Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Elections’ Category

Brazil news update, September 28th

In Brazil, Economy, Elections, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on September 28, 2009 at 8:07 pm

POLITICS

The de facto government of Honduras denied entry on Sunday to an Organization of American States delegation and threatened to close Brazil’s embassy, where ousted President Manuel Zelaya has taken refuge (Reuters).

Brazil’s president demanded on Wednesday a greater role in global affairs for big developing nations, while asking rich countries to do more to spur free trade and fight climate change (Reuters).

- Brazilian President Lula da Silva said he’ll visit President Amadinejad in Tehran next year after the Iranian leader comes to Brazil, adding he can’t judge Iran’s elections or nuclear ambitions (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazilian economists expect higher interest rates and faster economic growth next year, according to a central bank survey of about 100 economists (Bloomberg).

OLYMPICS

A sporting duel between U.S. President Obama and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva heated up on Friday over who — if either of them — gets to host the 2016 Summer Olympics (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Eike Batista, a Brazilian industrial magnate, said on Monday he may consider buying a stake in Vale, the world’s largest iron ore exporter, if given the chance (Reuters).

Brazil state development bank BNDES may support consolidation in the country’s steel industry as the government looks to create “global champions,” the bank’s president Luciano Coutinho told Valor Economico newspaper (Reuters).

Brazil’s plan to reform its mining code and potentially raise the royalties paid by mining companies must ensure the mineral-rich country can compete with up and coming resource providers increasingly vying for investment, miners said (Reuters).

FINANCE

Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, Scotland’s largest money manager, is opening an office in Brazil after increasing its Latin American holdings by a third with the purchase of Credit Suisse Group AG’s funds unit this year (Bloomberg).

OIL

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer, expects areas off the coast of Bahia state may hold so-called pre-salt oil reserves, Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli said (Bloomberg).

Angola news update, September 28th

In Agriculture, Angola, Banking, Economy, Elections, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Politics on September 28, 2009 at 7:33 pm

AGRICULTURE

The Portuguese oenologist Mário Louro said in Lisbon, Portugal, that Angola may start producing quality wine from 2014 to supply local market with national product and compete with international marks (Angop).

U.S. Chiquita Brands International Inc and a partner have quit plans to enter Angola’s once-thriving banana industry after failing to secure the best land to grow and export bananas (Reuters).

CHINA

Angola is the main trade partner of China in Africa and the second in the world, in an economic interchange that reached around USD 25.3 billion during 2008, reported Friday the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary ambassador of China to Angola, Zhang Bolun (Angop).

POLITICS

Angola’s President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos marked 30 years in power on Monday, with no public celebrations or even a murmur in state media about the milestone reached by Africa’s second-longest serving leader (Mail & Guardian).

Angolans are tired of waiting for presidential elections and may soon take to the streets in protest against delays, the head of the main opposition UNITA party said (Reuters).

There were no military bands to mark Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ three decades in power this week. Just another day in the life of Africa’s second longest serving — and perhaps most enigmatic — leader (Reuters).

OIL

Angola state-owned firm Sonangol will buy Marathon Oil’s 20 percent stake in Angola’s Block 32, valued at $1.3 billion, after blocking the sale of the stake to two Chinese companies, a Sonangol spokesman said (Reuters).

French oil company Total plans to end the year with investments of over US$4 billion in Angola, a rise of around 50 percent against 2008, a company source said (Macauhub).

ECONOMY

Angola, which has averaged 10 percent annual growth in its gross domestic product since 2004, is attracting workers and professional from its former colonial master, Portugal, which is suffering a shrinking economy and increased unemployment, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing interviews (Bloomberg).

INVESTMENT

Portuguese business group Mostratus has invested around US$25 million in installing a water collection and bottling factory in Mazozo, in Angola’s Bengo province, according to Angolan news agency Angop (Macauhub).

Angolan business group GEMA (Sociedade de Gestão de Partticipações Financeiras e Gestão de Empreendimentos) annouced, Thursday, that it would build a cement factory in the city of Lobito, in Angola’s Benguela province at na estimaed investment of US$400 million (Macauhub).

