Brazil

Brazil gives flagging climate fight a timely boost

31 Oct 2022

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat Jair Bolsonaro in the Latin American state’s presidential election. He could curb deforestation that makes the country a big greenhouse gas emitter. It’s a bright spot in a year when public and private sector momentum on climate change has slowed.

Brazil can buoy Sea’s growth ambitions

28 Oct 2022

The Singaporean games-to-payments group is exiting smaller countries and cutting costs to satisfy impatient investors. But it is making progress in the fast-growing Latin American market, where losses are narrowing. A $6.5 bln cash pile suggests Sea can stay the course.

Nubank becomes LatAm’s biggest, and riskiest, bank

9 Dec 2021

An IPO worth above $40 bln tops even Itaú Unibanco. At roughly 10 times tangible book value it’s a pricey bet that a Warren Buffett-backed Brazilian fintech can disrupt the region’s market before established players react, without missteps, and with immunity from economic perils.

Big miners are steeled against falling iron ore

21 Sep 2021

The mineral’s price has collapsed in two months, bucking inflationary trends. Rising supply, China’s cooling economy and changing consumer spending habits portend a further decline. Capital discipline and diversification will cushion the blow for BHP, Rio and Fortescue.

Guinea coup is win for Australia and Brazil

6 Sep 2021

Soldiers have deposed the West African nation’s president, Alpha Condé. Besides disruption to bauxite exports, the upheaval may upend development of the Simandou mine’s 8.6 billion tonnes of iron ore deposits, capable of adding 10% to global output. Rival diggers will be smiling.

Surf ‘n’ turf is juicy ESG starter for M&A feast

17 Aug 2021

Brazilian meatpacker JBS made a curious second bid for Tasmanian salmon farmer Huon after mining billionaire Andrew Forrest raised environmental and animal-welfare concerns. Buyers often come ready to clash over price, not sustainability. Add a new chapter to the deal cookbook.

Guest view: How companies can cut deforestation

20 May 2021

Yet more destruction of the Amazon last year raises climate-change fears. Former Brazil Finance Minister Joaquim Levy argues the key to ending this economically unsound treatment of rainforests lies in a mix of animal-tracing tech, integrated farming and better use of pastures.

Carrefour makes most of French M&A exceptionalism

24 Mar 2021

After seeing its own takeover blocked by President Emmanuel Macron, the Paris-based retailer is buying Brazil’s third-largest grocery chain. The $1.3 bln price is reasonable, and the touted savings large. Foreign expansion is more appealing than bulking up in slow-growth France.

Guest view: Consider a debt for vaccines program

9 Mar 2021

Such plans may help reduce currency mismatches in jab distribution, reduce the need for “new money” and avoid overloading balance sheets with unsustainable pre-existing debt. Epidemiologist Cristina Valencia and banker William Rhodes argue for piloting the idea in Latin America.

Guest view: Latin America has a Covid-19 cash gap

16 Oct 2020

Economic weakness has helped make the region’s health crisis one of the world’s worst, write former Citibank Chairman William Rhodes and epidemiologist Cristina Valencia. Even if a vaccine arrives, the recovery will demand more direct funding from the international community.

Three-pronged Brazil mobile assault can succeed

28 Jul 2020

Telecom Italia, Telefonica and America Movil have offered $3 bln to buy the wireless business of bankrupt Oi. With an established presence in Brazil, the three have an edge over a rival private equity offer. With the price already full, however, a bidding war could get costly.

Brazil’s tax reform is too little, too late

23 Jul 2020

The economy minister just proposed a simplified 12% VAT – part one of a much-needed tax reform. Passage would be a positive step, but small potatoes on its own – especially as its economy could shrink by almost 8%. The window for big-time economic reform may have closed.

Fintech superstars face brutal financial comedown

3 Jun 2020

Digital banks like Chime and Monzo have millions of customers but are tackling their first big crisis with scant revenue. Online lenders from Kabbage to Klarna face rising defaults, less new business, and funding concerns. Valuations, business models, even survival, look shaky.

Brazil’s finance minister: right place, wrong time

4 May 2020

Chicago-trained Paulo Guedes helped achieve needed pension reform and topped privatization goals. But Covid-19 torpedoed plans to shrink the state’s role in the economy, and presidential chaos has undermined his efforts. His agenda is mostly dead, so he’ll probably jump ship.

Investors’ Brazil dream becomes nightmare

13 Mar 2020

The former market darling’s currency has shed over 16% of its value versus the U.S. dollar this year, and its stock market is among the worst-performing in the world. Its trade position is weakening. And neither Brazil's central bank nor its president have good policy options.

Vale dam cleanup hints at miners’ rising ESG bill

21 Jan 2020

The world’s top iron ore producer faces criminal charges for a deadly 2019 dam collapse. It has spent billions on reparations and safety upgrades, and seen its share price stumble. The total financial hit is yet to become clear, but other resources firms will face reckonings too.

Trump’s soybean dream can be crushed

8 Jan 2020

The U.S. president says China could soon buy as much as $50 bln in farm products from American farmers, including more of the oilseed. But the U.S. doesn’t have the beans, and Brazil’s currency offers a better value. The weakened U.S. agriculture trade could struggle to return.

Brazil’s $15 bln brokerage IPO is so retro

11 Dec 2019

Upstart XP is the year’s fourth-largest U.S. listing. It can still charge real fees in its cozy market, just like U.S. brokers in the good old days. Falling rates should keep new customers coming. And Brazil looks less prone to the competitive havoc that beset American peers.

Dearth of oil bids is mostly about Brazil, not oil

7 Nov 2019

Landmark auctions for offshore deposits elicited virtually no international interest, with state-run Petrobras putting up most bids. Oil market ructions are making global majors think twice about big investments. But the main problem is Brasilia’s inability to stop meddling.

Brazil’s basket-case telco is not quite dead yet

7 Nov 2019

Oi, the country’s largest fixed-line carrier, has been making investors kvetch for years. Rivals are now sniffing around its assets. An upcoming earnings report is likely to show the company, crawling out of a restructuring, needs more than a cash infusion. It needs a miracle.