The IT (Information Technology) sector in Brazil, in 2009, grew “more than could be imagined,” said the president of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication Companies (Brasscom), Antonio Gil.
Preliminary figures disclosed by the organization show that the sector has grown more than the economy, showing expansion of 6% to 8%.
“Revenues were also robust,” said Gil. He estimated that the IT sector alone, excluding telecommunications, probably had revenues of US$ 65 billion, “which probably makes Brazil the eighth main IT market in the world”. Including telecommunications, sector revenues should reach US$ 140 billion, “representing between 7% and 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”.
With regard to exports, Brasscom hopes for operations to have reached US$ 3 billion, growth over the US$ 2.2 billion exported in the previous year. Antonio Gil pointed out, however, that the volume “is still small as against the US$ 50 billion in exports [of software and IT services] by India”.
Antonio Gil informed that the sector tendency is for dislocation towards the interior of the country, specially the Northeast. Sites like Recife, Salvador, Campina Grande and Fortaleza, as well as Curitiba and the interior of São Paulo, are attractive.
“The Brazilian competence is fully diffused around the country. But, in the interior, there is great interest in attracting companies in the sector,” he said.
Several city halls have been seeking Brasscom interested in hosting IT companies. With this purpose in mind, they offer benefits, like lower services rendered tax (ISS) and property tax (IPTU), “sometimes even placing facilities at the disposal of companies interested in establishing themselves there. So, you can have great development outside large centers like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which are very expensive,” added Gil.
