Brazil is 3rd on most competitive companies
Folha de S. Paulo - 12/06/2007
Thirteen Brazilian companies are in the list of the developing countries' one hundred most competitive companies, according to the ranking elaborated by the North American consulting Boston Group. Brazil is the third country in number of representatives, only behind China, with 41 names, and India, with 20 companies. The national companies that appear in the list are: Vale, Petrobras, Embraer, Gerdau, Votorantim, Braskem, Sadia, Perdigão, Natura, Coteminas (textiles) and WEG (engines), besides JBS-Friboi (beef) and Marcopolo (bus bodies), that appear in the ranking for the first time. After Brazil, the countries with most companies are Mexico (seven) and Russia (six). From Latin America, Argentina and Chile also have representatives, each with only one company. The ranking also lists companies from Turkey (three), Thailand (two), Malaysia (two), Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia and Poland, all with one company. According to the Boston Group, which elaborates the ranking for the second consecutive year, "the companies from developing countries have grown so quickly that they threaten the leading companies of the international industry", mainly from Europe and the United States. "The industry needs to know those new rivals and act as fast as possible", says David Michael, one of the people in charge of the study called "100 New Global Challengers: How Companies from Developing Economies are Changing the World". Altogether, 3,000 companies have been evaluated from their profits, sales, investment forecasts, and expenditures with acquisitions. "With more than US$ 1,2 trillion in revenues and more than US$ 1.5 trillion in acquisitions invested every year, the growth of the companies is formidable", says the report, available at the electronic address of Boston Group. The document also mentions the growth beyond the regional borders. "In 2006, these companies concluded 72 international acquisitions, in comparison with the 21 carried out in 2000. As for the average value of those transactions, it went from US$ 156 million, in 2001, to US$ 981 million, in 2006". The consulting company points out that, since 2004, the earnings of those one hundred companies from developing countries grew three times faster than the earnings of the 500 largest American companies, represented in the SP 500 index, from the NYSE. "Nonetheless, the ambitions are much greater", says the document, according to which the revenues of the companies will reach US$ 3.3 trillions up to 2010 and exceed US$ 11.8 trillions in 2015.