Organized by Apex-Brasil, the IDB and Brazilian Government, the online event brings together government authorities and CEOs from important multinationals.
Investments in Brazil just got a privileged stage, where the improvement of the business environment is the focus. It is the Brasil Investment Forum – BIF, which was opened by the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, on Monday (31). The fourth edition of the largest foreign investment in Latin America took place for the first time on an online platform. Given the context generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the president’s speech and the attending authorities could be safely accessed online by thousands of registered participants from all over the world. The 2021 edition had more than 5,000 registered participants from approximately 100 countries. These are unprecedented numbers.
In his opening speech, President Bolsonaro highlighted Brazil’s competitive advantages, emphasizing that it is an attractive country for direct investments. “Brazilian economy has already resumed its growth and job creation. The participation of so many executives from relevant global companies in this event reflects the interest we share in seeing Brazil produce more and better.” Among the characteristics of the country, which is a major global player, are the solid investment environment, the huge domestic market, a vocation for innovation, large infrastructure projects, and the energy and agricultural potential. In addition, the region’s leading economy is still considered a gateway to Latin America.
Bolsonaro emphasized that the current government is committed to reforms and structural projects to reduce inefficiency in Brazil: “It is about improving norms and policies to enhance the business environment. To this end, we have designed tax solutions that ensure macroeconomic stability in a context of budgetary challenge.” Also according to the president, the federal government plans to reach, “at the same time, greater openness and economic freedom, more competition and greater stimulus to private initiative, while reserving to the State its proper role in the different public policies essential for development”.
The opening of BIF also had the presence of the president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), Augusto Pestana, who stressed the importance of the event for presenting opportunities to global investors. “Brazil is a continental country, with business opportunities in all sectors of its diversified economy, in all its regions. It is an increasingly open economy, integrated to international markets – an economy that counts on a highly entrepreneurial and resilient private sector. (…) In short, the ideal destination, with its superlative numbers, for capitals in search of promising socially and environmentally sustainable projects. In addition to representatives from Brazilian government and civil society, the forum brings together some of the top global leaders from the private sector.
The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Maurício Claver-Carone, also attended the first day of the international event. Claver-Carone welcomed the participants of the forum, shedding light on the relevance of an environment focused on attracting investment at a time when the world is still experiencing the effects of the downturn caused by a global pandemic. “I invite you, leaders, to invest in the Brazilian economy. We have, in the next two years, a lot to do. We have strong, robust partnerships, with sustainable and exponential growth. I believe that we will come out of this crisis much stronger than we went in, and that we will benefit from it.
Claver-Carone also stressed that he believes in the country’s economic power. “Brazil is one of the most promising and most active markets in the global economy, and the IDB is part of this. I am very proud to be here and to present Brazil as one of the countries with the greatest investment potential in Latin America. We will continue with our developments and business partnerships”.
The Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Carlos Alberto França, pointed the country as a relevant articulator between the players in global economy. The forum becomes, in this regard, an event with the potential to mirror this articulation, indicating sectors of interest to investors. “The BIF is a unique occasion for frank and fluid dialogue between the government and investors about the future of Brazilian economy and the expectations, on both sides, about important themes that affect the country’s economic growth and competitiveness”. According to the minister, the “Brazilian government works for the opening of our economy, for the improvement of the business environment and for the transformation of Brazil into one of the most attractive countries in the world to invest”.
About the government’s policies on market opening, França reinforced that, with concessions and privatizations underway, “the State will be able to focus on the
public policies that Brazilian society much needs in the post-pandemic period, allowing private capital, domestic and foreign, to act as the driving force for growth in the areas of infrastructure, logistics and energy. “Our main goal is a robust and definitive integration of Brazil into global value-added chains,” he concluded.
The Brazil Investment Forum (BIF) is organized by Apex-Brasil, the IDB and the Federal Government, through the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy. The event continued through Tuesday (Jun 1st). The Ministers of the Civil House, Luiz Eduardo Ramos; of Economy, Paulo Guedes; of Health, Marcelo Queiroga; of Infrastructure, Tarcísio Freitas; of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque; and of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, as well as dozens of authorities from the public and private sectors are confirmed in the program.
Presence of strategic sectors
The fourth edition of the international forum highlights investment opportunities in strategic sectors of the economy, such as agribusiness, energy, infrastructure, innovation, and technology. In total, 60 investment projects were presented during the event, with an estimated portfolio of US$ 72.5 billion. The investments announced at the forum could reach US$ 50 billion for 2021 and 2022, an amount that has the potential to generate 22 thousand jobs. The announcement was made by the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro.
To make this propitious scenario possible, BIF offers in-depth discussions in two keynote sessions, four parallel sessions, and in eight panels, which include themes related to the global economy, Industry 4.0, foreign direct investment, infrastructure, start-ups, and the regulatory and reform agenda, among others. In addition to the opportunities disclosed by government representatives and CEOs of relevant multinationals, BIF’s participants counted on presentation rooms for public and private projects in Brazil that have high potential for investment. The idea was to provide networking between those responsible for the initiatives and potential investors.
The event schedule is largely focused on identifying opportunities, in addition to promoting partnerships and projecting future scenarios for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Brazil. In the last edition, held in 2019, 1,035 meetings were held, among more than 1,600 participants – most of them (67%) from the private sector. The third edition brought together representatives from 58 countries and 20 foreign ambassadors, as well as 37 sectors of the economy.
A Milestone in user experience
The Brazil Investment Forum 2021 brings in the unprecedented experience of a completely online experience. Complying with security protocols in face of a health crisis scenario, the forum organizers opted for this format, which enables virtual participation by attendants. The format allows to reach even more investors and entrepreneurs, expanding the event’s capacity to attract business.
“Through its own digital platform, this edition of the forum seeks to combine the security and practicality of virtual communication with the possibility of maintaining a broad and effective network of contacts and dialogues that has so marked this event in previous editions,” said Carlos França, Minister of Foreign Affairs. According to Apex-Brasil, virtual access to this year’s event, and especially to exclusive content in real time, is focused on innovation and user experience. Thus, there is a platform where participants from various countries interact with each other and access, in different languages, all the available content. To follow the news about BIF, access www.brasilinvestmentforum.com.