The Caixa Totta bank, which was recently set up in Angola, plans to invest over US$100 million in expanding its network to all of Angola’s provinces (Macauhub).

South Africa’s president still on a roll

In Elections, Politics, South Africa on September 24, 2009 at 9:36 pm

When Jacob Zuma came to power in May, there were doubters aplenty. So far he has handsomely confounded his critics.

Read the full story at The Economist

Brazil news update, September 20th

In Agriculture, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on September 20, 2009 at 9:41 pm

INVESTMENT

Brazilian companies are prepared to step up international takeovers as the domestic economy recovers from a recession and the local currency gains, according to Rothschild, the country’s top mergers and acquisitions adviser (Bloomberg).

Votorantim Cimentos Ltda., which controls 40 percent of Brazil’s cement market, is seeking international acquisitions (Bloomberg).

Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, whose EBX conglomerate controls oil, energy, mining and transportation assets in the country, plans to invest $10.3 billion through 2012 as he bets on a rebound in global growth, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuter).

American billionaire Sam Zell’s Equity International real estate investment fund plans to expand its investments in Brazil to commercial property, farms, industrial warehouses and infrastructure and logistics in coming years, Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Hyundai,  South Korea’s largest automaker, will begin construction of a factory in Brazil next year after suspending the plan due to the global recession (Bloomberg).

Morgan Stanley, the top adviser on takeovers in Brazil, doubled the investment-banking staff in Latin America’s biggest economy and plans to add more as local capital markets develop, an executive said (Bloomberg).

AGRICULTURE

Brazil’s biosecurity regulator, CTNBio, approved two new varieties of genetically modified corn, both of which have been engineered to resist pests and glyphosate-based herbicide (Reuters).

OIL

The Brazilian government’s proposal to develop vast oil reserves faces several obstacles in Congress but is on track for a first vote by November, key congressional leaders said (Reuters).

Brazil’s plan to capitalize state-run oil company Petrobras with 5 billion barrels of crude reserves in exchange for new shares may yield $15 billion to $25 billion in oil rights for the company, analysts said (Reuters).

Brazil’S oil giant Petrobras will boast crude reserves of 30 billion to 35 billion barrels within three years, thanks to huge finds in deep water off the nation’s coast, the company’s CEO said (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

Brazil’s Senate approved a bill late on Tuesday that could change the rules for general elections in October 2010 (Reuters).

MEAT

Brazil’s JBS, the world’sbiggest beef producer, agreed to buy a controllingstake in bankrupt U.S. poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride and JBS’ Brazilian beef rival Bertin (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government is considering new measures to nurture the country’s economic recovery, focusing on cutting the high costs of doing business, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

AMAZON

Brazilian President Lula will propose a ban on new sugar-cane planting in 82 percent of the country, including the Amazon, as part of efforts to preserve forests and avoid restrictions from ethanol- importing countries (Bloomberg).

Brazil news update, September 7th

In Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Oil, Politics, Security on September 7, 2009 at 8:09 pm

OIL

Brazil has no interest in joining the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because it does not aspire to become a crude oil exporter, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected demands by congressional leaders to take his proposed legislation for more government control of oil production off a fast track, the ruling party chief in the Senate said (Reuters).

The pace of bidding rounds in Brazil’s offshore subsalt fields will depend heavily on local industry’s capacity to provide goods and services required by local content rules, state-run Petrobras said (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, may pay up to 1 billion reais ($525 million) to buy Brazilian generic drugmaker Neo Quimica, stepping up smaller acquisitions in fast-growing emerging markets, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo said (Reuters).

RIO 2016

The four bid cities competing to host the 2016 summer Olympics are locked in a tight race with no clear frontrunner emerging from the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation report released (Reuters).

Brazil’s resilience to the global financial crisis has boosted Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics, the city’s mayor said (Reuters).

