Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Mining’ Category

Surinam news update, November 1st

In Economy, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Investments, Mining, Oil, Surinam, Tourism, Travel on November 1, 2009 at 10:17 pm

A private initiative for the development of Paramaribo’s waterfront received approval from the Surinam government. The Riverside Harbour Village, as the project is known, includes a marina, a new hotel as well as commercial space and a promenade. Though the project still needs some additional financing, the backers, who hail from Surinam, Curacao and the Netherlands, think the Village will be ready by 2015. The project is worth 46 million Euros in investment (De Ware Tijd).

The Surinam Planning Dept annouced economic growth is expected to drop from 5% this year ot just 1% in 2010. The Dept. blames this disappointing outlook among other things on diminishing exports of oil and bauxite (De Ware Tijd).

In a new publication “Best in 2010″ Lonely Planet travel guide recommends Surinam for the top places to go to in 2010 (Reuters).

Brazil news update, October 18th

In Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on October 18, 2009 at 8:58 pm

MINING

Brazilian mining giant Vale will boost investment by more than 30 percent to around $12 billion next year, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said, citing a source with links to the company (Reuters).

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he will meet the head of mining giant Vale next week amid tensions between the company and the government, which may slap an export tax on iron ore (Reuters).

Eike Batista, Brazil’s richest man, gave up “for the time being” on his bid to join the shareholder group that controls miner Vale, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported (Reuters).

ETHANOL

The chief executive of Cosan, one of Brazil’s largest sugar and ethanol groups, unexpectedly resigned (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s government is seeking to capitalize state-run oil company Petrobras by transferring rights to 5 billion barrels of oil in the offshore subsalt fields in exchange for new shares in the company (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil could grow at 5 percent annually in coming years but must address economic weaknesses, such as the need for more investment friendly policies, Jim O’Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs, said (Reuters).

Angola news update, October 18th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Mining, Oil on October 18, 2009 at 2:18 pm

OIL

Petrobras plans to invest $3 billion in Angola’s oil industry by 2012, Angola Press reported, citing Brazil’s ambassador to the country, Afonso Cardoso (Bloomberg).

MINING

A closely held Angolan company, Lualica, said it has discovered gold in the southern African country’s Cabinda region, Radio Nacional de Angola reported, citing Jose Serra, a director of the company. “We found great reserves of gold,” the Luanda-based broadcaster quoted Serra as saying. The company has applied for exploration rights from the Angolan Ministry of Geology and Mining, RNA said (Bloomberg).

AIR TRAVEL

Luanda’s new international airport was approved by Angola’s council of ministers. It will be capable of receiving 10 million passengers per year. The new airport is being built on the outskirts of Viana municipality some 40 kilometres from Luanda, in an area of 1,324 hectares. It is being built by China International Fund Limited and will be concluded in 2010. The new airport, which will have double runways with the capacity to land the world’s biggest commercial aircraft, the Airbus A380. The airport’s northern runway will be 4,200 metres long, whilst the southern one will be 3,800 metres lone, and each will be 60 metres wide (Macauhub).

BANKING

Angolan bank Banco de Negócios Internacional (BNI) has joined Portuguese partners with the aim of opening an investment bank and an insurer in Portugal, a project that is headed up by Homero Coutinho, formerly the head of Deutsche Bank in Portugal, Portuguese newspaper Público reported (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, October 12th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Telecom on October 12, 2009 at 7:02 pm

INVESTMENT

Russian natural gas giant Gazprom is close to opening an office in Brazil that will run its growing Latin American business and is examining business opportunities there, a senior executive said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state development bank disclosed that it boosted its stake in government-run power holding company Eletrobras last month, a move that should help the utility gain financial muscle for investment (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government will increase its target for the primary budget surplus in 2010 to improve public finances as the economy rebounds, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

MINING

Brazilian miner Vale is in talks to form a consortium with utility holdings Neoenergia and CPFL for the Belo Monte hydroelectric project, the president of one of Vale’s shareholders said (Reuters).

