility has been crucial for reining in inflation. “We believe that an autonomous central bank would be better prepared to consolidate these recent gains.”

 

By Rachel Gamarski via Bloomberg

 

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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Tuesday, March 12th, Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, said that she was optimistic that talks to reopen the U.S. market for Brazil’s fresh beef will be successful after a nearly two year ban of beef imports coming from Brazil.

Cristina is part of the contingent accompanying Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on his visit to the United States next week.

 

By Nelson Belen, via The Rio Times

 

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The generation of electric energy and the production of biofertilizers from livestock wastes is already a reality in Brazilian cattle breeding. After some frustrated experiments in the 1970s and 1980s, growers who adopt a feedlot system, in which cattle are raised in large stables, started to generate the electricity consumed on the farm, and in some cases even sell the surplus distribution companies.

 

The adoption of technology is still low among dairy farmers, but researcher Marcelo Henrique Otenio, who coordinates studies on biodigesters at Embrapa Gado de Leite (MG), says that the use of biogas is booming in the sector and shows returns financial resources. “We have assembled a multidisciplinary research team from several institutions and our studies indicate that it is economically viable to use biodigesters in dairy farming for free stall production systems with more than eighty cows” , reveals Otenio.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Sao Paulo state said on Friday it would offer fresh tax incentives to automakers, weeks after Ford Motor Co said it would shut down a plant there with 3,000 employees and General Motors Co hinted it might do the same before backtracking.

Sao Paulo is the historical center of Brazil’s auto industry, which was one of the world’s five biggest until a recent downturn from which it is still recovering. It has been losing ground in recent years to other Brazilian states which have showered automakers with incentives.

 

By Aluisio Alves via Reuters

 

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After SoftBank announced its plans to launch a $5 billion innovation fund in Latin America, we reached out to the good folks at the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA) for some context, and what they told me only validates the reasoning behind SoftBank’s interest in the region. (In 2017, we reported on the growing interest in Latin America.)

Let’s start with some numbers. Venture funding in Latin American startups is up — way up — from previous years. Specifically, LAVCA’s data shows that VC funding more than doubled in 2017 to $1.14 billion compared to $500 million in 2016. While 2018 numbers haven’t been finalized, LAVCA is projecting another record year with venture investments topping $1.5 billion.

 

By Mary Ann Azevedo via Techcrunch

 

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Gaining prominence in the domestic economy in recent years, Brazilian agribusiness should follow this trend of growth and increase its share in international trade for the next ten years, especially with sales of its main items such as soy, corn, sugar and meats. The conclusion is from the study “Outlook Fiesp 2028 – Projections for Brazilian Agribusiness”, prepared by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp).

According to the document, which was released by the entity today (07), considering a scenario of fiscal balance and the implementation of economic reforms, the Brazilian agricultural policy could be improved, for example, from the effective prioritization of rural insurance as a guarantee policy of income to the producer. This scenario would also greatly benefit the segments of animal proteins and more elaborate products from the expected income growth.

 

Via DATAGRO

 

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Having shifted from technology to human resources two decades ago, Marcelo Nóbrega is right at the point of convergence between the two areas as he enhances the management of a 50,000-strong Generation Z workforce in McDonald’s restaurants throughout Brazil.

Keeping up with innovation that enhances staff management and productivity is core to the HR director’s work, who joined Arcos Dorados, McDonald’s largest franchisee in the world, in 2014. In his role, Nóbrega is actively looking for innovative approaches to better interact with the workforce with technologies such as artificial intelligence high up on the agenda.

 

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

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Brazil has been through the ringer. The country went from being one of the world’s best-performing emerging economies to one riddled with political instability and beset by one of the worst recessions. In 2014, Brazil reached a record high 65 members on Forbes’Billionaires List. Then the troubles began, and the ranks of Brazil’s superrich fell steadily to just 42 in 2018.

But Brazil has come roaring back—at least when it comes to the very wealthy. A whopping 18 new billionaires hail from the South American country this year, a number of whom have taken their companies public on the São Paulo stock exchange in the recent past. Altogether Forbes found 58 billionaires in Brazil this year worth a combined $175 billion.

 

By Anderson Antunes via Forbes

 

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Demand for digital driving licenses is soaring in Brazil since the introduction of the smartphone-based document last year, available to the country’s 60 million drivers.

According to Brazil’s federal government’s data processing agency (Serpro), the digital license is available countrywide since April, but uptake has increased by 85 percent due to a new remote validation functionality added to the app last month.

 

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

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27 February 2019, Panama City, Panama – Brazil just became the first country to receive financial resources from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for having successfully reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation in the past.

The payment from the GCF is based on results achieved by Brazil in the Amazon biome between 2014-2015, and which have been reported and validated by experts from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is the essence of REDD+: a mechanism to reward countries for having reduced their deforestation.