AMAZON

The annual rate of destruction of Brazil’s Amazon rain forest has fallen 46 percent to its lowest level in over two decades due partly to increased police patrols, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s 2010 budget outline foresees a 12 percent increase in primary spending, the budget and planning ministry said, a day after the government presented its proposal to Congress (Reuters).

SECURITY

French President Sarkozy, on a two-day visit to Brazil, is lobbying the South American nation to become the first foreign buyer of Dassault Aviation SA’s Rafale fighter jet (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s economy is making a “sound” recovery from the global financial slump as domestic demand for goods rises and access to credit returns, central bank President Meirelles said (Bloomberg).

Brazil news update, August 31st

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Security on September 1, 2009 at 8:28 pm

BANKING & FINANCE

Brazil’s state development bank may allow at least five local and foreign banking groups to take part in the creation of a 7 billion reais ($3.7 billion) fund to bolster investment in small- and medium-sized enterprises, daily newspaper Valor Economico reported (Reuters).

Brazil may earn the much-coveted investment-grade rating by Moody’s Investors Service in coming weeks, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

Banco de Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, plans to open new branches and may consider acquisitions to expand in the U.S. “Banco do Brasil is interested in being where Brazilian communities are,” the Brasilia-based bank’s vice president for international business, told reporters in Sao Paulo (Bloomberg).

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Grupo Pao de Acucar, Brazil’s largest supermarket operator, plans to use the 600 million reais ($318 million) it received to relax the terms of a consumer finance venture with lender Itau Unibanco  in acquisitions, Valor Economico said (Reuters).

The deal between Brazilian banking giant Itau Unibanco and insurance company Porto Seguro will pave the way for a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the domestic insurance market, a top industry executive told the daily Valor Economico (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s president proposed  giving the state more control over one of the world’s biggest recent oil finds in a high-stakes move that could drive the country’s development for decades to come (Reuters).

Lula’s plans for the development of the country’s offshore oil fields stripped Petrobras’ investors of $7 billion in a day (Bloomberg).

PORTS

DP World, the Dubai government-controlled port operator, said on Sunday it would acquire a majority stake in Embraport, a private Brazilian port in Santos, in partnership with Brazil’s Odebrecht (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s former environment minister Marina Silva took another big step toward an expected presidential bid by joining the Green Party, which wants to field her in the 2010 race (Reuters).

Brazilian President Lula da Silva plans to raise primary spending — expenditures before debt payments — by about 13 percent next year, earmarking more funds for health, education, defense and family stipends (Bloomberg).

STEEL

Vale, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, will build a $3.7 billion steel plant in Brazil’s northern state of Para after being criticized by the government for paring planned investments for this year, a Brazilian newspaper said (Reuters).

Presidential politics in Brazil

In Brazil, Elections, Politics on August 27, 2009 at 8:30 pm

Lula’s plan to apoint Dilma Rousseff as his successor has started to go awry amid the splintering of the Workers’ Party.

Read the analysis in The Economist

Brazil news update, August 24th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Stock exchange on August 24, 2009 at 2:52 pm

MERGERS & TALKS

Itau Unibanco, Brazil’s biggest private sector bank by assets, agreed on Monday to merge its automobile and residential insurance business with local insurer Porto Seguro (Reuters).

Brenco, a Brazilian ethanol producer backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and AOL founder Steve Case, is in talks with three separate groups to sell a stake in a bid to raise cash and restructure its debt, Valor Economico newspaper said (Reuters).

Braskem, Latin America’s largest petrochemical company, said it was in talks with controlling shareholders of rival Quattor to spot opportunities for a strategic alliance (Reuters).

OIL

The governor of Rio de Janeiro state, where most of Brazil’s oil production is located, said he opposed changes to regulations that would reduce the state’s tax revenue, a newspaper reported on Sunday, days before the country’s revamped oil rules are unveiled (Reuters).

State-run oil giant Petrobras said it found light crude in reserves situated off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Unemployment in Brazil unexpectedly fell in July and was down for a fourth straight month, the latest sign that a recovery in Latin America’s largest economy is gaining traction (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

Brazil’s former environment minister, Marina Silva, said on Wednesday she is leaving the ruling Workers’ Party, paving the way for an expected presidential run in the October 2010 election (Reuters).