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, is restarting a $5 billion investment program for Brazil that was delayed by the world economic crisis, Valor Economico  said, citing Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal (Bloomberg).

ArcelorMittal has chosen Brazil, India and iron-ore mining as its three platforms for investment following the crisis, Mittal told the Sao Paulo-based newspaper. The company may build another plant in Brazil, he added, without elaborating.

ETHANOL

Brazilian ethanol and sugar groups ETH Bioenergia and Brenco said they have signed an agreement to study a merger which could create one of Brazil’s largest biofuel producers (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Hypermarcas, the largest Brazilian maker of toiletries and over-the-counter medicines, agreed  to buy two domestic condom makers for $221 million to increase its presence in Brazil’s beauty care and medicine sectors, Chief Executive Claudio Bergamo told Reuters in an interview (Reuters).

TELECOM

Spain’s Telefonica offered to buy Brazilian telecommunications company GVT for 6.5 billion reais ($3.7 billion) in cash, seeking to trump a bid by French rival Vivendi (Reuters).

TIM Participacoes, Brazil’s third-largest wireless carrier, will speed up its 7 billion reais ($4 billion) investment plan for 2009-2011 to expand voice and data services across the country, its chief executive said (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian oil and gas company OGX said it found traces of oil in shallow water in the offshore Campos Basin (Reuters).

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA will have to pay Brazil’s Petrobras $400 million when it signs a final deal for a tentative 40 percent stake in the Abreu e Lima refinery, a Petrobras director said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras may explore for deep-sea oil reserves to the north of existing subsalt prospects, possibly extending the range of the vast offshore deposits, a company director said (Reuters).

Odebrecht SA, a Brazilian engineering company, said it obtained $1.5 billion from banks to finance the construction of two drilling rigs it will lease to state-controlled oil producer Petrobras (Bloomberg).

BANKING

Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, plans more takeovers in the insurance market as it expands its pension, health and other units, Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine said. The bank may also expand a joint venture with Spain’s Mapfre to other countries in Latin America, Africa, Japan and the United States, Bendine said (Reuters).

Angola news update, October 12th

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Energy, Mining, Oil, South Africa on October 12, 2009 at 6:10 pm

OIL & GAS

Sonangol SA, the state-run oil firm of Africa’s biggest crude exporter, is seeking other markets for its liquefied natural gas after prices in the U.S. fell, the head of its gas unit said (Bloomberg).

ATLANTICO

Angola and South Africa are ready to boost cooperation in the mining sector and enable businessmen from both countries to obtain mutual advantages in their  activities, taking into account the potential of both countries and positions in the existing market (ANGOP).

The chairman of Angola’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIA), António dos Santos, expressed the availability of the Angolan private sector to co-operate with the South African one, as long as risks be shared, ANGOP has learnt.

Micro and small companies from Portuguese-speaking African countries are to be supported as part of a technical cooperation agreement with Brazil, a Sebrae official said Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro (Macauhub).

MINING

Also Germany intends to increase co-operation with Angola in the economic sector, essentially in the areas of mining exploration and energy, the counsellor of the German Embassy in Angola said (ANGOP).

BANKING

Angola’s Sol bank has currently yielded 33 million dollars, chairman Coutinho Nobre Miguel announced. Speaking to Angop, on the fringes of the inauguration of the 47th branch in Luanda, he explained that the institution has had a positive performance, as its funds are estimated at 65 million US dollars. According to him, Sol bank’s credit line is worth USD 230 million, whereas deposits are USD 1.225 billion (ANGOP).

Retail banks operating in Angola saw “excellent performance” in 2008 according to a study presented in Luanda by international consulting and auditing company Deloitte. At the presentation of the study entitled “Banking Under Analysis,” Rui Santos Silva, of Deloitte, said the sector’s results were “good news” and also noted that the analysis was of 2008, a year that was very different to 2009 for the Angolan economy (Macauhub).

