Brazil's BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) announced last Thursday
(July 9) that it cleared 43 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 21.5 billion)
in financing in the first half of the year, growth of 11% compared with
the same period of last year.
According to a press release issued by the bank, 17.3 billion reais (US$ 8.6 billion) went to industrial projects, growth of 8% using the same basis for comparison. The most benefited segments were the extraction, pulp and paper, and metallurgic industries.
The infrastructure sector, in turn, received 16.4 billion reais (US$ 8.2 billion), growth of 9% over the first half of 2008. The electric power and transport sectors were the ones that received the most credit.
Approvals in the first six months of 2009, i.e., financings that were previously approved but not necessarily cleared, totalled 77.2 billion reais (US$ 38.7 billion), growth of 50% over the same period of last year.
From that total, the infrastructure field answers to 23.7 billion reais (US$ 11.8 billion), growth of 45%, of which 10.9 billion reais (US$ 5.4 billion) went to the electric power sector alone. Industry, in turn, answers to 55% of approvals by the bank, or 42.7 billion reais (US$ 21.4 billion), growth of 59% over the first half of 2008.
Consultations made with the BNDES for new investment totalled 111.7 billion reais (US$ 56 billion) from January to June, growth of 40% in comparison with the first six months of last year.
According to the bank, all of the results were record highs for the period. The performance, according to the press release, "attests to the continuation of investment in the Brazilian economy, above all in sectors turned to the domestic market."
Anba
