The event, named Waipa Investment Conference – Foreign Direct Investment: New Scenario and Challenges, is being promoted in Brazil and the Americas for the first time, said the Waipa president, Alessandro Teixeira. Teixeira also presides the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil).
"Investment agencies the world over are working to lighten the effects of the crisis for the next year, with a positive perspective for retaking of the level of investment in 2010," said Teixeira.
He considers that 2008 was an important year, which should reach a level of global investment higher than US$ 1.8 trillion, "which is record in recent global economic history."
Agencies are concerned with proceeding with this positive foreign direct investment (FDI) flow. "This is the essence of our talks in Rio de Janeiro."
In 2007, the FDI flow into Brazil broke a historic record of US$ 35 billion. "And we have already broken this record in 2008," said Teixeira. He estimates that this year the FDI flow should exceed US$ 37 billion, and may even reach US$ 39 billion. "And Brazil may reach a 30% share of the total investment flow into Latin America," he added.
Brazil, with 1.9%, is already in the third position in the "ranking" of emerging nations in terms of attraction of foreign direct investment, losing only to China, which receives 4.5% of all investment in the world, and Russia (3.3%).
Teixeira believes that this scenario should remain next year and expand in 2009, when Brazil should reach 2% of the total invested in the world.
ABr