ENERGY

Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infra-Estruturas do Alqueva (EDIA), the Portuguese company that manages the Alqueva dam, is to provide technical advice to Angolan state irrigation company Sociedade de Desenvolvimento de Perimetros Irrigados (Sopir) in the area of water resource management (Macauhub).

HUMAN

Angola was the Portuguese-speaking country to see the greatest rise in its position in the United Nations Human Development index, rising from 157th to 143rd place. Although in 2008 only Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe were part of the medium development nations, in 2009 Angola joined this list by rising 14 places in the ranking (Macauhub).

Angola news update, October 4th

In Angola, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Telecom on October 4, 2009 at 9:17 pm

ECONOMY

Angola’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew up in the last 19 years at an annual average rate of nine percent, the minister of Economy, Manuel Nunes Júnior said (Angop).

OIL

Angola’s state-owned oil company Sonangol and BP have discovered a well named “Tebe-1”, at block 31 in deep waters on the Angolan offshore, a press note delivered to ANGOP says.

INVESTMENT

Angolan firm Multitel invested this year 10 million US dollars to improve telecommunications services, mainly aspects related to internet, its general director António Geirinhas has said (ANGOP).

MINING

he re-launch of exploration and processing of iron at the Cassinga project, in Jamba municipality, 315 kilometres to the east of the city of Lubango in Huíla province requires investment of US$1 billion, said Angola’s Geology and Mining minister (Macauhub).

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).

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 13th

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Telecom on September 13, 2009 at 9:03 pm

POLITICS

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called on the country’s iron ore miner Vale, the world’s largest, to favor local industry in the purchase of large items such as ships to create more jobs in the South American country (Reuters).

Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc said that U.S. targets for greenhouse gas emissions are unacceptably weak and that Brazil will place new restrictions on its huge farm sector to cut deforestation (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s state-run Petrobras this month will launch a bid round on 28 oil rigs to be built in Brazil and used for massive offshore subsalt fields, the company said (Reuters).

BANKING

Brazil’s stringent banking sector rules, once seen as burdensome, are suddenly being viewed as admirable as the Group of 20 nations look to fortify financial institutions against future crises (Reuters).

Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third-largest bank, would like to expand in Brazil and Colombia to increase its Latin American banking platform (Bloomberg).

TELECOMS

French media giant Vivendi’s unexpected foray into Brazil’s telecommunications market could spark a bidding war for its takeover target, GVT, as rivals jostle for control of its broadband assets and license to operate nationwide (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

The richest man in the world by 1927, Henry Ford wanted to do more than make cars. He bought two and a half million acres in the Brazilian Amazon to create a utopian American community. A new book tells the story of the rise and fall of Fordlandia (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s gross domestic product grew more than analysts forecast in the second quarter, pulling the economy out of its first recession since 2003 thanks to rising domestic demand (Bloomberg).

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).

South Africa signs oil deal with Angola

In Angola, Brazil, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, South Africa on August 21, 2009 at 10:42 am

South African President Jacob Zuma signed on Thursday an oil agreement with his Angolan counterpart during a visit aimed at strengthening economic ties with the oil-rich country.

Read the whole story at the Mail & Guardian

Earlier Angolan president Dos Santos said Angola needed more qualified labour from SA to help rebuild infrastructure destroyed by Angola’s 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002, and to tap into its oil and mining industry.

“We want to create a strategic partnership between our two countries,” Dos Santos said in a speech to his cabinet and 11 South African ministers as he sat next to Zuma. Zuma is accompanied by a delegation of more than 150 South African businessmen. Pretoria billed the trip as the biggest business delegation to take part in a state visit abroad since 1994.

For more on this story see BusinessDay

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

China, Iran undermining the Monroe-doctrine

In Brazil, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Ports on August 13, 2009 at 7:59 pm

China and Iran are on the march in Latin America.

Read the full analysis in The Economist

A New Scramble for Africa

In Angola, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Ghana, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on August 9, 2009 at 9:55 am

A presidential visit followed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s African tour cannot conceal a stark reality: China has overtaken the United States as Africa’s top trading partner.