 

By UNDP

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MEDIA CONTACT
Michelle Martinez Reyes, Chief Marketing Officer
954.333.4357   |   michelle.martinez.reyes@gmlaw.com

 

GREENSPOON MARDER APPOINTS PARTNER MYRNA MAYSONET AS CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER

 

Fort Lauderdale, FL – February 27, 2019 – Greenspoon Marder is pleased to announce the appointment of partner, Myrna Maysonet, as the Chief Diversity Officer. Ms. Maysonet joined Greenspoon Marder in 2000 and went on to become the first female partner. She has since served as a mentor to the firm’s diversity and even worked to provide same sex benefits a decade before it was considered to become a law.

 

“Greenspoon Marder is committed to taking big strides in diversity. Myrna has proven to be an integral part of those efforts over her 18 years with the firm,” comments Michael Marder, Co-Managing Director. “Our firm make-up is regularly changing and adding dynamics which allow us to better serve and connect with our clients. With Myrna’s leadership we plan to continue to diversify our ranks more and more each day,” comments Gerald Greenspoon, Co-Managing Director.

 

Ms. Maysonet is an advocate for LGBTQ and women’s rights and incorporates these values into her practice. She has covered these issues in a number of speaking engagements and panel discussions. Additionally, Ms. Maysonet is regularly featured on local, national and Hispanic networks including El Sentinel Orlando, Univision, Orlando Business Journal, South Florida Business Journal, Law360 and HR Magazine.

 

About Greenspoon Marder

Greenspoon Marder is a national full-service business law firm with more than 200 attorneys and 26 locations across the United States. Since our inception in 1981, our firm has been committed to providing excellent client service through our cross-disciplinary, client-team approach. Our mission is to understand the challenges that our clients face, build collaborative relationships, and craft creative solutions designed and executed with long-term strategic goals in mind. We serve Fortune 500, middle-market public and private companies, start-ups, emerging businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs nationwide. For more information, visit www.gmlaw.com.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The Chinese government is looking to boost its presence in the Brazilian food processing sector and reach agreements on joint food safety controls that would allow for long-term supply deals between the countries, a Chinese official said on Wednesday.

Yang Wanming, who took over as China’s ambassador to Brazil roughly two months ago, said in a presentation to businessmen and Sao Paulo state government officials that the Asian nation is also looking into opportunities in the country’s infrastructure projects and oil refining sector.

 

By Marcelo Teixeira via Reuters

 

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BRASILIA, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Senate confirmed Roberto Campos Neto as central bank governor on Tuesday, after he stressed that controlling inflation and reining in public spending were critical to supporting economic growth.

Much work must still be done to secure Brazil’s economic recovery, Campos Neto told the Senate’s economic committee at his confirmation hearing.

 

By Jamie McGeever via Reuters

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Banco BTG Pactual SA, Latin America’s biggest standalone investment bank, is joining the world of crypto assets with its own security token.

BTG plans to raise as much as $15 million through an initial offering for a token called ReitBZ that will be backed by distressed real estate assets in Brazil, Gustavo Roxo, the bank’s chief technology officer, said in an interview. The token will based on blockchain technology, the decentralized public ledger of transactions.

By Felipe Marques via Bloomberg

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FRANKFURT: Volkswagen’s truck and bus division increased its adjusted full-year operating profit last year by 13 percent thanks to a Brazilian market recovery, efficiency measures at MAN and a rise in vehicle deliveries.

Traton said on Monday it expects a return on sales of between 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent in 2019 as well as a slight increase in revenue and vehicle deliveries adding that an efficiency and cost cutting drive at MAN will continue.

By Edward Taylor via Channel NewsAsia

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Minister Bento Albuquerque defended the electric car using ethanol or natural gas as a source of energy during a meeting organized by the ANP, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels. According to him, there are significant competitive advantages due to the already being technology in development by some assemblers, in addition to reconciling the efficiency of the electric motors and the national vocation for the production of biofuels. He also stressed the importance of solving the problems associated with the recharging time of the batteries. “Vehicular electrification technologies should not only consider the battery as the only trajectory to be followed, but as a trend of decarbonization on our planet,” says Beto Albuquerque – Minister of Mines and Energy.

By DATAGRO

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Trade activity grew 0.9% in January compared to December 2018, according to the latest Serasa Experian Trade Activity Index numbers released on Tuesday (January 19). The highlights of the month were the construction materials industry, with 1.7% growth, and the cars, motorcycles & parts sector, which grew by 0.5%. On the other hand, the textiles, clothing, footwear and accessories category had the largest drop, at 5.4%, followed by supermarkets, hypermarkets, food and beverages (-1.4%); furniture, electronics and computers (-2.3%) and fuels and lubricants (-1.8%).

By BrazilGovNews

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Fields across Brazil’s Mato Grosso, the nation’s largest soybean state, have been plagued by dryness and scorching heat this season. That’s normally a recipe for disastrous yields. But thanks to better crop technology, farmers could still end up with a record harvest.

Take the case of Alexandre Di Domenico, who grows soybeans on about 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres) in the northeastern part of Mato Grosso. He’s seeing evidence that his yields will jump about 10 percent this year to an average 3,600 kilograms per hectare (53.5 bushels an acre). That’s even after his fields faced 20 days with almost no rain between December and January.

