Investment grade to give energy extra push
DCI - 05/06/2008
The well-defined rules of the regulatory framework in the electric sector may turn it into the most attractive sector for the resources from the international pension funds, after Brazil has received the new investment grade. The thesis is defended in a study made by the Group of Studies of the Electric Energy Sector of the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (GESEL/UFRJ) which investigates the impacts of the investment grade in the Brazilian economy, to be released this week. For Professor Nivalde J. de Castro, co-author of the study, the lesser volume of foreign resources in the infrastructure of the electric sector in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period of 2007, registered by the Brazilian Association of the Infrastructure and Capital Goods Industries (Abdib), is not a bad sign. "Companies have obtained better conditions of internal financing to invest in infrastructure", affirms the specialist. The study reveals the electric sector may receive greater volume of foreign investments in the next months due to the rise in the level of confidence, associated to a well-defined model of rules for public bids and concessions. "These two factors, in conjunction with the great Brazilian potential in energy generation, make the expected setting for the electric sector a most promising one", says Castro. According to the research, there are three immediate consequences of the new investment grade in the area of electric energy: better funding conditions (fall of the interest rate), greater offers of loan's resources, and acceptance, on the part of investors, of lower rates of return - because of the climate of confidence. For the authors of the study that means greater offer at lower cost. "This advantage can be seen in the greater competition in the public bids. With less demanding investors, in term of profits, there will be more discounts and, thus, lower rates to be paid by the end consumers ", says Castro, Professor Roberto Brandão's partner in the study.