Read the full analysis at Reuters

Brazil news update, August 2nd

In Agriculture, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate on August 2, 2009 at 9:05 pm

BUSINESS

Brazil’s Embraer, the world’s third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, reported second-quarter net income of 466.9 million reais ($249 million) in the quarter ended June 30, compared with 356.5 million reais in the same period a year earlier (Reuters).

Revenue at Brazilian real estate developers Cyrela, Gafisa and Rossi Residencial probably edged higher in the second quarter, signaling that government efforts to spur the housing sector are bearing fruit, analysts told Reuters.

AMAZON

Brazilian soy crushers said on Tuesday they have extended for one more year a ban to purchases of soybeans grown in newly deforested areas of the Amazon basin (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazilian President Lula wants the government to take control of Vale SA, Veja reported, without saying where it obtained the information. Lula asked officials to find a legal way to ensure the government controls Vale through Previ and BNDES Participacoes SA, the investment arm of Brazil’s state development bank (Bloomberg).

Brazilian President Lula raised the benefit in the country’s flagship anti- poverty program by 9.7 percent seeking to ease the impact of the economic crisis on the poorest citizens (Bloomberg).

OIL

Petrobras said it may more than double its borrowings from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to as much as $5 billion, following a $10 billion loan from China (Bloomberg).

Angola news update, August 2nd

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Investments, Mining, Real estate, Security, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on August 2, 2009 at 11:52 am

INDUSTRIES

Angolan deputy Industry minister, Kiala Gabriel, affirmed Friday, in Luanda, that the sector is negotiating with several countries, above all Japan, to support the recovery of projects of some industrial units linked to textile sector (ANGOP).

PORTUGAL

The Banco de Fomento de Angola (BFA) and the Entrepreneurial Association of Portugal (AEP) on Thursday here signed a partnership agreement for the holding of four fairs in the coming two years, the CEO of the banking institution, Emídio Pinheiro, informed (ANGOP).

SPECIAL ZONE

The Angolan governmetn approved the creation of the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE). The meeting also formalised the Society of Development of the Luanda-Bengo EP Special Economic Zone, tasked with ZEE’s management and exploration. Luanda-Bengo ZEE is an economic space comprising land, economic and administrative infrastructures, designed to foment production and create jobs, with a view to the modernisation of the national economy (ANGOP).

DIAMONDS

Production of diamonds in Angola may reach in 2009, 7 million carats, as compared to 8.9 million of last year, said on Friday the director of planning and finance of the National Diamond Company (Endiama), Alberto Fancony (ANGOP).

REAL ESTATE

The city of Luanda hosted from July 30 to August 02 the first international fair on the real estate market, which was expected to be attended by 100 firms national and foreign firms (ANGOP).

HOTELS

A new four star-hotel named “Grande Hotel do Uíge” was inaugurated Saturday in northern Uige province’s capital city (Uige) by the minister of Hotels and Tourism, Pedro Mutinde (ANGOP).

GAS

Angola LNG Limited’s stakeholders, Sonangol Gás Natural, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, BP Exploration (Angola), ENI Angola Production BV and Total LNG Angola announced the creation of two companies to support the project’s development (Macauhub).

TELECOMS

Mobile phone operator Movicel, S.A. has been 80 percent privatized. State-owned companies Angola Telecom and Correios Telégrafos de Angola continue to hold, respectively, 18 and 2 percent of Movicel’s capital stock.
The remaining 80 percent will be held by Porturil-Investiments with 40 percent, Modus Comicare- Comunicações e Imagem Lda with 19 percent, I pang – indústria de Papel e Derivados with 10 percent, Lambda Investement with six percent and Novatel, S.A., with five percent (Macauhub).

SOUTH ATLANTIC

The Angolan government is to provide Brazil with an additional US$500 million credit for Brazilian exports of goods and services to Angola. Angolan exports to Brazil, almost exclusively in petroleum, suffered a fall of 93.7 percent in the first half of this year, in relation to the same period in 2008. Sales to the Brazilian market fell from US$1.2 billion (873 million euros) in the first six months of last year to US$76.3 million (55 million euros) in the first six months of this year (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

EDP is to set up a holding company with Sonangol Holdings, Banco Privado Atlântico and Finicapital with a view to investing in the production conventional and renewable electrical energy in Angola according to a statement by the Portuguese electricity company (Macauhub).