Brazil will hold a presidential election in October 2010 to choose the successor to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term. Parties will formally nominate their candidates late this year. Here are some frequently asked questions about the race.

Pro-business candidates likely will dominate the race to take over from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with his handpicked successor and the governor of the nation’s richest state ahead of emerging leftist rivals (Reuters).

MINING

Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista will show in the next two months whether the eight-month rally that made his company the priciest of the world’s biggest energy stocks is justified  (Bloomberg).

Zuma’s Angola visit to focus on trade

In Angola, Economy, Elections, Energy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, South Africa on August 18, 2009 at 9:37 pm

South African President Jacob Zuma travels to Angola on Wednesday in a bid to strengthen ties between the continent’s biggest economy and one of its top oil producers.

Read the report at the Mail & Guardian

Brazil news update, August 17th

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Oil, Politics, Security, Telecom on August 17, 2009 at 6:28 pm

MEAT

Brazil’s top leather exporter and second-largest beef exporter, Bertin, said it has signed a pact with environmental campaigner Greenpeace to refuse purchases of cattle reared in recently-deforested parts of the Amazon (Reuters).

Cattle ranching has become the biggest environmental challenge for Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, which has launched a “cattle moratorium” to combat Amazon destruction, the state’s governor said (Reuters).

SECURITY

Colombia would like to increase its military ties with Brazil and other South American countries, President Alvaro Uribe said in the face of criticism over an pending security pact with Washington (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s overhaul of oil laws will not change the distribution of revenues among states, a cabinet minister said, a change of position that could ease passage of the measures in Congress (Reuters).

A Brazilian government proposal for exploiting recent deep-water oil discoveries calls for direct state control and is expected to give a key role to oil company Petrobras. The new plan follows the discovery off Brazil’s coast of giant pools of oil. They are among the largest petroleum finds in recent years, and could make Brazil into a significant energy exporter (Bloomberg).

ELECTIONS

Brazil’s central bank chief stoked speculation he may run for governor of Goias state next year when he joined President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at a ribbon-cutting event there (Reuters).

The expected ruling party candidate in Brazil’s 2010 presidential election has been drawn into a scandal by an accusation that she tried to stop a probe into the finances of the Senate chief’s family (Reuters).

BANKING

Banco do Brasil, Brazil’s largest state-run bank by assets, said early its second-quarter profit surged 43 percent on increased lending and after it sold a stake in credit card processing company VisaNet (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s economy is showing signs of recovering in the second semester, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

BUSINESS

PepsiCo Inc said it plans to buy Amacoco, Brazil’s largest maker of packaged coconut water drinks, as it expands its presence in South America’s largest nation (Reuters).

A rebound by the Brazilian auto industry this year has been so swift and so widespread that auto makers are now planning new hires and expanded output. That’s a stark contrast from much of the rest of the world, where the industry continues to retrench. Not long ago, Brazil’s auto makers were also cutting back production and eliminating jobs in the face of an uncertain fate for the economy and their sales (Bloomberg).

POWER

Eletrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled power utility, is negotiating the purchase of an electricity generation company in neighboring Peru, Chief Executive Jose Antonio Muniz Lopes said (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Brazil’s government may revive the former telecommunications industry monopoly, which was sold to private investors in the late 1990s, to provide the government with free access to the Internet, daily newspaper Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Surinam news update, August 9th

In Economy, Elections, Oil, Politics, Surinam on August 9, 2009 at 10:21 am

POLITICS

The Megacombinatie, an alliance of several political parties and personalities carefully built around the National Democratic Party of Desi Bouterse, the former military strongman of Surinam, suffered a setback after a party led by wealthy businessman Dilip Sardjoe left the group, nine months ahead of the national elections.

OIL

The final decision on the expansion of the Staatsolie refinery will be taken by the end of 2009, when new market data will be taken into account.  Surinam’s proven oil reserves are estimeated at 80 million barrels, while future finds are to be expected (DWT).

