Il Brazil in the last decade it has transformed from a demographic giant with excellent growth prospects to a real world power, at least in reference to the absolute data of the Gross Domestic Product.
The South American country, in fact, is the sixth largest economy in the world with a GDP of over USD 2.200 billion with constantly very high growth rates, with the exception of the last three years in which the increase stabilized at around 2% per annum on average. This growth has been supported over the years on the one hand by vouchers macroeconomic fundamentals (primary balance surplus and high level of reserves, above all) and on the other by the wealth of natural resources and by an increasingly excellence-oriented manufacturing industry driven mainly by automotive, byagribusiness and by telecommunications.
2014 will be a year of considerable importance and at the same time difficult for Brazil, which as known will host the World Cup, the first of two world-class sporting events with i Olympic Games which will follow closely in 2016; but that he will also be called upon to renew his political leadership with the elections in the fall. If, on the one hand, significant investments linked to two of the most important sporting events in the world will be attracted, on the other hand, the uncertainty about the future of the Government could lead to a wait on the part of some world players.
The Government, led by Dilma Rousseff, to deal with the country's main systemic problem (lack of infrastructure) and to have an important card to play in view of the elections, is ready to launch a USD 190 billion plan to finally equip itself with a transport network suitable for a country of the economic importance of Brazil, with the financing of the construction of roads, ports, railways and airports.
The strong ones public investments, are accompanied by a fairly tight monetary policy aimed at controlling the inflation rate. Last January, in fact, the Brazilian Central Bank increased the official discount rate to 10,5% in order to keep inflation below the pre-set limit of 6%. The influx of foreign capital has led to fibrillation on the exchange rate front. The Real in fact it is undergoing a depreciation in the market which would be even stronger if there weren't a systematic intervention by the Central Bank to mitigate the fluctuations of the same, drawing on the huge currency reserves in its possession.
Although the potential and opportunities for Brazil are evident, there is no shortage of i downsides and of risks linked above all to the gangrenous and almost organic situations of Brazilian society. The great level of inefficiency of public spending, mainly due to the lack of infrastructure and high production costs, but also the high level of corruption. L'inequality in the distribution of income which for a country of nearly 200 million people assumes considerable importance; the shortage of skilled manpower mainly due to an inadequate education system. And finally the weight of bureaucracy and administrative procedures that make Brazil the 116esimo Country in the world in the Doing Business ranking drawn up annually by the World Bank.
These, in summary, are the main challenges awaiting the Latin American giant and on which much of the next electoral challenge will be played out.
I commercial and institutional relations between Italy and Brazil they are going through a particularly positive period marked by the increase in trade between the two countries and by the cooperation meetings that have taken place in recent months.
Indeed, in the autumn of last year, various meetings were held on the occasion of the V Cooperation Council and the VI Italy-Latin America Conference. These contacts were followed by the recent mission (February 3-6) to the Latin American country by Undersecretary of State Mario Giro, which had the objective of strengthening collaboration between companies of the two countries in the information technology sector.
From a strictly commercial point of view, the data confirm that Italy is a important partner for Brazil, ranking eighth as a partner country in terms of imports with a market share of 2,8%. Furthermore, as far as more complex internationalization processes are concerned, once again, the numbers demonstrate how Brazil is one of the outlet markets that is increasingly gaining centrality in the strategies of Italian companies. The level of Foreign direct investment Italians in the country, according to the latest estimates, almost i 150 million euro, with a presence of over 840 Italian branches.
Brazil's commitment to creating infrastructure in view of the important events it is preparing to host has meant that the investment in machine tools and other machinery has increased significantly in recent years. In the last three years, imports of machine tools have grown by 55% reaching the quota of over EUR 1 billion. Well, the first supplier, with a market share of 16%, it is precisely Italy, which sees in the production of machinery one of the spearheads of its exports which is still competitive on the world market as demonstrated by the fact that Japan and Germany follow Italy as a supplier of Brazil in this sector.
Other sectors in which the Italian presence is significant, or is beginning to be so, are the fashion and luxury sector but also telecommunications, renewable energy, tourism and sport (nautical, motoring).
For further information on the conditions of insurability and on the Italian presence in Brazil, it is possible to consult the Sace Country File and the page that the ICE Agency dedicates to the country.