Brazil news update, July 26th

In Banking, Brazil, Energy, Foreign Trade, Mining, Oil, Real estate, Retail, Telecom on July 26, 2009 at 11:59 am

IRON & STEEL

Spot iron ore vessel bookings from Brazil to China jumped to a record in July as Australia suspended spot sales following detentions of Rio Tinto’s top sales officials in China and as falling freight costs made longer haul trade attractive (Reuters).

Usiminas, Brazil’s second-biggest steelmaker, said local steel demand should tumble about 30 percent in the third quarter from the same period of 2008 (Reuters).

RETAIL

French luxury goods group Hermes will open its first Brazilian store in Sao Paulo after almost 30 years of trademark disputes and unsuccessful attempts to lure partners, newspaper Valor Economico reported (Reuters).

FINANCE

Brazil’s securities regulator has recommended that carbon credits be treated as investments separate from derivatives since they are used mainly as instruments to trim greenhouse gas emissions (Reuters).

Banco Santander SA, the Brazilian unit of Spain’s Santander, plans to sell up to 6 billion reais ($3.15 billion) in stock in local capital markets, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

TRADE

President Obama said he wants stronger ties with Brazil, especially in the commercial area, a top aide and possible successor to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

OIL

Transocean Ltd said it won a contract from Brazil’s Petrobras for its ultra-deepwater Cajun Express rig worth $558.5 million over three years starting in early 2010 (Reuters).

Brazilian President Lula wants Petrobras to reduce gasoline prices, O Globo newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information (Bloomberg).

ENERGY

Brazil agreed to triple to about $360 million the amount it pays annually to Paraguay for electricity generated by the jointly owned Itaipu dam, ending a feud over which country benefits more from the world’s largest hydroelectric dam by output (Bloomberg).

REAL ESTATE

Sam Zell’s Equity International is seeking new real estate-related investments in Brazil as record low interest rates accelerate growth in Latin America’s biggest economy (Bloomberg).

TELECOM

Brazil’s antitrust agency finedTelefonica SA 1.97 million reais ($1.03 million) for not disclosing a full list of Internet service providers to its broadband customers (Bloomberg).

Brazil news update, July 19th

In Agriculture, Airports, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Retail, Telecom, Travel on July 19, 2009 at 11:03 am

BANKING & FINANCING

The antitrust unit of Brazil’s Justice Ministry said it has opened an investigation into credit card operator Redecard, sending the company’s shares down 2.56 percent. The Economic Law Secretariat at the Justice Ministry said Redecard would be investigated for imposing terms on online payments that might hamper free competition (Reuters).

Eletrobras, Brazil’s state-run power utility, plans to sell at least $500 million in 10-year dollar-denominated debt in international markets in July to fund investments, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters. Two investors who may participate in the deal said Eletrobras may pay a yield around 7 percent, underscoring strong appetite for Brazilian assets as the government nears winning investment-grade ratings from Moody’s Investors Service (Reuters).

Banco Bradesco SA, Brazil’s second- largest non-government bank, named Candido Leonelli and Mauricio Machado de Minas as executive directors after the departure of three long-serving directors, a spokesman said. This may be an indication the bank will become more agressive (Bloomberg).

Brazil’s state development bank BNDES has become a major player in government efforts to pull Latin America’s largest economy out of recession. Read the facts about the Rio de Janeiro-based bank, which has traditionally been considered Brazil’s main provider of long-term financing for large corporations, at Reuters.

ECONOMY

Brazil’s international reserves rose to a record as thecentral bank steps up its purchases of dollars to curb the appreciation of the Brazilian currency. International reserves climbed to $209.576 billion on July 16, compared with the previous high of $209.386 billion set Oct 6. Reserves have climbed 5 percent from this year’s low of $199.337 billion on Feb. 26 (Bloomberg).