ECONOMY

Surinam with 2.5 % growth for 2009 is expected to be the fastest in the Caribbean, followed by Belize with 1 % and Trinidad and Tobago with 0.8 %. Most Caribbean countries have entered in recession, according to ECLAC (DWT).

The battle for South Africa has begun

In Economy, Elections, Politics, South Africa on July 23, 2009 at 7:05 pm

Will Jacob Zuma keep the poor happy and his leftwing allies at bay?

Read the full story in The Economist

Angola news update, July 18th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Elections, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Politics, Polls, Sao Tome and Principe, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on July 18, 2009 at 10:16 am

OIL

CNOOC and Sinopec have agreed to purchase a stake in an oil block offshore Angola from Marathon Oil as the Chinese state-owned companies continue to buy up overseas energy assets (Reuters).

An oil exploration well in deepwater Block 16 off Angola has shown positive results, Denmark’s Maersk Oil and Gas said (Reuters).

The oil and gas division of Brazilian construction company Odebrecht also announced the oil discovery on the Angolan coast, in a prospection operated by Maersk Oil (with 50 percent), newspaper Estado de São Paulo reported. “It is light oil, of good quality, which was found at a depth of 4,725 metres, 315 kilometres of the Luanda coast,” the company’s chairman, Miguel Gradin told the Brazilian newspaper (Macauhub).

POLITICS

Prospects of Angola’s post-war presidential poll taking place in 2009 receded after the group in charge of drafting a new constitution, a precondition for the vote, said it was likely to need more time. The Constitutional Commission said that work on a new constitution could take longer than expected. The group requested an 180-day delay from the initial deadline of September 23 (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Unitel, Angola’s biggest mobile- phone operator, said it will spend $1.7 billion over the next four years upgrading infrastructure and expanding its network (Bloomberg).

TRADE

The commercial exchanges between Spain and Angola have recorded a significant growth in the past five years, and currently they reached a volume of about one billion euros (ANGOP).

VEHICLES

The CSG car manufacturing factory, located in Viana district, Luanda, announced that it will supply all makes of vehicles such as jeeps, pick-ups and small, medium and large capacity buses, as well as spare parts processing, trading and rent cars (ANGOP).

BANKING

The director of the northern region of Savings and Credit Bank (BPC), Ilda Silva, said that her institution will open six more counters in the provinces of Kwanza Norte, Malanje, Cabinda and Zaire this year. The province of Kwanza Norte will benefit from an agency, Cabinda (2), Zaire (2), including one in the city of Soyo and the other in Mbanza Congo, and Malanje (1), in the town of Cangandala (ANGOP).

INVESTMENTS

Portugal’s direct investment in Angola rose three-fold in the 2008/2009 period, from 210 million euros to 634 million euros, said Portugal’s ambassador to Angola, Francisco Ribeiro Teles in Luanda (Macauhub).

Angolan Banco de Desenvolvimento de Angola (BDA) has, since it started operating in 2007, provided loans totalling US$200 million to Angolan businesspeople in the non-oil sector (Macauhub).

AIR TRAVEL

Taag, Angola’s flagship airline plans to re-launch its flights to Lisbon, Portugal on 1 August after the European Commission decided Tuesday on a partial lift on the carrier’s ban from flying in European air space (Macauhub).

The air carrier for Sao Tome and Principe, STP Airways, is due on 29 July to start flying to Angola, with a flight to Luanda that will be linked to the Lisbon-Sao Tome flight, the company’s public relations director said (Macauhub).

LOGISTICS

Spanish company Mercasa will create over 2,000 jobs in Angola by 2010, with the conclusion of a logistics centre that is being built in the municipality of Viana, Luanda (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, July 18th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Elections, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Ports, Real estate, Security, Tourism, Travel on July 18, 2009 at 9:52 am

POLITICS

Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires reaffirmed his desire this week to retire from politics in 2010, at the end of his second five-year term as the nation’s head of state. According to statements he made in Paris, he plans to write his memoirs following his retirement (A Semana).

