12/15/2008 11h10
Finame sale of machinery keeps rhythm in November and grows 30% in the year
Valor Econômico - 12/15/2008
The sale of capital goods through the Finame (Machinery and Equipment Financing) system, of the BNDES (National Development Bank), grew almost 30% in the accumulated from January to November, totaling a record of R$ 24.1 billion (US$ 10.5 billion). The expectation of the bank is to close the year with sales of R$ 26 billion (US$ 11.3 billion) said Cláudio Bernardo Guimarães de Moraes, manager of the area of indirect operations of the BNDES, to Valor informing that he did not feel any slowdown in the demand for machinery and equipment last month. He emphasized that in November the purchases of capital goods through the financial agents of the BNDES amounted to R$ 2.3 billion (US$ 1 billion) - 21% more than in the same period of 2007. In the evaluation of Moraes, the fact that no slowdown has taken place yet in this market is explained by the decisions of investment that had been already taken. What is sustaining the sales of the sector, which was not so much affected by a slower rhythm of activity in this last quarter of the year, as it occurred with the durable goods, is the strong demand from small- and average-sized enterprises. "They are buying more machinery and equipment than the large ones." What the Finame is being more used to is to finance trucks (sales made before the crisis) and varied goods, such as lathes and industrial machines. Based on the Finame (Machinery and Equipment Financing) order backlog, which comprises Finame, Leasing Finame and Agricultural Finame, the manager of the area of indirect operations believes there is still an expectation of growth of the sales of capital goods in 2009, but not at the record rates of this year.