Foreign direct investment inflows are signaling the Brazilian economy is gradually emerging from recession with little inflation risks, Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said (Reuters).

OIL

BNDES will lend 25 billion reais ($12.8 billion) to Petrobras denominated in local Treasury notes, the first loan of its kind in Latin America’s largest economy, daily newspaper Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras said domestic oil production dropped 3.2 percent in June to 1.93 million barrels per day from 1.99 million bpd in May (Reuters).

Petrobras has completed seismic work in its leased Cuban offshore bloc and is studying whether to drill a well, the head of its Cuban operations said (Reuters).

Petrobras expects new local private investment funds to provide at least $5.2 billion to capitalize service companies, crucial for a push to develop massive offshore reserves (Reuters).

Galp Energia SGPS SA, Portugal’s biggest oil company, and Petrobras found more evidence of oil in an onshore block in Brazil’s Potiguar Basin, the Brazilian petroleum regulator said (Bloomberg).

Petrobras also discovered traces of oil in an onshore block in the Espirito Santo Basin (Bloomberg).

AIR TRAVEL

Brazilian prosecutors have asked the courts to halt expansion work at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport, the country’s largest, on environmental concerns, a newspaper report said. In their request, state and federal prosecutors cited failures in the environmental studies used to approve the expansion, according to O Estado de S. Paulo paper (Reuters).

AUTOMOTIVE

Renault-Nissan must double its market share in Brazil to at least 10 percent to stay competitive and fend off rivals in Latin America’s largest economy, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said. The automaker needs to add new models to foster growth in a market that sells about 3 million units a year, Ghosn told journalists. He added, current models are “incompatible with a 10 percent to 20 percent market share,” which the company wants to attain (Reuters).

General Motors unveiled plans to spend about $1 billion in Brazil through 2012 to develop a new family of vehicles for South America, a priority market for the U.S. automaker as it looks to rebound from bankruptcy protection (Reuters).

MEAT

Brazil’s JBS SA, the world’s largest beef processor, said it had laid off 742 workers from three plants located in Sao Paulo state (Reuters).

Brazilian beef processor Independencia INDALI.UL will remove controlling shareholders from day-to-day management and seek 330 million reais (US$166 million) in loans as part of efforts to exit bankruptcy proceedings, newspaper Valor Economico reported (Reuters).

Brasil Foods, the Brazilian food giant to be formed by Perdigao’s  planned takeover of smaller rival Sadia, is a “tantalizing” investment opportunity according to the latest issue of weekly business publication Barron’s (Reuters).

Brazil plans to reduce taxes on beef producers, Valor Economico newspaper reported, citing Roberto Gianetti da Fonseca, director of foreign trade at the Sao Paulo State Federation of Industries. The government will cut the social security contribution tax, known as Cofins, and the social participation tax, known as PIS, for the entire beef-producing industry. Meatpackers will be exempt from both levies (Bloomberg).

MINING & TIMBER

Brazilian mining company Vale agreed to sell land and timber assets to paper and pulp maker Suzano Papel e Celulose for at least 235 million reais ($145 million), both companies said (Reuters).

RETAIL

CBD Grupo Pao de Acucar, Brazil’s biggest retailer, is eyeing further acquisitions in Brazil since the credit crisis has brought down valuations in Latin America’s largest economy, the company’s chief financial officer said (Reuters).

ETHANOL

Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Cosan signed a long-term contract with Japanese group Mitsubishi to export fuel ethanol to Japan (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, a Portuguese telephone company, plans to help Brazil expand broadband services, Diario Economico reported, citing Portugal Telecom Chief Executive Officer Zeinal Bava (Bloomberg).

Anglo American bolsters board against Xstrata

In Mining, South Africa on July 11, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Anglo American has appointed Sir John Parker as chairperson to bolster the mining company’s defences against an unwanted takeover bid from rival Xstrata.

Read the full story in the Mail & Guardian

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).

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