Tag Archives: International Cooperation

Roadmap for discussion for the United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development (UNCSD)

The United Nations Organization plan

Agenda 21

Global Compact

ICC Anti-corruption policy and business practices:The Anti-Corruption Commission encourages self-regulation by enterprises in confronting issues and provides business input into international initiatives to fight corruption.

Business Objectives for the UN convention against corruption: Monitoring, technical Assistance, and asset recovery.

ICC Rules of conduct and recommendations: Enterprises should establish reasonable controls and procedures; follow-up and promote the rules.

Natural Resouces

The U.S., Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and island states across the Pacific and Caribbean are among those advancing calls for more marine environments to be placed under legal protection, providing sanctuary for threatened species, habitats and ecosystems.

  • Public Health
  • Water

Corporate Sustainability

  • Energy and climate
  • Water and ecosystems
  • Agriculture and food
  • Social development
  • Urbanization and cities
  • Economics and Finance of sustainable development

Governmental subsidies to foreign companies in Belgium looking for access to European markets

On March 5th 2012, in Curitiba Brazil, Thierry Muschang, a Luxembourg PwC Director, presented the beneficial aspects of the project for attracting foreign companies to the Belgium / Louxembourg region, constructed in partnership with IDELUX, a government agency that was represented at the meeting by Joel Marinozzi, the Business Development Manager from the Economic Development Division, while in a mission in Brazil. The meeting was organized by the local Center for International Business (CIN) at the Federation of Industries of the State of Paraná (FIEP) and had the support of the Consulate General of Belgium in São Paulo, Brazil.

Located at the heart of Europe, the region of Belgium/Luxembourg means a strategic gateway to the European markets, very competitive in the international logistics point of view. This advantage is enhanced by the local government subsidies offered to foreign companies and specially start-ups who wish to install a regional office and/or a regional manufacturing distribution warehouse.

South African trade mission to Brazil

The South African delegation on a trade mission to Brazil was receptioned in the city of Curitiba this past week by the local trade association (ACP) in partnership with the Federation of Industries in the State of Paraná (FIEP). The mission received the support of the consulate general of South Africa in São Paulo and the Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, and was composed by delegates from the wine industry, energy, civil engineering, architecture and tourism sectors.

Many of the delegates, specialy from the construction sector, were involved in the preparation for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, and had the goal of identifying business opportunities in Brazil in order to transfer know how for the preparation of the upcoming World Cup 2014. Juliana Michelon Alvarenga from Aldeota Global, accompained by Wagner Giovani Silva, a technology manager from SOCIESC, a regional educational institution for technology development, met with a couple of the companies during the business rounds.

During the first meeting with Mr Fumani Dlomu, the director for Avuxeni Construction CC, a company from Highveld that provides electrical engineering services, the subject addressed was the solar energy market in SouthAfrica. According to Mr Dlomu, the sector is expanding and continuous growth is foreseen specially for low income housing programs. The equipment is today imported from China and specially Korea, being the later the equipments with better efficiency than chinese solar technology. He also mentioned that it is very promising to promote transfer of technology to South Africa. Aldeota Global also presented information on the Ex-Im Bank financing alternatives for importing US solar energy systems into Africa.

The last meeting was with The Western Cape Investment and Trade Promotion Agency of South Africa (WESGRO). The head of international trade and development, Mrs Seanne Kube, mentioned her concerns about how tough the Brazilian market is when in their attempts to conquer market share with the South African products. She also spoke about the well developed medicine technology capacity of the country and how the first open heart transplant was sucessfully executed in South Africa.

Aldeota Global also presented a pac to the members of the delegation with a document containing the highlights from the study recently published by The World Bank in partnership with IPEA, the Institute of Applied Economic Research, entitled Bridging the Atlantic, Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa: South-south partnership for growth. The highlights were on the investment and economic complementarities between Brazil and African countries.

IDB’s clean energy ranking in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Inter American Development Bank (IDB) through its Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN), in partnership with Bloomberg New Energy Finance have recently published the executive summary of the Climatescope, the first annual ranking on Clean Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report highlights market data and new opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors on clean energy in the region.

The final report is scheduled to be presented during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, that is taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in upcoming June this year. The study profiles 26 countries in the region and evaluates their ability to attract capital for low-carbon energy sources while building a greener economy. Nonetheless, our intent is to be very much present during the launching event, though our diplomatic mission to Rio+20. Bellow a few highlights on the executive summary. Bellow is how the Climatescope scores each country in the region:

Enabling framework: The existing policies, power market structures and levels of clean energy capacity.

Clean energy investment and climate financing: Funds deployed in support of clean energy, plus the availability and cost of local capital such as microfinance.

