Cópia de Brazlilian Slovak Chamber of Commerce (4)

Editorial
The Financial Sector Integration
In Latin America, initiatives for regional financial integration have been
carried out on some occasions since the 1990s, largely prompted by
the signature of the Protocol of Montevideo of the Southern
Common Market (Mercosur) in 1997, the instrument which
established an action plan for the integration of financial services in
the subregion. Since then, there have been considerable
improvement in market infrastructures, and in terms of convergence
of countries' financial regulation to international standards and
strengthening of local regulatory standards. In large and mediumsized
countries, banking and capital market regulation converged
unprecedentedly.
Mercosur has championed progress, focused on technical
cooperation among bloc regulators and harmonization of regulatory
standards, with particular attention to the implementation of Basel II.
A new integration project was also developed between the Andean
countries and Mexico, under the aegis of the Pacific Alliance, which
recently brought the topic of financial integration to the top of the
governmental agenda of those countries.
Brazil has also experienced the strongest process of appreciation of
its currency, becoming the most attractive destination for financial
capital in South America, according to the IPEA. In the Brazilian case,
direct foreign investments (which in 2014 amounted to $ 71 billion,
versus $ 39 billion in portfolio investments) were the main route of
entry, while in Mexico the portfolio investments were of relative
importance (in 2014, $ 17 billion in direct investments versus $ 47
billion in portfolio investments).
The resources coming from abroad also found a quiet environment.
The "blue chips", or first line stocks, experienced a relevant
appreciation. Petrobrás ON and PN rose 3.62% and 4.02%,
respectively. In the financial sector, Bradesco PN rose 2.5% and
Banco do Brasil ON, 2.37% .
The inflow of foreign resources as not been seen for years also
stimulated further IPOs. The health insurance group Hapvida, the
building materials Quero-Qiero and the shopping mall administrator
HSI/Saphyr are on the pipeline for IPOs, expected to result in
turnovers of R$ 10 billion (aprox. $ 3,3 billion).
The financial sector is giving, thus, an important contribution for the
recovery of the Brazilian economy, with private companies
simultaneously benefiting from the international liquidity and the
recovery of the appetite for risks. For the foreign investor, it is very
attractive, since, at the same time that the stock market remains
"cheap", the Ibovespa is on a high plateau in reais, but in dollar is in the
house of 24 thousand points.
Against this background, this issue is specially dedicated to the
financial sector. The first article summarizes the investment map
prepared by Apex-Brasil, which demonstrated the relevance of
investments in both directions, either in Brazil and in the EU.
Subsequently, the president of Apex-Brasil presents an outlook of the
financing opportunities for foreign trade.Also, the Macroeconomic
Compass summarizes the positive overview of the macreconomic
foundations of the Brazilian company. Enjoy the reading.
More recently, with the abundance of capital in the international
market, the Brazilian stock market is achieving record numbers. On 17
January 2018, Bovespa, the Brazilian Stock Exchange, launched the
trading session with the expectation of closing the day with
approximately 80 thousand points, but the large flow of foreign
investments and the good momentum of the international markets
made the Ibovespa, the main market index, to close the session at
81,189 points, a new historical level.
By and lard, the analysts agreed that there were no bubble patterns,
and there is still room for growth. They highlighted that the market
always tries to look ahead and investors had already predicted a
recovery of the country's economy in 2017.
Last year, the Ibovespa also broke records and closed the year with a
valuation of almost 27%, more than doubling the CDI. Since the
beginning of this year, the stock market has accumulated appreciation
of 6.27%. The valuation of the exchange was accentuated by
Petrobrás shares, which were favored by the approach of Brent oil of
US $ 70 per barrel, a level that could generate enough revenue to
reduce the leverage of the oil company to better levels.