A N N U A L R E P O R T A N D A C C O U N T S - CMVM

Management Report of the Board of Directors - Financial Year 2008
instalments and the issuance of new private debt securities
revealed an increased demand for assets not exempt of
risks. Lastly, mention will be made of the forecasts
announced by market agents, according to whom the
previously announced expectations of deflation have
disappeared.
Therefore, no matter how negative the forecasts are, the
possibility of experiencing a new global Great Depression
seems unlikely, although some countries may record
depressions. At present, the priority has been and should
continue to be to restore trust.
In 2008, the inflation rate in Portugal was 2.6%, measured
by the annual average change in the Consumer Price
Index, a value that is particularly affected by the rising
prices for energy production raw materials and food
products.
In Angola, the global economic background shows the
development of a stable economic growth process. However,
the boom in oil prices per barrel observed in the last two years
is expected to be replaced by a contraction in 2009, with a
possible decrease in GDP, which in 2008 had a growth rate of
15.6%. Although food price increases have been moderate,
inflation reached 13.18% in 2008. In the meantime, the
National Bank of Angola will adopt the measures aimed at
reducing this indicator, for the purpose of materialising a
flexible, strong monetary policy and for continuous economic
growth.
In Algeria, the economy continues to grow with the inflation
rate reaching approximately 4.6%. The global financial
crisis did not have immediate consequences for the
Algerian economy, due to the weak integration of its
financial system at international level. However, the sharp
drop in the price of oil per barrel and the decrease in
demand may have a negative effect on Algeria’s revenues
in the future. In 2008, the GDP growth rate was 4.6% and
the unemployment rate, according to the OECD, was
13.8%.
In 2008, exports and imports recorded a growth rate of 30%
and 40%, respectively. Portugal has been increasing its
exports to Algeria, reaching values that correspond, in
2008, to an increase of approximately 140% compared to
2007.
Algeria is expected to continue to fulfil all the conditions for
maintaining a high level of public investments over the next
few years, also because it continues to pursue its five-year
programme 2005-2009, under which the country has been
developing more fundamental infrastructures for a
sustainable growth. The signs of modernity that this
development is providing are quite visible, namely in the
environment, housing, roads and transport sectors.
In Brazil, inflation is still under control at 5.9%, according to
data from the Bank of Brazil, while GDP has grown firmly to
almost 5.2%. The unemployment rate is estimated at 6.8%,
according to data provided by the Brazilian Institute of
Geography and Statistics. Although 2008 has continued to
show economic growth, the deepening of the global crisis
caused several indicators to recede, affecting the country on
many fronts, mainly in the sharp drop in the price of
goods exported by Brazil and in the decrease in international
trade and credit. As a consequence, several companies
reviewed their investment plans, reduced their production
and the number of workers when they saw their sales
decreasing.
However, this country stands out as a strong global player,
namely in the field of alternative energies, such as ethanol
and bio-fuel, but also due to the discovery of new oil and gas
fields. For the first time in many years, Brazil is in a
reasonably good position to face the global crisis owing to the
strong reduction of its dependence on the American market,
the existence of effective reserves, inflation control and to the
maintenance of interest rates.
In Spain, during 2008, the economy’s instability increased,
revealing a very sharp deceleration, basically due to the
combination of two factors, such as the international financial
crisis and the crash of the real estate market, which has been
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