Promising credit and returns, the government launches a global offensive.
The "road show" begins Friday in New York, with Minister Guido Mantega and the president of BNDES, Luciano Coutinho; at the same time, Minister Gleisi Hoffmann will speak to investors in London; presentations may extend to Tokyo and Singapore; the intention is to attract those interested in building railways, airports, ports, and roads; guaranteed credit and a return of up to 15% on investment are the main attractions; if Mantega returns empty-handed or with weak promises, President Dilma will not be happy at all.
247 – The government has decided to take on the world, in a good way. Starting simultaneously this Friday in New York and London, ministers appointed by President Dilma Rousseff are going into the field with the mission of attracting investors for infrastructure projects that the government alone cannot afford to finance. The main attraction is the offer of financing from the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), at favorable interest rates, and promised rates of return on investment of up to 15% – and no longer 5%, as was in the initial plan.
The international presentation will be led by Finance Minister Guido Mantega. His performance in attracting productive capital, it is being commented in Brasília, will score points with President Dilma. If he returns empty-handed or with weak promises, Mantega, who has already been advised to speak less about inflation and interest rates, will once again be in the spotlight. Alongside him in New York will be the president of the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank), Luciano Coutinho. The audience for the presentation is guaranteed. More than 300 potential investors, businesspeople, lawyers, and consultants with addresses in the American city have registered for the first stage of the "road show".
"Even though it's a city somewhat fatigued from events, the demand was much greater than our expectations," said the director of the Department of Trade and Investment Promotion at Itamaraty, Rubens Gama. There is still no information on confirmed reservations for the presentation that Minister Gleise Hoffmann will give in London. What is certain is that there will be a lot of talk about money, both in the English capital and on Manhattan Island, as well as possibly in Tokyo and Singapore, in future trips by the Brazilian delegation that are yet to be scheduled.
"We want to attract a greater presence of foreign companies in the concession auctions," says Bernardo Figueiredo, president of the Planning and Logistics Company. He points out that R$ 133 billion will be at stake in highway and railway works, R$ 54.2 billion in ports, and R$ 11.4 billion just for works on the Galeão airport in Rio and the Confins airport in Minas Gerais.