Brazil Pros and Cons

24 May 2018

There seems to have been a slowdown in Brazil’s recovery from the deep recession that engulfed it for three years, as political uncertainty continues to undermine business confidence and dampen optimism about the country's prospects. In particular, the results of October's elections are unusually hard to predict, with the popular former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sentenced to imprisonment and therefore probably excluded from the presidential race. Worries about corruption and growing crime levels in several states are the dominant voter concerns.
In spite of this sombre scenario, Brazilians are spending more, inflows of foreign direct investment remain relatively strong, and the International Monetary Fund’s projections for the country’s economic growth in 2018 and 2019 were recently revised upwards. The IMF warns, however, that it will be vital for the new president – whoever it may be – to overhaul the costly system of public sector pensions and introduce other market-friendly reforms.

Speakers:

Richard Lapper - Associate fellow at Chatham House and former Latam editor at the FT. A writer and consultant, specialising in the politics, finance and business of Latin America. He has been a journalist since the late 70s and worked for 25 years with the FT of London. He was Latin America Editor at the newspaper between 1998 and 2008 and subsequently was a principal at FT Confidential (2010-2015), a unit that provides data and analysis to emerging market investors. At the FT, he was also South Africa Bureau chief, Financial News Editor, Capital Markets

 

 

 

Sergio Gullo - Sergio joined B3 in 2011 as Chief Representative EMEA and is responsible for Clients and Business Development in the region. Among his client´s portfolio there are prominent Asset Management Groups, Hedge Funds, Proprietary Trading Groups, Banks, Inter-Dealer Brokers, Brokerage Houses, Pension Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds. Prior to joining B3, he gained over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry with concentration in Corporate & Wholesale Markets and Investment Banking. He graduated in Business Administration and Post-Graduated in Economic Engineering. He is currently the Chairman of the Brazilian Chamber.

 

 

Roberto Aron - a former banker with 25 years of experience, now the founding partner of the consulting firm - BRL Advisory - dedicated to helping clients in financial operations in Brazil. Roberto has an extensive experience with corporate clients all over Europe in matters related to risk management and liquidity. Until 2016 he was the Head of Markets, Products and Sales of Itau wholesale bank in the UK. He worked at Santander Brazil until 2008, when he moved to Spain to lead the business of Derivatives and FX for corporate clients in Continental Europe, where he stayed until 2011 before joining Itau UK. Roberto holds an MBA from University of Michigan. Recently concluded the Senior Executive Program at the London Business School.

 

 

 

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