I spend a lot of time looking at the huge investment programmes and individual projects, all over Brazil. It is my job to see beyond the headline figure of so many billions of US Dollars, to identify specific opportunities for UK companies, and to bring these to the attention of trade associations and individual suppliers. [...]

Did you see the Brazil supplement in last week’s The Economist? An 18 page report giving a lot of detail about the modern & stable Brazilian economy. And all the better for reminding readers of the risks and downside which are ever-present in Brazil. I’ll let you read the article for yourself. You can’t miss [...]

An article in yesterday’s local newspaper in the south of Brazil speaks volumes. Well, paragraphs!
It says that the 2014 World Cup & 2016 Olympic Games have already started to attract investments from overseas, and that the Brits and the Germans have been the first to show interest in taking part in the preparations for the events.

Brazil is open for business!
That’s the message I’m getting from the main contractors and trade associations I have been meeting with on this visit to Brazil.
From the sports infrastructure sector, through to the environment, via energy and transport logistics, the message is very clear. Everyone I speak to has told me it is impossible to [...]

Travelling to Brazil this evening. The TAM flight JJ8085 is full, which brings two thoughts to mind. First of all - TAM.  Until relatively recently, TAM was a regional airline, building a reputation for superior service as “the happiest distance between two points”  Suddenly, they’re a major Brazilian carrier in a place formerly occupied by [...]

Brazil has been chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games! This is the first time ever that the games will take place in South America, and is seen as another tremendous vote of confidence in Brazil’s ability to plan and to deliver a world-class event. I say “another” because of course Brazil is also to [...]

Some very confident messages from the Brazilian companies and trade associations I have met with over the last two weeks. A feeling that Brazil is moving towards centre stage – in terms of its own economic development - and the opportunities which this has brought for UK companies.
The Brazilian government is making huge investments from [...]

I’ve been meeting with representatives from some of Brazil’s most important companies and trade associations over the last few days. Tuesday’s Brazil Energy Conference in London was hosted by UKTI, and included some ‘eye-opening’ presentations from Petrobras,  SINAVAL  (Brazil’s National Association for the Shipbuilding Industry) and ABIMAQ (the Brazilian association of machine manufacturers).
They all spoke about [...]

The ‘achilles heel’ in Brazil’s ambitions for economic growth has been years of underinvestment in its infrastructure. The Lula government knows this. Brazil will not reach its full potential as a BRIC according to the Goldman Sachs’ definition, unless heavy investments are made in logistics, energy and metropolitan transportation, to name just a few sectors.
The [...]

Big changes are afoot in Brazil. This is not really ‘news’, as changes have been afoot in Brazil for the past 15 years. It does, though, come as a big and very pleasant surprise for UK companies which are only now looking at Brazil as a potential market for their goods and services.
Those of us [...]