Low-carbon business and clean energy value: The availability of local manufacturing and supply chains for clean energy goods, services and financing.

Greenhouse gas management activities: The extent of actions taken and projects developed under the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

Key findings:

  • At least 80 clean energy policies are in place or in the late stage in Latin America and the Caribbean (energy market mechanisms or tax-based incentives). Overall, the region is significantly behind in the clean energy policy realm.
  • Brazil, Nicaragua and Panama, respectively, received the highest Climatescope scores thanks to a combination of supportive local policies, clean energy investment and other factors.
  • The region’s relatively high electricity prices offer opportunity for clean energy project developers.
  • Microfinance has emerged as a significant lever to help expand clean energy access.
  • The region’s largest economies are the leaders in terms of active domestic players involved in clean energy value chains, ranging from financial institutions, to equipment markets, to project developers and installers. Brazil is the only country with a complete value chain for at least two clean energy technologies (biofuels and biomass, and waste). Mexico is the on the road of becoming the first country with a complete value chain for wind and solar.
  • Most CDM projects in Latin America and the Caribbean are located in Brazil and Mexico. A presence of multinational corporations in these nations is most likely the reason.

Brazilian energy policy: Compared with its peers, Brazil has the most diverse set of clean energy policies with at least one incentive in place for nearly every one of the categories examined. To date, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES)’s offers of below market rates and extremely favorable conditions has effectively monopolized lending to the country’s low-carbon economy.

Economic rise of Brazil and segmentation of investment opportunities

Brazil has lived a unique economic situation in the past decades, after an economic boom at the end of the sixties and beginning of seventies (known as the economic miracle), when the country passed from an agricultural based economy to an industrial based economy. Such transformation and growth came with high inflation rates, and after the first and second oil crisis the country over went great period of stagnation at high inflation rates until the nineties, when many economic reforms brought inflation control and market opening.

Around 2000, Brazil started to grow more vigorously, maintaining its inflation rate under control. This scenario allowed the country to receive considerably economic indicators, such as the reduction of poverty of its population from 35.2% to 21.4%. Millions of people rose to middle class, creating with this a rise in consumption of goods as the primary factor of stimulation to the country’s growth, minimizing the impact of financial crisis from the developed world in its economy and, according to data published by the World Bank, managing to achieve economic growth at the rate of 7.49% in 2010.

Along with the economic growth and rise of the population to middle class, Brazil diversified its trading partners, establishing significant commercial relations in the Middle East and Asia, lessening its dependence on the US and European markets, and limiting the impacts of international crisis in its own economy.

Another relevant factor of today’s growing interest from international players in the Brazilian market is the upcoming international events to be hosted in the country such as the 2014 Worlds Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, attracting considerate investments, improvement in its infrastructure, stimulating economic dynamics and opening doors to international tourism. Such scenario brought many opportunities for entrepreneurs in many sectors. We have listed below the most significant ones:

Sectors connected to domestic consumption
Because of growing purchasing power and easier access to credit, Brazil shows higher consumption indicators and so increasing opportunities in retail.

Infrastructure, logistics and telecommunications
With growth of exports and of its economy, new opportunities are found in the concession of roadways, public transportation, and distribution logistics such as with current expansion and consolidation of national railroad systems in response to the need of transporting growing internal production from rural areas to cities and ports. Also, because of upcoming international events such as 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, and also growing digital inclusion of lower income population, investment opportunities for expansion and implementation of necessary telecommunications infrastructure for growing access to broadband networks.

Renewable energy technology
Brazil is known for its majorly clean energy matrix due to favorable natural conditions for hydroelectric generation. However, in order to expand and diversify its energy matrix and technical capacity, recent public policies and governmental funding programs have stimulated market development for other renewable energy technology such as thermal and wind for the past decades and currently extending its policies to stimulate solar and ocean technology development.

Heavy machinery for manufacturing and civil construction
With easier access to credit and governmental incentives for industrial production and value-added exports, manufacturing units are increasingly undergoing infrastructural and technology improvements such as incrementing production growth through modernization of manufacturing facilities and expansion of production capacity. Much of current demand for heavy industrial machinery is being met with imports, because of scarce in-country machinery production.

Agribusiness
As world population grows especially in Asian countries such as China, incapable of meeting its internal food demand, and also considering the Brazilian historical capacity for agricultural production and commodities exporting, business opportunities in the food supply chain are found today with less technical barriers like the ones seen in European and North American markets. Also, ethanol production is attracting increasing investments because of current growth in the use of biofuels in Brazil and in the developed world, as it lowers the dependency of such countries in the oil industry.