By Gerson Freitas Jr via Bloomberg

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When the giant P-67 floating oil production vessel lit its flare tower earlier this month, it marked the start of a Brazilian supply boom that’s poised to challenge OPEC’s efforts to balance the global market.

The mammoth facility — long and wide enough to fit an American football field — is the first of four similar platforms to begin pumping crude this year, lifting Brazilian output by roughly 365,000 barrels a day, its largest annual increase in at least 20 years, International Energy Agency estimates show. A second platform, P-76, has also started production, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday.

By Sabrina Valle and Javier Blas via Bloomberg

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The Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, signed during the first 45 days of the government all grants to build 53 projects from the New Energy Auction A-6, which was held in August 2018. The projects total R $ 6, 8 billion in investments and 1,572,356 kW of final power. More than eight thousand direct jobs will be generated during the construction phase of the plants.

By DATAGRO

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Brazil is a major economic power in Latin America and an important player on the world stage. This edition of On Campus shines a light on Sao Paulo’s Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), one of the country’s leading universities, as it leverages Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) to train a global workforce in Brazil. FGV Professor Riccardo Rochman took us inside the university’s Crypto Master’s Program and its commitment to preparing Brazil’s rising blockchain entrepreneurs and leaders.

By Team Ripple from Newsletter on Brazil via Laura Randall

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The Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA) seeks alternatives to develop the green securities market to finance low carbon projects. In this context, the entity held a meeting last Friday (15) in Brasilia with the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), an international organization that works to promote long-term capital markets through “green” financial instruments, such as Green Bonds.

Green bonds are debt financing or refinancing instruments issued by companies, financial entities, non-financial or public institutions, where the funds raised are 100% used to finance sustainable assets and projects. CBI Executive Director Justine Leigh-Bell and CNA technical advisors from the areas of agricultural policy, international cooperation, beef cattle, poultry and pigs, coffee, planted forests, the environment and irrigation participated in the meeting.

By DATAGRO

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Microsoft has announced a new initiative that will see more than 3 million Brazilian students getting trained in themes around artificial intelligence (AI).

During the Microsoft AI+Tour event in São Paulo, the firm’s chief executive Satya Nadella announced the pro-bono partnership with school networks SESI and SENAI to offer AI training in high school courses. During the announcement, Nadella pointed out that governments should accelerate the adoption of automation but create new capabilities at the same time.

By Angelica Mari via ZD Net

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Gremi International SARL is an international holding, composed of a number of companies operating in Brazil, Luxembourg, Poland, United States and the Netherlands. Operations of the group are mostly focused on investments in two sectors: real estate (in Brazil and in Poland) and media (Poland).

The group was established in 1991 by a Polish entrepreneur, Grzegorz (Greg) Hajdarowicz. The first activity of the company was wholesale of pharmaceuticals. As the business grew, new activities were introduced. Over 27 years GREMI was involved in many equity investments in various projects, focusing on distressed companies, encompassing sectors such as real estate, media, dredging, furniture manufacturing, printing houses, chip card IT systems, heat pumps, hydraulics, financial services (factoring), film production and other.

Gremi International SARL – by developing business projects and establishing legal entities in Brazil, Luxembourg, Poland,  the United States and the Netherlands – is consistently implementing strategy of becoming an internationally acting holding company.

The core of Gremi International SARL business expansion strategy is represented by Portuguese speaking countries and regions of which Brazil (in particular the Eco Estrela Project) is currently the first and most significant one.

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Agribusiness continues to be strong and farmers’ capitalization in general is very good, says Pedro Estevão Bastos, president of the Chamber of Agricultural Machinery and Implements (CSMIA), of the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industry (Abimaq), on the perspective of the 10% increase in sales in the segment in 2019.

However, Bastos warns that such variables as exchange rate, credit availability, crop productivity and the consequences of the China-US trade war, which influence soybean prices, may interfere with the performance of the agricultural sector this year. “We also need to know how the new government’s agricultural policies will be in order to have the best forecast in the market.”

By DATAGRO

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Independent innovation network Onovolab is driving a multimillion-dollar expansion of its co-creation centers across Brazil while attracting a flurry of corporate clients interested in tapping into external hubs for new technology projects.

The initiative launched in the city of São Carlos (144 miles from São Paulo) just over a year ago to act as a broker between traditional businesses and ventures with high-growth potential as well as a thriving academic community: the city’s universities produce one PhD for every 180 people, while the national average is one doctor per 5,423 inhabitants. The idea is that organizations can benefit from that mix for their own co-innovation initiatives.

By Angelica Mari via Forbes

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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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Feb 12 (Reuters) - Most Latin American stock markets rose on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal as they more than recovered ground lost during the previous session, while
resurgent risk appetite strengthened Latin American currencies against a softer dollar.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to close a deal on trade at some point, while officials from both countries expressed hopes on Monday a
new round of talks would help improve strained trade ties between the world's top two economies.

