Evoltz aims for growth in power transmission with Abengoa’s assets

Evoltz, a company founded to reunite power transmission assets acquired by controlling shareholder TPG Capital amid Abengoa’s judicial recovery in Brazil, is now preparing to expand operations after a two-year financial restructuring process. The company owns seven transmission lines totaling 3,500 kilometers mainly in the Amazon with allowed annual revenues of R$524.3 million. After a slimming-down effort that led to R$400 million in savings, Evoltz now wants to become a reference in Brazilian power transmission. “This segment is consolidating and will continue this way. We will be able to position ourselves to be part of this process, or to acquire new lines,” CEO João Nogueira Batista says.

Source: Valor Econômico

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

/by

Quasar Agro fund concludes first deal with Belagrícola

Quasar Agro, a real-estate fund focused on farm storage created at the end of 2019 by Quasar Asset Management and managed by BTG Pactual Serviços Financeiros, has just completed its first deal. With an investment of R$90 million, it acquired four silos from input distributor Belagrícola in northern Paraná and leased them for ten years to Belagrícola itself – which “unlocked” funds to foster expansion projects. Rent, in this case, was set at 9.75% of the deal’s final figure per year, divided into 12 months. Fund chief Eça Correia says he is currently discussing deals that could generate R$670 million. Quasar Agro raised R$504 million from13,590 investors when it started trading on B3 and is authorized to raise as much as R$10 billion.

Source: Valor Econômico

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

/by

Holograma Brasil hoping to generate R$15m in sales this year

Founded in November 2019 by Brazilian and American entrepreneurs, Holograma Brasil wants to develop the market for entertainment holograms in the country. The industry is already growing fast in the US. Among its partners are Dream Factory (a unit of Rock In Rio), Opus Produções and US-based BASE Hologram, which made waves this month by launching a global tour using a hologram of Whitney Houston, the singer deceased in 2012. Dream Factory CEO Duda Magalhães says the company hopes to generate R$15 million in sales this year and as much as R$25 million by 2021. The company will debut here with two exhibitions at São Paulo’s Museum of Image and Sound. The effort also includes the Whitney Houston tour.

Source: Valor Econômico

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

/by
,

Vai Car raises R$380m to expand rental outsourcing

With a business model based on outsourcing car rentals to the fleets of other chains, mainly for ride-sharing drivers, Vai Car has borrowed R$380 million with bonds to finance its expansion. The startup aims to have 25,000 passenger vehicles in the next 18 months available through its app-based environment. The company doesn’t disclose its current fleet, but Valor has learned it’s bigger than 10,000 vehicles. It currently operates in São Paulo and will use the funds to reach other cities. The private bond placement was coordinated by XP Investimentos and included BTG Pactual’s hoostLab. Bank BMG and Bossa Nova Investimentos aided the transaction and also invested in the startup.

Source: Valor Econômico

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

/by

Credit card use abroad will be more predictable

By March, credit card purchases abroad will be more predictable, with purchases registered closer to the currency exchange rate on the date of the transaction. Brazil’s Central Bank determined that exchange-rate conversions to real on the invoices consider the rate used by the bank on the day of the purchase, which is equivalent to the commercial dollar rate plus a spread. This rate will be disclosed daily by the banks. The spread enters the account to protect banks from potential “mismatch” in the transaction. “It is the price of predictability for consumers when they go shopping,” said an industry executive.

Source: Valor Econômico

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

/by

Itaú Private competing for wealthy Brazilians in Portugal

Itaú Private bank has joined the fight for Brazilian wealth-management clients in Portugal. The bank recently was licensed by the local central bank to operate in the country and sign up Brazilian and international clients. The move follows other Brazilian banks that have set up shop in Lisbon in the last few months, eyeing the same market segment. Wealthy Brazilians are the primary market since the country’s citizens hold the second-largest number in the world of “golden visas” issued by Portugal in exchange for investments, after the Chinese. The Portuguese government estimates that 150,000 Brazilians are living in Portugal or have filed for visas.

Source: Valor Econômico

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

/by

Owner of SuperFrango chicken meat brand expands production and sales

São Salvador Alimentos (SSA), a leading agriculture company in Goiás that owns the SuperFrango brand, is taking advantage of the good moment of chicken meat market, its core business, to increase sales and expand production. After growing 35% in 2019 and seeing R$1.7 billion in revenues, the company is expected to open its second plant in Nova Veneza, near capital city Goiânia, in a week after investing R$250 million. The new plant will have the capacity to slaughter 160,000 birds a day. The plan is to use higher supply in times of heated demand in the country and abroad to reach R$2 billion in sales this year.

Source: Valor Econômico

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

/by

Vivo aiming for online courses and telemedicine

As part of its plans to shift from a telecommunications company to a technology one, Telefônica Brasil is pushing its brand Vivo to sell telemedicine and distance learning packages. The company is in advanced negotiations with at least two large healthcare and education groups in Brazil, CEO Christian Gerbara told Valor. The strategy is to sell these services in tandem with fiber-optic broadband subscriptions at Vivo’s 1,500 stores. The carrier is even branching out into financial services, with an eye on catering to customers who don’t hold bank accounts – it already started offering personal loans ranging from R$1,000 to R$30,000 to some of its 43.2 million subscribers. Mr. Gerbara sees household consumption returning gradually and expects the trend to benefit its pre-paid segment – but warns it still depends on Brazil experiencing a healthier job market. The carrier reported a 3.2% drop in net profit in 2019 to R$5 billion.

Source: Valor Econômico
http://www.valor.com.br/international

/by

Petrobras post record net profit of R$40.1bn

Its asset divestment program helped Petrobras report a record net profit of R$40.1 billion in 2019. That’s 55.7% higher than the previous years and ensures shareholders R$10.6 billion in dividends and interest on equity. The board also approved R$1.7 billion in dividends to shareholders of common stock and R$2.5 million for holders of preferred ones. Overall, the state-owned oil giant was able to set aside $14.6 billion from asset sales – the divestment of TAG and BR Distribuidora alone raised $11.3 billion. Cost-cutting also played a role, generating a record adjusted EBITDA of R$129.2 billion, up 12.5% from 2018. Extraction costs fell $6.5 per barrel, from a drop of $3 attained in 2018.

Source: Valor Econômico
http://www.valor.com.br/international

/by

Senate creates joint committee for tax reform

Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (Democrats, DEM, of Amapá) created Wednesday a joint committee of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate to devise a consensus proposal for tax reform. Rival bills are making their way in both houses of Congress, generating friction, and Mr. Alcolumbre had promised since last year to establish the joint committee. The goal is to accelerate the process with an eye on getting the bill voted and approved still in the first half. Deputy Aguinaldo Ribeiro (Progressive Party, PP, of Paraíba) was appointed rapporteur. In addition to trying to combine both bills, the committee will try to add suggestions from the executive branch. The committee chairman, Senator Roberto Rocha (Brazilian Social Democracy Party, PSDB, of Maranhão), said lawmakers already agree on a couple of points, including system simplification, using technology to cut red tape and reduce taxes on exports. Reviving the reviled Provisional Contribution over Financial Transactions (CPMF) is ruled out, he said.

Source: Valor Econômico
http://www.valor.com.br/international

Ver tradução
/by