PORTS & AIRPORTS

The government of Cape Verde said it would invest 300 million euros in the port sector on the islands of Fogo, Sal, Santiago, Boavista, Sao Vicente and Santo Antao, adding that a new airport would also be built on the latter (Macauhub).

BORDER CONTROL

Minister of Internal Administration Lívio Lopes and his Portuguese counterpart, José Magalhães, launched the pilot phase of the PASSE (Secure Automatic Exit and Entry Process) system. The system will control Cape Verde’s exit and entry points using information technology (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

The Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA), which will be headquartered in Cape Verde. The installation of this type of institution will increase the country’s technical capacities, as high-level civil aviation specialists will be permanently placed in Cape Verde (A Semana),

REAL ESTATE

The Cape Verdean Association of Tourist Real-Estate Promoters (Promitur) is asking its associates to adjust their business plans in order to weather the financial crisis that has begun to be felt in the country (A Semana).

TOURISM

Yet another sign that the opening of Boa Vista’s international airport is having an influence on tourist agencies, even in the midst of the financial crisis, is the fact that Portuguese travel agency Soltrópico saw its revenues jump 56.5% in the first half of 2009 thanks to the sale of tourist packages to the island, which shot up 75.6% (A Semana).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

A postal control operation carried out by the National Police and Judiciary Police detected a product sent through the mail that reacted positively to cocaine detection tests. According to information gathered by A Semana Online, the 300 grams of cocaine seized had as their intended recipient a well-known grogue (sugar cane brandy) producer in Paúl, Santo Antão, Alfred Mendl, locally known as “Alfred the German.”

Two of Praia’s most active thieves, believed to be responsible for a considerable portion of the robberies registered in the capital city’s companies and homes in recent times, are now behind bars at São Martinho prison after Judiciary Police arrested the two men, aged 25 and 26, on charges of having committed more than 10 violent robberies in Praia retail establishments (A Semana).

Brazil news update, June 27th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, Retail, Telecom on June 27, 2009 at 3:36 pm

POLITICS

Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is likely to run for the presidency again in 2014 if an opposition candidate wins next year’s election, he said in an interview (Reuters).

Dilma Rousseff, who is expected to be the Brazilian ruling party’s presidential candidate next year, is showing no sign of cancer after her final chemotherapy treatment, doctors said (Reuters).

Brazil will pay small farmers to plant trees in deforested Amazon areas to slow rain forest degradation, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said as he unveiled a broad plan to protect the region (Reuters).

Seeking to redress one of the darkest chapters of its dictatorship era, Brazil amnestied dozens of peasants who were jailed or tortured on charges they were linked to a 1970s Communist uprising (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s current account deficit widened more than expected in May, though a surge in foreign direct investments and inflows to local stocks and bonds eased concerns about the country’s need for overseas capital (Reuters).

Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional has hired 1,200 workers at its Volta Redonda plant following signs the market is recovering, a company official said (Reuters).

Corporate investment and factory usage in Brazil will bounce back in the fourth quarter of 2009, should growth in household consumption remain steady, the head of the state development bank BNDES said (Reuters).

BANKING

A top shareholder at Bradesco urged Brazil’s second-largest private bank to expand overseas to benefit from fast-growing markets in Asia and Africa, a newspaper reported. Portugal’s Grupo Espirito Santo, Bradesco’s third-largest shareholder, has recently signed an accord with the Brazilian bank to develop international opportunities (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Brazil’s telecommunications regulator Anatel said it had imposed new measures to maintain the separation of the mobile phone units of Telecom Italia and Telefonica, which owns a controlling stake in the Italian company, in the country (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian miner Vale signed a preliminary accord on Thursday with state-run oil company Petrobras to buy a 25 percent stake in exploration rights for oil and gas blocks off Brazil’s coast (Reuters).

Chevron Corp announced a slightly earlier start of oil output at the Frade field, a $3 billion project off Brazil’s coast expected to produce 90,000 barrels per day by 2011 (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

Private equity firm Advent International said on Thursday it bought a minority stake in Brazilian education group Kroton Educacional, betting on increased consolidation among schools in Latin America’s largest economy (Reuters).

Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to invest 1.6 billion reais ($809 million) in Brazil in 2009, betting an economic recovery in Latin America’s largest economy will stoke consumer demand (Reuters).

Brazilian mining giant Vale said it signed a memorandum of understanding to build a steel mill in Brazil’s northeastern state of Ceara with capacity to produce 6 million tons of steel slabs per year. The agreement also included the state government of Ceara, Korean steelmaker Dongkuk and Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica do Pecem (Reuters).

MINING

Demand for iron ore from steel mills is much improved from the extremely depressed level of the fourth quarter of 2008, Brazilian iron ore miner Vale  said, but the company expects a “slow recovery” (Reuters).

Vale said it would begin to produce biodiesel from palm oil from 2014 to fuel its Carajas mine and railway operations in Brazil’s north (Reuters).

Potential mining mergers have sparked talk that Brazil’s Vale may try to acquire a major industry player, though local analysts say Vale would probably target small companies as the economy slows. Some believe Vale may try to acquire Anglo American or Xstrata after Anglo American rejected Xstrata’s nil-premium merger bid (Reuters).

Brazilian iron ore miner MMX has clinched a deal to sell its Corumba pig iron plant for 100 million reais ($50 million) to Vetorial Siderurgica, MMX said (Reuters).

MMX said that it received a nonbinding offer from China’s Wuhan Iron And Steel Inc for a minority stake in it and its subsidiary MMX Sudeste Mineracao (Reuters).

REAL ESTATE

Brazilian real estate is booming again after fizzling at the end of last year, as sales have rebounded in one of the best emerging markets, a New York-based real estate private equity investor said (Reuters).

LOGISTICS

Brazil has ample cash to revamp its dilapidated transport network even amid an economic recession but corruption and bureaucracy have hampered badly-needed improvements, a senior industry official said (Reuters).

Payback for South Africa’s trade unions?

In Economy, Elections, Politics, South Africa, Telecom on June 26, 2009 at 7:43 am

Tensions between the union federation and the government are running high. High enough to force Mr Zuma to deviate from his declared market-friendly macroeconomic policies?

Read the full story in The Economist

Brazil news update, June 1st

In Agriculture, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Facts and figures, Investments, Oil, Politics, Polls on June 1, 2009 at 10:19 am

CATTLE

About a third of Brazil’s 200 million-strong cattle herd is in the Amazon area, where most of its growth has occurred in recent years, leading to criticism that the industry is a major culprit in illegal deforestation (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian government advisors “strongly support” a production-sharing model to develop massive offshore oil reserves as the country considers revamping its oil law to boost state income from new-found reserves (Reuters).

Petrobras  may need benchmark oil prices near $60 a barrel to profitably tap Brazil’s massive subsalt offshore finds, Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) said (Reuters).

Petrobras may suffer as lawmakers probe tax fraud allegations at Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer, BNP Paribas and Banco Geracao Futuro de Investimentos said (Bloomberg).

Spanish oil major Repsol YPF  is seeking a buyer for its 30 percent stake in Brazil’s Refap refinery, which it bought in 2001 in an asset swap worth nearly $1 billion, a source close to the operation (Reuters).

Brazil may auction the rights to offshore oil fields in its so-called pre-salt region as soon as 2010, Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao told the Financial Times.

ELECTIONS

Brazil will hold elections in October 2010 to choose the successor to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term. Parties will formally nominate their candidates late this year. Here are some of the key names to watch in the race.

BUSINESS

Bristow Group Inc, which provides helicopter services to the offshore energy industry, said it acquired a 42.5 percent stake in Brazil’s Lider Aviacao Holding S.A for $174 million, helping it expand its helicopter operations in Brazil (Reuters).

Braskem, Latin America’s largest petrochemical company, and Venezuela’s state-owned Pequiven are aiming to build a plant in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state (Reuters).