By Aaron Saldanha via Reuters

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Changes in economic policy and trade relations should boost sales of Brazilian products abroad. Experts consulted by the Central Bank are betting that Brazil may reach almost US$ 300 billion in exports in the coming years. The estimate is in the Market Expectations System, which gathers daily forecast surveys of the Brazilian economy from about 130 banks, fund managers and other institutions. The numbers were released on February 1.

This year, foreign sales are expected to total US$ 249.05 billion, according to market forecasts. In 2023, the estimated value is US$ 295 billion. If predictions are confirmed, total growth in the period will be of 18.47%.

By BrazilGovNews

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BRASILIA, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Inflation risks in Brazil have moderated and threats to domestic and global economic growth have intensified, minutes of the Brazilian central bank’s last policy meeting showed on Tuesday.

Policymakers also noted that risks associated with U.S. Federal Reserve policy tightening have diminished, according to minutes of the Feb. 5-6 meeting, where they unanimously agreed to keep the benchmark Selic rate unchanged at a record low 6.50 percent.

By Jamie McGeever via Nasdaq

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Brazil’s economy minister has vowed to end years of failed state interventions as Latin America’s largest economy embarks on sweeping free-market reforms under President Jair Bolsonaro.

In a wide-ranging interview, Paulo Guedes, the former fund manager chosen by the rightwing president to rekindle the Brazilian economy after the worst recession in its history, said a pension overhaul would save R$1tn ($350bn) over 10 years and be approved “within five months”.

By John Paul Rathbone and Andres Schipani via Financial Times

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The Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, is planning a series of trips with the objective of opening new markets and improving Brazilian exports. She said she will visit China, the United States, Europe, Arab countries and other nations with which Brazil wants to strengthen trade relations, such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

The minister said that she had already received the Chinese ambassador in Brazil on the MPLS and established some guidelines in common. She also expressed her intention to increase the commercial relationship with Peru, a country that is accelerating economic growth and has the potential to increase the bilateral market.

By DATAGRO

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Brazil’s tourism profile among Americans reached unparalleled heights in the earlier half of this decade when the South American nation hosted back-to-back international sports tournaments: the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

One million foreign tourists visited Brazil during the World Cup, according to officials at Embratur, the Brazil Tourist Board. More than 60 percent were visiting for the first time and U.S. and Canadian residents bought more than 200,000 match tickets, trailing only Brazilian purchases, said FIFA. Meanwhile, flights to Brazil increased by 289 percent between in the weeks prior to the 2016 Rio Olympics compared with the same period in 2015.

In the years since the country’s tourism officials have followed up on those high-profile events with a program of measures designed to ease American and Canadian travel to the country, even as the government struggled with economic and political unrest.

By Brian Major via Travel Pulse

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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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Privatization is yesterday’s political polemics. The market wants Brazilians to work more and earn less from government pension plans. Privatization is old school. Boring pension reform, that’s the new sexy. When doubts arise about Brazilian pension reform, the market tanks like it did on Wednesday.

“It’s an overreaction,” says Michael Reynal, a fund manager for Sophus Capital. Markets were down across the board today, but Brazil underperformed the MSCI Emerging Markets by over 300 basis points. ”We are not looking to sell Brazil, but there is some confusion over what proposal we are going to get,” he says, naming outgoing president Michel Temer’s watered-down but acceptable pension reform, or that of the new president, Jair Bolsonaro.

By Kenneth Rapoza via Forbes

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PODCAST

Devjani Mishra and Emily Haigh, of Littler’s New York City office, list their top 10 labor and employment compliance new year resolutions for businesses operating in the Empire State in 2019. They review several laws taking effect this year, offer practical guidance on how to juggle new requirements day-to-day, and identify legislative trends and court decisions to watch.

Questions in Portuguese or English can be sent to Renata Neeser at rneeser@littler.com

By Littler

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When Brazil’s central bank meets on Wednesday, its outgoing President Ilan Goldfajn will leave the door open for his successor to deliver an unprecedented borrowing cost cut at his first policy meeting.

Since at least 1996, when the country’s current monetary policy board was created, no incoming bank governor has ever cut the benchmark Selic in his first meeting. Roberto Campos Neto, who was appointed by President Jair Bolsonaro and will face his Senate confirmation hearing as soon as this month, could be the first. The chances are so good that when Campos Neto attended an event in Rio de Janeiro last month, several former central bank chiefs joked how it was going to be smooth sailing for him and how he was lucky.

By Raymond Colitt and Mario Sergio Lima via Bloomberg

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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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O começo do ano nos permite revisitar acontecimentos recentes envolvendo o combate à corrupção no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos, assim como nos estimula a considerar o que esperar no futuro, particularmente em vista da eleição de Jair Bolsonaro e da escolha do ex-juiz Sergio Moro para chefiar o Ministério da Justiça.

Lava Jato, Carne Fraca e Zelotes estão entre as operações recentes de combate à corrupção originadas no Brasil que reverberaram nos Estados Unidos, intensificaram a cooperação entre as autoridades dos dois países e resultaram em incontáveis investigações, condenações, acordos e litígios altamente noticiados. O combate à corrupção nos Estados Unidos também repercutiu no Brasil, sendo a investigação relativa à Fifa talvez o caso mais ilustrativo.

