Caixa creates property credit line pegged to saving accounts

State-run bank Caixa Econômica Federal starts to offer next week a new credit line for property finance that will be pegged to the saving accounts interest rates. The institution has set aside an initial R$30 billion for the line and expects them to be consumed in just a few months. With the benchmark interest rate Selic in a low level and real estate prices stable, the new line tends to be cheaper for the conventional rates.

Source: Valor International

https://www.valor.com.br/international/briefs

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Cogna eyes education networks after buying Eleva

Brazil’s largest education group Cogna – which has just closed the acquisition of the Eleva teaching system – has another negotiation underway, sources say. It is trying to by education networks COC and Dom Bosco, used by about 250,000 students, from Pearson. Also according to sources, another potential buyer is Arco Educação, which currently shares the leadership of the education systems market with Cogna. Both have about 1.3 million people studying with their teaching systems.

Source: Valor International

https://www.valor.com.br/international/briefs

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Braskem to expand production of “green” plastic

Braskem, the largest maker of resins in the Americas, will invest $61 million to expand the production of polyethylene and EVA resin from sugarcane ethanol in Brazil. With the investment, the company will increase to 260,000 tonnes from 200,000 tonnes the production capacity of “green” ethylene, the raw material for the production of biopolymers. “Our production capacity is 100% used and clients, especially in the packaging and footwear segments, have been demanding more than we can supply,” Marco Jansen, head of biopolymers at Braskem, told Valor. The company’s portfolio of renewable resins is exported to over 30 countries and used by brands like Allbirds, DUO UK, Grupo Boticário, Join The Pipe, Johnson&Johnson, Natura & Co, Nissin, Shiseido and Tetra Pak.

Source: Valor International

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InBev raises $10bn in ESG deal

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has signed a $10.1 billion credit line with reduced interest rates if the company meets certain sustainability targets. The deal is one of the largest operations linked to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria to date. It is also the first of its kind among publicly-traded companies in the beverage sector. The goal is to make packaging using mostly recycled material to reduce carbon dioxide in the chain by 25% and improve water efficiency of breweries. Another target is to buy 100% of electricity from renewable sources.

Source: Valor International

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With R$35bn in projects, forest products sector goes on hiring spree

A new survey by Ibá, an organization that represents producers of pulp and paper and wood floors and panels, shows the sector among those that most generates jobs in Brazil. With planned investments of R$35.5 billion by 2023, the sector has now 4,000 permanent job positions open and around 30,000 temporary ones. In total, the industry employees 1.4 million workers, a number that jumps to 3.7 million considering indirect jobs.

Source: Valor International

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CSN Mineração’s IPO raises R$5.2 bn in favorable market

CSN Mineração raised R$5.2 billion in its debut on stock exchange B3 on Thursday. Analysts say the IPO came at a good time considering iron ore prices in the international market. Pedro Galdi, steel and mining analyst with Mirae Asset, says the shares are likely to follow other mining companies from now on. “Today [Thursday] was the first day. As demand was greater than supply, the investors decided to share the offering.” CSN Mineração plans to use the proceeds in expansion projects.

Source: Valor International

https://www.valor.com.br/international/briefs

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Warehouse sector will have multimillion investments

Constructors of high standard warehouses are increasing investments in new projects to meet the demand, heated especially by e-commerce. The Brazilian market may add 1.9 million square meters of new warehouses this year, according to the consultancy JLL. Golgi Condomínios Logísticos plans to invest R$800 million. Goodman Brazil Logistic Partnership (GBLP) estimates disbursements of R$540 million during the year, or 2.7 times the amount of 2019. Log Commercial Properties, which made an investment of just under R$300 million, plans to allocate R$500 million in the business.

Source: Valor International

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EDF targets auctions to expand gas-fired generation

The group Électricité de France (EDF) is betting on the energy auctions scheduled for this year to regain position in the Brazilian market. EDF Norte Fluminense, the thermal and hydroelectric generation arm of the French company in Brazil, will try to negotiate two thermoelectric projects in the bids this year. At the same time, the company aims at acquiring hydroelectric plants in Brazil. Currently, one of the company’s priorities is to renegotiate the contract of Norte Fluminense plant (827 megawatts), in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro.

Source: Valor International

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Former director sees Central Bank raising interest rates in May

The slowdown in the recovery of the Brazilian economic activity, as recent indicators show, point to the beginning of the monetary tightening cycle in May, not in March, says Paulo Vieira da Cunha, former director of International Affairs at the Central Bank (BC) from 2006 to 2008. “Given the opening of the output gap after the December data, the Central Bank would postpone normalization until May. However, it is quite clear that Copom will remove the broad part of the accommodation,” he told Valor, mentioning Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee. In the view of the former director of the Central Bank, the big question mark in Brazil now is how to solve the need to pay any kind of emergency aid and, at the same time, adjust government accounts. If Congress fails to give more confidence regarding the trajectory of the public debt, the Copom may still start raising the Selic policy interest rate in March, he ponders.

Source: Valor International

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After R$20bn in revenues, Coamo plans expansion

The largest agricultural cooperative in Latin America, Coamo, based in the city of Campo Mourão (450 km away from Paraná’s capital Curitiba), saw its results exceed the best expectations in 2020 and plans to expand its investments in 2021. Coamo ended last year with revenues of R$20 billion, 43% more than in 2019. Net profits reached R$1.1 billion, a 40% growth over the previous year.

Source: Valor International

https://www.valor.com.br/international/briefs

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