Industry draws more foreign investments
O Estado de S. Paulo
Despite the strong negative impact of the global crisis in the Brazilian industry, the participation of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the industrial sector has increased significantly this year. Central Bank data show that, from January to November 2009, the FDI aimed at the industry accounted for 44.3% of the total US$ 25.1 billion of gross inflows of foreign investment. In the same period of last year, the investment in the industry represented 33.6% of the total inflows in Brazil.
The greater participation of the industry in the FDI reflects the combination of two phenomena: the strong nominal fall in the investments for the primary sectors (agriculture, cattle raising and mineral extraction) of the economy, which ended up by naturally reducing its participation in the total (from 23.5% to 13.1%), and the growth of the investments in the car and chemical sectors, that ran in the opposite direction in relation to the other sectors.
In the case of the industry, the volume of foreign capital was practically stable (a slight fall of 0.9%) in nominal terms compared to the period from January to November 2008, amounting to US$ 11.1 billion. It is positive data though, since the total flows of FDI fell heavily all over the world and Brazil was not spared from such global phenomena.
The economist and specialist in external accounts, Antônio Corrêa de Lacerda, economist of the PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), assessed that the strength of the Brazilian domestic market and the perspectives of strong growth of the country as of 2010 stimulate the investment in sectors such as automotive.
He considered that these factors overcome the negative fact the foreign exchange rate is valorized in Brazil, to the extent the FDI aims at the long term. But he said that, if there was a competitive exchange rate, the country would be much more attractive to foreign investors.
The Head Economist of the ING Bank, Zeina Latif, said that the profile of the flow of FDI in Brazil in 2009 is associated to the combination of fall in the exports and the bet in the good performance of the internal market. "Nobody works with a strong scenario of acceleration of the foreign trade. The exports today discourage the FDI", said Zeina.