By Bruce E. Yannett, David. A. O’Neil, Andrew M. Levine, Kara Brockmeyer e Daniel Aun via Estadao

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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s government has opened discussions with congressional leaders, state governors and mayors on a pension reform bill that would set the minimum retirement age for men and women at 65, a government official said on Monday.

The proposal is one of several under consideration, as President Jair Bolsonaro looks to get the legislative ball rolling on his ambitious plans to overhaul Brazil’s creaking social security system.

By Reuters

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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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The main challenges and opportunities in the internet of things (IoT) were the theme of a seminar held in São Paulo (SP) last Wednesday (30). Experts from public institutions, government and private sector representatives presented various initiatives underway in the country to make IoT increasingly present in the daily lives of the population. The event was promoted by Folha de S. Paulo, in partnership with Samsung.

By DATAGRO

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The Brazilian productive sector began the year optimistic with the country’s economy. The Industry Confidence Index (ICI), measured by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), reached the highest level since August last year. The rate reached 98.2 points in January, a 2.6-point increase in comparison with December.

By BrazilGovNews

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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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John Keohane of Fortis Lux Financial (a member of MassMutual Financial Group) has been honored by MassMutual with the 2018 Top of the Council, a recognition given only to the top 1% performing advisors of this international Fortune 500 company. Last year, to meet growing demand, MassMutual Westchester Agency seamlessly merged with Fortis Lux Financial. This agency merger is very exciting as it enables the company to enhance services to clients with Financial Planning, Asset Management, Estate Planning and Strategic Business Planning.

 

Brazil and China are expected to hold their first high-level political and economic talks since 2015 later this year, Brazil’s agriculture trade secretary told Reuters on Thursday, in a move likely to boost farm trade between the two countries.

The first meeting of the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (Cosban), last convened under former President Dilma Rousseff, is “very probable” for the second half of the year, said Orlando Leite Ribeiro, who oversees trade and international relations at the Agriculture Ministry.

The meeting should advance talks to permit more Brazilian meatpackers to export to China and to accelerate Chinese approvals of genetically modified (GMO) products, Ribeiro said in an interview.

By Jake Spring/Reuters

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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Judging by the reaction of financial markets, the Brazilian economy started the year at high speed. The real is among the world’s best-performing currencies so far in 2019 and the main stock market index Ibovespa hit a string of record highs leading into last week, when it broke the 97,000-point mark. Future interest rates have fallen sharply.

Foreign investors are buying in as well. The premium demanded as compensation for the inherent risk of buying Brazilian bonds, the Credit Default Swap rate (CDS), that in September was above 310 basis points has fallen to around 180 basis points, a range close to that of emerging countries with an investment-grade seal.

By Otaviano Canuto

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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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Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. GimenezMiami International Airport Director Lester Sola and officials from Miami-Dade County and the Brazilian Post Office (Correios) gathered in Brasilia to announce the launch of Compra Fora (“Buy Outside”) – a first-of-its-kind, expedited shipping service that allows e-commerce packages of all sizes from anywhere in the world to be shipped to Miami International Airport (MIA), be pre-cleared by Correios, and arrive in Brazil as domestic cargo within days instead of what used to take weeks or months.

Correiros chose MIA as its first Compra Fora partner in large part because the airport ranks first in the U.S. for cargo flights to Brazil and commands 38 percent of the entire MIA-Brazil air trade market. Brazil is MIA’s largest international market for passengers and trade value, generating more than 1.5 million travelers and $12 billion in cargo shipments annually.

“This landmark agreement with Correios once again reinforces Miami-Dade County’s role as the logistics leader in our hemisphere,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “I applaud the efforts of MIA and our trade community, for keeping Miami-Dade County on the forefront of innovation within the global air cargo industry.”

Source: Miami International Airport via CISION PR Newswire

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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s government wants to sell at least $20 billion in assets of state-owned companies this year including parts of Petrobras and Banco do Brasil, the country’s secretary of privatization said on Tuesday.

Salim Mattar said the government wants state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA and lenders Banco do Brasil SA and Caixa Economica Federal to sell most of their subsidiaries within four years.

Mattar, a former businessman, estimated that Brazil could raise up to 800 billion reais ($214 billion) by selling state-owned companies. The privatizations, along with cuts in spending on pensions and social security, are key to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes’s plan to reduce public debt, now equivalent to 77 percent of gross domestic product.

“If we reduce the debt, the amount of interest we save annually would allow us to increase expenditures in education and health,” Mattar said.

By Tatiana Bautzer for Reuters

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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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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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DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – An overhaul of Brazil’s pension system could save up to 1.3 trillion reais ($345 billion) over the next decade, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes told Reuters on Wednesday, aiming as much as two-thirds higher than the previous government’s failed effort.

