Startup QuintoAndar moves from rental to buying and selling used homes

Real estate startup QuintoAndar, known for its rental platform, will begin selling and buying houses. The operation begins in downtown and the West and South zones of São Paulo city, in the secondary market, or used properties, with prices ranging from R$200,000 to R$3 million. QuintoAndar plans to seek partnerships with other real estate agents and is in talks with developers to also operate in the intermediation of sales of new residential units in the future.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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Chamber, Senate agree to vote on ending privileged forum

Supermarket chain Grupo Pão de Açucar and drugstore chain Raia Drogasil announced Wednesday that they are going to create a customer-loyalty program, the first of its kind created by retailers in the country, where customer loyalty programs have been restricted primarily to airlines. Stix Fidelidade was created after a year of talks between the two companies, which together have 3,000 store locations in the country, and will eventually be opened up to other retailers who wish to participate. These new retailers will not be taken on as partners, however, and GPA will control 66.6% of the business, with RD holding 33.3%. Operations are set to begin in the second half of next year.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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GPA and Raia Drogasil announce creation of customer-loyalty program

Supermarket chain Grupo Pão de Açucar and drugstore chain Raia Drogasil announced Wednesday that they are going to create a customer-loyalty program, the first of its kind created by retailers in the country, where customer loyalty programs have been restricted primarily to airlines. Stix Fidelidade was created after a year of talks between the two companies, which together have 3,000 store locations in the country, and will eventually be opened up to other retailers who wish to participate. These new retailers will not be taken on as partners, however, and GPA will control 66.6% of the business, with RD holding 33.3%. Operations are set to begin in the second half of next year.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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XP teams up with ex-Actis partner to launch R$1.25bn equity fund

XP Investimentos is joining forces with former Actis private equity partner Chu Kong to reinforce its equity investment fund (FIP) business, with an initial FIP fund expected to raise up to R$1.25 billion. Qualified investors with at least R$1 million in financial assets can buy into the FIP, that was originally slated to last eight years and can be renewed after that. The equity fund will target mid-sized businesses with revenue of R$100 million to R$300 million. XP will carry out a roadshow next month and launch the fund in February. Mr. Kong and Guilherme Benchimol, head of XP, want to create a genuinely local fund, since most private equity funds in Brazil operate primarily with foreign capital. Actis invested in XP in 2010, buying a 20.5% stake, half of which it sold to private equity fund General Atlantic in 2012.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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Brazilian retailers gear up for Black Friday with leaner stockpiles

Brazilian retailers are boosting purchases of specific items ahead of the Black Friday sales event after clearing out old inventory and ending September with a stockpile of R$27.2 billion in unsold goods, just 5% more than in the previous year. With Black Friday sales expected to total 7.5% to 10% more than in 2018, retailers have been bolstering purchase of several premium items. “Many retailers got rid of old stockpiles before November. What’s in stores now are products bought in a planned manner, including premium products with less aggressive discounts to ensure profitability,” says Henrique Mascarenhas, director of the GfK consultancy.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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Bolsonaro wants to decide on repossession operations in rural areas

President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Monday that he will send a bill to Congress to allow Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO) operations to reposses rural properties occupied by squatters. The aim is to provide support for the enforcement of legal decisions. “I want a GLO for the rural regions. When criminals invade a rural property and the judge orders a repossession, governors delay this almost as a rule. Our bill would create the rural GLO to remove these guys from the property,” Mr. Bolsonaro said as he left the Alvorada Palace. GLOs are security operations that can only authorized by the President. They grant members of the Armed Forces and the Federal Police permission to serve as police in a particular area for an established period of time.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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Brazilian economy is “very strong” Klabin says

The Brazilian economy rebounded and the current domestic situation is positive – especially for Klabin’s business – according to the company’s general director, Cristiano Teixeira. Klabin is Brazil’s largest manufacturer of packaging paper, industrial bags, and corrugated cardboard packaging, an important barometer of economic activity. “We are controlling our anxiety a bit at this moment to transmit the correct message. But it is a fact that the national economy is very strong for us,” said the executive in a meeting with investors. In October, the company’s corrugated cardboard and industrial bags unit broke shipping records and is on its way to repeating this performance in November. Preliminary data from the Brazilian Association of Corrugated Cardboard (ABPO) indicate that shipments of boxes, accessories and sheets totaled 333,800 tonnes in October, with a 2.6% increase in the annual comparison, and up 10.1% when compared to September.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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Federal government to broaden rural insurance’s scope

With a 2020 budget forecast of R$1 billion for the rural insurance premium subsidy program, the Ministry of Agriculture has made changes to the coverage rules to try to reach 17% more farmers and increase the area insured by at least 3 million hectares. The expansion plan also includes a reduction in the share of grains such as soybeans and corn among protected crops. But despite being optimistic, the ministry still has no guarantee that the money will be effectively made available since it depends on Congressional approval. The estimate is to go to up to 250,000 policies from 212,000 and reach 170,000 farmers. The area covered would go to 18 million hectares from 15 million, and the insured value would go to R$50 billion from R$42 billion.

 

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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Amyris to build new $75m factory in Brazil

US biotech firm Amyris plans to build a $75-million factory in Barra Bonita, a city in the middle of São Paulo state, to produce chemical compounds that can be used in industries ranging from food to cosmetics to fuels. Raízen, a joint venture between Cosan and Shell, will provide the cane syrup and the energy that will be used to create the compounds. CEO John Melo said Amyris will provide 30% of funding from its own cash and the rest through loans, although no additional details were provided.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

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VW, Mercedes are candidates to fill Ford’s void in trucks

The shutdown of a Ford plant in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, where trucks were assembled left a void in the Brazilian truck market. The company had historically been responsible for 11% of trucks sales and was among the four largest manufacturers. German companies Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are candidates to split Ford’s share between them, according to analysts. “These companies launched models to compete in the segment in which Ford was stronger, for trucks up to 15 tonnes,” said Thiago Costa, an analyst at consultancy IHS Markit. Part of Ford’s share has already been transferred over to other companies, according to Ari de Carvalho, director of truck sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz of Brazil. The German company’s market share in Brazil grew to 29.5% from 27%.

Source: Valor Econômico

http://www.valor.com.br/international

 

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