Brazil’s economy isn’t in a recession and demand is at a “healthy” level, Fiat SpA Chief Executive Officer Marchionne said. The Italian firm stands by its commitment to invest “billions of euros” in South America in the next four years, Marchionne said. Fiat reopened a tractor factory in Brazil that was closed in 1988 because “this growth regime will continue in the foreseeable future,” Marchionne said (Blooomberg).

Odebrecht construction and engineering company will receive a 1 billion- real ($494 million) loan frombanco Santander SA and four other banks to help fund its investment in a Sao Paulo toll road (Bloomberg).

FINANCING

Brazil’s state-run development bank will loan Venezuela as much as $4 billion to finance projects. Brazil and Venezuela signed a letter of intent for the financing earlier this week. A spokeswoman at BNDES, as the bank is known, said the loans would be provided for contracts won by Brazilian companies (Bloomberg).

STEEL

Brazilian steelmaker CSN, betting on a boom in Brazil’s housing and infrastructure industries, is planning to unveil a new line of products for construction by 2010 (Reuters).

Brazil news update, May 22nd

In Agriculture, Banking, Brazil, Elections, Foreign Trade, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Retail on May 22, 2009 at 5:50 pm

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and business leaders visited Istanbul to secure a stronger foothold in Turkey’s domestic market and make good on its regional ties (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Brazil’s Embraer closed a deal to sell 20 planes to Argentina’s recently nationalized flag carrier airline (Reuters).

Brazilian mining giant Vale cut its investment plans for 2009 to $9 billion from $14.2 billion (Reuters).

Weaker demand for iron ore should force Vale to concede price cuts to Asian clients in annual negotiations, but any cut should be less than Australian rivals face (Reuters).

Brazilian insurance company Maritima expects to grow sharply in the next five years after selling a stake to Yasuda, a local unit of Sompo Japan Insurance Inc (Reuters).

Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Cosan agreed to sell its aviation fuel business to Shell Brasil Ltda, the domestic unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, for $75 million (Reuters).

The merger of Brazilian food companies Perdigao and Sadia creates a global behemoth that looks poised to dominate the world poultry market (Reuters).

Itau Unibanco, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, said it is considering expanding in Brazil by acquiring small and mid-sized financial institutions to complement its line of products (Reuters).

Drogasil, Brazil’s second-biggest retail pharmacy, will stick with its plan to add about 40 stores this year as the pharmaceutical industry withstands the country’s economic slump (Bloomberg)

PETROBRAS

Investors have largely shrugged off a Senate investigation into Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras but uncertainty over the probe’s findings could eventually weigh on the share price of the Latin American energy powerhouse, analysts said (Reuters).

The China Development Bank may offer financing to Petrobras SA beyond the $10 billion, 10-year loan given to  company this week, Petrobras Chief Executive Jose Sergio Gabrielli said (Reuters).

Petrobras  sees its investments in the Black Sea totaling $300 million over the next two years, International Director Jorge Zelada said (Reuters).

BIOGENETICS

Brazil’s biosafety regulator CTNBio has approved the use of Monsanto’s Bollgard 2 genetically modified cotton seed (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

A new health scare for Dilma Rousseff, the presidential hopeful for Brazil’s ruling party, has raised further uncertainty over next year’s election with some coalition partners calling for the president to consider backing other candidates or running himself (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in April from March (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde democracy at top level

In Cape Verde, Elections, Politics on May 17, 2009 at 11:35 am

The international association e-Parliament, which works to promote parliamentary democracy in the world, released a survey of countries with the most democratic elections on Friday, May 8. Cape Verde earned the highest possible score on a scale going from zero to 12 points.

Read the full story at A Semana

South Africa’s new government

In Economy, Elections, South Africa on May 14, 2009 at 5:22 pm

The most-watched post in Mr Zuma’s new cabinet is the finance minister, who for the past 13 years has been the fiscally conservative, well-respected Trevor Manuel. South Africa’s business establishment and foreign investors have been nervous lest Mr Zuma, as a sop to his many vocal supporters on the left, would get rid of him.

Read the full article in The Economist

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