In an interview during the World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Guedes underscored the enormous scale of a pension reform that investors consider the cornerstone of new right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s sweeping economic agenda.

By Mark Bendeich via Reuters

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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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BRASILIA, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Brazil will add the Trans-Amazonian Highway to the list of projects for privatization, its infrastructure minister said on Tuesday, seeking new investment to pave a roadway that has already been blamed for deforestation.

The government also plans to sell to investors a concession to run BR-163, a key northern route for shipping Brazilian grains, adding it along with the Trans-Amazonian to a priority list for privatization at a meeting next month, Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio Freitas told Reuters in an interview.

By Jake Spring via CNBC

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Sales of Brazilian soybeans for the 2017/18 harvest reached 99% of production expected until the last day of January 18. The percentage is above the 94% recorded in the same period of the previous harvest and is also higher than the previous record of 98% observed in 2013 and 2015, highlight data from the DATAGRO Consulting.

“In addition to the supply being brought to an end, the expected fall in prices occurred in general, keeping producers’ sales interest loose,” says DATAGRO grain analyst Flávio Roberto de França Jr.

By DATAGRO

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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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Brazilian markets are off to a strong start in 2019. And while worries about much needed structural reforms remain, a market-friendly government and supportive fundamental backdrop could make this year a doozy, according to bullish analysts.

The year is still young, but so far the real USDBRL, +0.0107%  has gained 3.8% against the U.S. dollar, while the popular Bovespa stock index BVSP, +0.78%  has rallied more than 9%. In dollar terms, the Bovespa is up 12.4% so far this month, versus a 6.6% rise for the S&P 500 SPX, +1.32% according to FactSet.

Just last year, Brazil’s contentious presidential election and worries about much needed structural reforms to shore up the country’s fiscal health curbed investor enthusiasm. Economists say the reforms are still needed, but sentiment seems increasingly supportive even before outspoken newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro takes the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week.

By Anneken Tappe via Market Wacth

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Jan 18 (Reuters) – Brazil’s benchmark stock index reached an all-time high on Friday on positive investor sentiment about the new government’s pension reform plans and U.S.-China trade talks, while Latin American currencies steadied against the U.S. dollar. The Bovespa, one of 2018’s top performing indexes across the globe, hit a record high, crossing the 96,000 mark as investors hoped the new government’s pension reforms plans may be revealed earlier than expected.

By Agamoni Ghosh via CNBC

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The US $ 58.7 surplus recorded by Brazil last year is a result of increased imports from China, as well as increased international demand for Brazilian commodities. The data are from the Foreign Trade Indicator (Icomex) of January released today (17) by the Brazilian Institute of Economy of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (Ibre-FGV).

By DATAGRO

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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 financial market remains optimistic with its forecasts for economic growth in 2019. According to the latest edition of the Focus Bulletin, released by the Central Bank on Monday (January 14), analysts are predicting Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow 2.57% this year, up from the previous 2.53%.

By BrazilGovNews

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The marketing of hydrated ethanol continues to be heated in the domestic market. Biofuel sales totaled 858.11 million liters in the second half of December, an increase of 26.57% over the volume traded in the same period of 2017 (678.00 million liters), according to data from the Cana- of Sugar (UNICA).

Considering December sales, sales also increased, registering 1.79 billion liters, an increase of 25.26% over December 2017 (1.43 billion liters). “This volume, a record for a month in December, is due to the maintenance of biofuels’ competitiveness against gasoline in the domestic market. This is the beginning of the most advantageous year for ethanol in this decade “, points out UNICA.

By DATAGRO

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Brazil’s outgoing central bank President Ilan Goldfajn told Swiss newspaper Le Temps that conditions remain in place for strong economic growth, while he warned against inflated expectations under the country’s new populist government.

“The expectations are now very high in Brazil,” Goldfajn said in an interview with the French-language newspaper ahead of an address at the International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies scheduled for Tuesday in Geneva.

By Andy Hoffman via Bloomberg

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Brazil stocks have been rallying since Bolsonaro’s presidential victory in October last year. The most popular Brazilian ETF, iShares MSCI Brazil ETF EWZ rose 13.3% in the fourth quarter of 2018. Brazil’s Bovespa index gained about 10.8% in the same time frame. Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in as Brazil’s president on Jan 1.

EWZ has continued its strong run this year by returning 12.5% in the year-to-date time frame (as of Jan 9). This indicates market participants faith in the newly elected president’s ambitious agenda.

By Zacks Equity Research via Nasdaq

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s new government wants to save 1 trillion reais ($269.48 billion) over 10 years via pension reforms economists say are vital to undo the growing fiscal deficit, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Monday.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has surrounded himself with generals and liberal economists as top advisers, made pension reform a staple of his campaign. But he has given few details before his inauguration or as president.

By Reuters Staff via Reuters

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A civil and common law-trained litigator and member of the firm’s International Arbitration practice, Haridi is recognized for regularly handling commercial and investor-state arbitrations under the rules of all the major arbitral institutions. She was also noted for being a vital member of several arbitral organizations, including the ICC International Court of Arbitration, the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association, and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) Arab Users’ Council.

