11/19/2007 14h33

BNDES’ fund release to steel fabrication skyrockets 127%

Gazeta Mercantil -11/19/2007

This year, the Brazilian Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES) released, from January to October, R$ 3.08 billion (US$ 1.8 billion) for the metal fabrication sector, which has siderurgia as its main segment. It is an increase of 127% over the same period in 2006. According to the bank, the number of transactions has also increased to 2,403 releases, 57% higher. "The prices of all metals have skyrocketed and that has encouraged investments", says the head of BNDES' basic industry department Paulo Sérgio Fonseca. According to Fonseca, the trend is that that the financings increase even more in the coming years, since some companies have announced growth plans and have still not requested loans. Currently, the greatest on-going project with an outlay from BNDES is to the Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA), a joint venture formed by the German group ThyssenKrupp and the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.