VALOR ECONÔMICO, internationale Ausgabe vom 9.1.2017

ECONOMY

Foreign direct investment resists the crisis

Total amount invested in Brazil has been staying at around $70bn since 2015 and is expected to continue at a high level

POLITICS

Workers’ Party governor enacts spending cap in Piauí

Meanwhile, federal law with the same goal was staunchly opposed by the party in Congress

BUSINESS

Original changes focus to grow with project of digital bank

Financial institution of the Batista family, which controls JBS, has won 100,000 account holders well before it expected

BUSINESS

“We will make the best possible deal for São Paulo”

Wilson Poit talks about being the man in charge of transferring municipal businesses to the private sector

BUSINESS

Aperam launches new steel eyeing higher exports

Brazilian unit of Luxembourg-based multinational seeks to offset weak domestic demand and add value to electrical steel, used in transformers

COMMENTARY

Angela Bittencourt

Reforms in Congress and chaos in prisons 

Despite social turbulence, government fulfills promise and opens 2017 with crucial reforms 

Fabio Graner

Beyond the competiveness agenda

Some officials, amid a renewed push for tax reform, already advocate a longer transition before unifying sales tax ICMS

Ribamar Oliveira

Two documents that deserve to be read

Retired tax agents will have right to earn productivity bonus that government will pay in order to boost its revenues

MORE NEWS

• BUSINESS

  Celesc considers creating trading unit in diversification effort

  Santa Catarina electricity utility, which still gets 99% of its revenue from distribution, sees potential to regain some customers in open market
• BUSINESS

  Crisis upends market share of top retailers

  Ponto Frio, Marisa, Extra and Raia are among chains that lost ground in 2016, according to Euromonitor data
• ECONOMY

  BNDES offers R$13bn to accelerate recovery

  
  Bank revamps its credit terms after nine years and concentrates efforts on financing working capital
• ECONOMY

  Without discounts, new tax-settlement program likely to attract few

  
  Paying debt to government in installments is advantageous basically to companies with tax losses or credits
• AGRIBUSINESS

  Indebted, Triunfo plans to shed non-core assets

  
  BNDES requests execution of guarantees linked to R$796m bridge loan for TPI’s unit Concebra
• MARKETS

  Market doubles bet on steeper interest rate cuts

  Weak industrial production data lead to revisions for GDP and policy rate Selic
• MARKETS

  Shortage of banking credit paves way for fintechs

  
  Online services are estimated to have extended R$300m in loans last year
• BUSINESS

  Heavy construction companies bet on contracts overseas

  With domestic market still facing a slowdown, companies seek clients abroad to avoid bad performance of 2016
• ECONOMY

  Brazil and Mexico could triple list of discounted products

  So far countries have settled on increasing the list to 2,500 products from the current 792; political shift in US looms over negotiations
• BUSINESS

  Aloo Telecom grows in remote areas and attracts investors

  
  Company, which provides data service in the Northeast region, expects to sell minority stake to an American private-equity fund soon
• BUSINESS

  ISA resumes investments in Brazil

  Government definition on compensation payments for non-amortized assets made Colombian power company look at opportunities in Brazil again
• BUSINESS

  Apple helps Herval group grow amid recession

  
  Rio Grande do Sul-based group expanded 10% last year and projects 15% this year thanks mainly to retail operation, led by Apple reseller iPlace
• BUSINESS

  Foreign companies increase their share of oil production in Brazil

  With Petrobras’s asset sales and upcoming pre-salt auction, industry is likely to become more decentralized
• BUSINESS

  Hyundai, Toyota surpass Ford in Brazilian market ranking

  
  GM, Fiat and Volkswagen remain the top three; Hyundai reached second place in sales of passenger cars with HB20
• BUSINESS

  Madeira River dams lack transmission lines to reach full capacity

  
  Santo Antônio and Jirau got the green light to operate 100 turbines available, but total power generation will be ready only in December
• ECONOMY

  Border surveillance decreased over last decade

  Lack of agents at strategic points coincided with growth of criminal factions smuggling drugs and weapons
• BUSINESS

  DiDi Chuxing enters Brazilian taxi-hailing market

  Chinese giant made $100m investment in app 99, which will use the funds to improve operations and expand internationally
• BUSINESS

  Brazilian corporate world becomes more open to LGBT issues

  
  American and European multinational companies are leading the push to end discrimination and raise awareness about diversity
• MARKETS

  Aceco case pits KKR against Bradesco

  
  Brazilian bank sold Aceco debt, and consequently its control, to the data-base firm’s founder, leaving American private-equity firm with a loss
• ECONOMY

  STF ruling causes new dispute between states and federal government

  Congress ordered to pass law to reimburse losses under Kandir Act, which exempted some exports from sales tax ICMS
• ECONOMY

  Labor reform may weaken worker representation

  Proposal that only companies with more than 200 employees have a local union representative means half of workers will not be covered
• BUSINESS

  Efficiency bonus for tax auditors raises fears

  
  Lawyers worry that compensation benefit may stimulate Federal Revenue agents to fine taxpayers
• MARKETS

  XP Investimentos starts preparing for IPO

  
  Listing could value the investment firm at up to R$14bn, from R$1.4bn in 2013; CEO Guilherme Benchimol wants to expand credibility and governance
• BUSINESS

  Brazil risks becoming too dependent on fuel imports

  Lack of investments in refineries means shortage of oil products may double by the half of the next decade
• MARKETS

  Copom forecasts below-target inflation in mid-2017

  Official price gauge IPCA could reach 4.1% by September and then swing back to 4.7%, encouraging criticism of policy overreach
• POLITICS

  Low popularity aside, Temer is productive in terms of passing bills

  President seems to have followed advice of using his low approval rates to advance measures that would pose a big challenge to other leaders
• BUSINESS

  Gasmig sees higher demand from steel and mining clients

  
  Minas Gerais-based gas distributor also aims to increase number of residential and commercial costumers by 20,000 in 2017