Source: Hogan Lovells

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – At BM Multimarcas, a used-car dealer on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, owner Santel de Abreu Bernardo can show you jalopies that most big banks would not touch.

There is a faded blue 2003 Renault hatchback with 195,000 kilometers on the dial. And a Volkswagen Gol Turbo so old that it could vote.

But when he needs to seal a deal, Bernardo has a go-to option for financing: the Brazilian unit of Spain’s Banco Santander.

By Carolina Mandl via Reuters

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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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On Monday, the presidents of public banks will begin their mission of reducing distortions in the Brazilian credit market and balancing the interest rates charged by financial institutions. The statement came from the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, who participated in their inauguration ceremony in the Planalto Palace.

According to Guedes, interventions made by past governments in public banks have contributed to making credit cheaper for large companies and more expensive for the rest of the population, an imbalance which should be corrected by the new management.

By BrazilGovNews

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President Jair Bolsonaro sanctioned a law on Monday (January 7) that allows the creation of endowment funds, as a way to encourage private donations to projects of public interest. With the decision, the areas of education, science, technology, research and innovation, culture, health, environment, social assistance and sport will be strengthened.

In practice, all money donated by individuals and private companies, along with the income received from their investment, will be passed on to institutions and projects of public interest, increasing the sustainability of important public policies.

By BrazilGovNews

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New Member: New York Casas

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The Brazilian government plans to privatize or liquidate some 100 state-run companies, reflecting the new administration’s drive to reduce the size of the state, Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio Freitas said on Tuesday.

Freitas also said in a radio interview that the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro, inaugurated on Jan. 1, is considering awarding licenses for private-sector firms to build and operate 5,600 kilometers of new toll roads and bid again on 4,000 kilometers of existing toll roads.

By Reuters Staff

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It’s just a week into 2019 and Brazil is the best stock market in the world. Parabens, Jair Bolsonaro. Until the army tanks roll in, as his opponents believed just four months ago, Brazil is on track to be the best performing market this quarter, if not in the first half of 2019.

Based on the biggest, passive trades in the markets, the iShares MSCI Brazil is beating the SPDR S&P 500, Russia, India, China (duh), Mexico, FTSE Europe, Japan and the broader MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Fitch Solutions forecast Brazil’s GDP growth to hit 2.4% this year, up from 1.3% last year.

Brazil’s economic recovery will pick up steam over the next couple of quarters, Fitch Solutions researchers wrote in a report published on Tuesday. They cited positive business sentiment bolstered by Bolsonaro’s new administration.

By Keneth Rapoza via Forbes

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ANTES DE FALAR, ERA PRECISO FAZER.

Atravessamos uma grave crise, a maior da nossa história. A empresa foi vítima e nunca se beneficiou dos atos desonestos de um pequeno grupo de executivos. De tudo que nos foi tirado, certamente a sua confiança foi a coisa mais valiosa.

A sociedade merece uma explicação. Mas, antes de falar, era preciso fazer. E muita coisa já foi feita. Mudamos a empresa e agimos, sem hesitar diante dos problemas. Com tolerância zero à fraude e à corrupção, implementamos uma série de ações efetivas de combate à corrupção para evitar que os problemas voltem a acontecer.

Estamos passando essa história a limpo.

Conheça o artigo completo e assista o vídeo.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has begun oil production at its P-75 platform in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin, the state-run oil company said on Monday.

The platform, located in the Buzios 2 oilfield, will be able to produce up to 150,000 barrels per day of oil and six million cubic meters of natural gas, the company’s statement said. (Reporting by Gram Slattery Editing by David Goodman)

Reference: www.reuters.com
Posted by Letícia França | drummondadvisors.com

Flexibilization is positive, but it is necessary to consider the fiscal and structural parts of the process

Keeping an eye on the competitive growth of the financial sector and the reduction of the cost of credit, the government decreed, on October 30, the simplification of the operation process of foreign Fintechs companies in the Brazilian market.

Previously, foreign financial technology companies were required express authorization from the Presidency of the Republic to enter into Fintech’s national system — a time-consuming and complicated bureaucracy that ran into other problems, such as the difficulty of applying international venture capital funds in exchange of capital in Brazilian companies, a common and even expected process of the sector.

The withdrawal of this obligation applies to companies that act as a Direct Credit Society (Sociedade de Crédito Direto or SCD), which are the companies that lend their own resources, and as a Partnership Between People (Sociedade entre Pessoas or SEP), which are the bridge between those who needs money and those who wants to lend it.

But even with all this easiness, Michel de Amorim warns of the fiscal and structural consequences of the process. “We must be aware of the complexity of taking a financial technology company to the Brazilian market. The structuring of the company — from the corporate structure to the location of the company —, its tax planning and risk analysis, for example, are points that deserve extra attention and cannot be ignored,” says Amorim.

In the long run, Amorim sees even greater impacts from the decision. “We can already feel the immediate competitive growth. In the medium term we will see the Brazilian and American financial markets being permanently heated, and a greater opening for other trade agreements between Brazil and the United States to take place,” he concludes.

