08/15/2008 10h41
PCs and cell phones heat the electronics industry
Valor Econômico 08/15/2008
With the strong push given by the sales of computers and the investment of the operators of cell phones in the third generation (3G) networks, the electrical and electronics industry increased its earnings by 11% in the first half of the year, compared to the same period of 2007. Between January and June, the sales of the sector remained near R$ 50 billion (US$ 31.9 billion), according to the Brazilian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association. It is expected that the pace of growth continues in the second half of the year, when the sales of the sector should reach R$ 123.6 billion (US$ 78.7 billion). The orders made by the operators have leveraged the suppliers of infrastructure and telephone devices. With that, the segment of telecommunications grew 33% in the first half and should end the year with earnings of R$ 20.6 billion (US$ 13.1 billion), 18% above the value reached in 2007 - when the lack of orders from telecommunication companies left the manufacturers in distress. The computer sector also had expressive growth in the first half - 8% - and will shall assure the greatest contribution to the sales of the electrical and electronics industry. According to the projection of the Abinee, the income of the companies of this segment should reach R$ 35.8 billion (US$ 22.8 billion) in 2008. The impulse comes from the sales of computers, which are heated in the country since tax incentives have allowed the price reduction of the machines. 5.7 million PCs were sold in Brazil in the first six months of this year, a volume 31% above the number of the same period of 2007. The growth of the areas of telecommunications and computers, however, has caused importations to skyrocket. The purchases of products and equipment from other countries increased 40% in the first half of 2008 and reached US$ 15.1 billion. The greatest villains were semiconductors, computer and telephone components and cellular phones. The importations of mobile telephones grew 148% and reached US$ 334 million. The increase is reasonable for the third generation devices are more sophisticated and they are still not produced at a large scale in the country. The exportations of cellular phones still cover this movement without difficulty: the sales abroad amounted to US$ 1.1 billion between January and June. However, the pressure of the importations in the sector as a whole should cause the commercial deficit of the balance of trade of electrical and electronic equipment to reach US$ 23,4 billion this year. The deficit was US$ 14.8 billion in 2007. Abinee's President Humberto Barbato attributed the increase of the deficit to the valued Real, which discourages exportations.