 

Reference: drummondadvisors.com

Program provides incentives for automakers that prioritize the use of biofuels

Brazil´s President Michel Temer sanctioned this Monday, December 10, 2018, Law 13755, creating ROTA2030, a program that establishes incentives to increase efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transportation, and gives a direction of future investments in research and new technologies for the automobile industry in Brazil. The measure was published at the Federal Official Gazette this Tuesday, December 11th.

ROTA 2030 was a program widely discussed by all the actors involved in the production and commercialization of cars and fuels in Brazil, with the participation of civil society representatives and a wide representation of Parliamentarians from the two houses of Congress.

ROTA 2030 is considered the Siamese brother of RENOVABIO, since it establishes incentives for the increase of efficiency in the technology used by vehicles, just as RenovaBio promotes the energetic-environmental efficiency in the production of biofuels.

One of the most important elements of ROTA 2030 was the approval of the Parliamentary Amendment authored by Deputy Arnaldo Jardim, approved in the form of Paragraph 4o. of Article 2 of the legislation, which reads as follows:

Paragraph 4. Hybrid vehicles equipped with an engine that alternately or simultaneously uses gasoline and ethanol (flexible fuel engine) shall have a reduction of at least three percentage points in the rate of IPI (industrial products tax) in relation to conventional vehicles of similar class and category, equipped with the same type of engine.

According to Congressman Arnaldo Jardim, the device is a way of recognizing the externalities of ethanol, which is a fuel that makes the difference, as it generates income, employment, is renewable and still fights greenhouse gases.

On Thursday, in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace, President Michel Temer, Ministers and members of the Parliament will celebrate the enactment of the Law, and Toyota will announce the installation of the first worldwide assembly line of hybrid vehicles with flex technology, capable of using ethanol fuel.

Below is the full text of Law 13755, published in the Official Gazette of December 11th, 2018.

DATAGRO, December 11, 2018.

LEI NO 13.755, DE 10 DE DEZEMBRO DE 2018

 

Read full article on portal.datagro.com

By Agamoni Ghosh and Sruthi Shankar

Dec 13 (Reuters) – Brazilian stocks edged higher for the third straight day in line with global equities on signs of
easing China-U.S. trade tensions, while most Latin American currencies weakened.

Investors have been slowly growing less pessimistic about the chances of a China-U.S. trade deal after a slew of news this week pointed to easing tensions between the two powers.

China made its first major U.S. soybean purchases in more than six months on Wednesday, evidence that it was living up to pledges made when Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to a 90-day detente to negotiate a trade deal.

Sao Paulo’s benchmark stock index rose 0.4 percent led by shares of material and consumer companies, shrugging off data that showed a surprise fall in retail sales volumes excluding cars and building materials in October from September.

Utility giant Companhia Paranaense de Energia was the top gainer on the index on news of a former executive director of a television channel, Daniel Pimentel Slaviero, taking over as the president of the state electricity company.

The Brazilian real edged lower, pushing MSCI’s Latin American currencies index down 0.6 percent.
Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday held interest rates at an all-time low and hinted that it will hold off from raising them for longer than expected.

“The dovish statement could cause the real to weaken a little, but I wouldn’t expect a huge move.”
– said Edward Glossop, emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, specializing in Latin America.

The Mexican peso dipped for the first time in three days as investors awaited the first budget from the country’s new leftist government on Saturday.

“I suspect there might be some weakness in the peso leading up to the budget. There could be some uncertainty about what might be included.” – said Glossop.

New finance minister Carlos Urzua, who is due to present the 2019 budget, told a congressional hearing he was targeting a primary surplus of about 1 percent of gross domestic product.

A group of investors holding bonds issued for a new Mexico City airport that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has canceled said that it cannot support an amended bond buyback because problems still remain despite improvements to the plan.

Read full article on reuters.com

By Mario Sergio Lima and Matthew Malinowski

Brazil held its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low amid a sharp downturn in inflation and feeble economic activity.

The bank board, led by its President Ilan Goldfajn, on Wednesday kept the Selic rate at 6.50 percent for the sixth straight meeting in a move expected by all 39 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The meeting was one of the last under Goldfajn, who will step down from his position in the coming months.

In a statement accompanying the decision, board members wrote that the risk of slow growth leading to lower-than-expected inflation had increased. In addition, chances of stronger price pressures stemming from the possible frustration of domestic reforms had moderated.

“The Committee judges that various measures of underlying inflation are running at appropriate or comfortable levels. This includes the components that are most sensitive to the business cycle and monetary policy,” policy makers wrote.

Brazil has withstood turbulence stemming from this year’s presidential vote and global investors’ stampede from risky assets. As the country’s currency weakened to a record low before the October vote, investors started betting on interest rate increases as early as this year. But the victory of Jair Bolsonaro, combined with tepid economic growth and faster-than-forecast deflation, eventually delayed such bets to end-2019.

 

Read full article on bloomberg.com

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