Get in the Top Five with Brazil Property Investment

Brazil’s President is so confident of the strength of his country’s economy that he has predicted that between 2016 and 2020 Brazil will become the fifth economy in the world. This assurance comes as yet another boost for Brazil property investment prospects.

Interviewed by the Financial Times (FT) at the FT Investing in Brazil Summit held in London, President Lula da Silva oozes confidence in Brazil’s brilliant future. When asked what sort of country Brazil will be in 15 years time, Lula unhesitatingly replies that he expects Brazil to be up among the five largest economies between 2016 and 2020 at the latest. He bases this affirmation on Brazil’s strong economy, its technological and educational development and its firm democracy.

Currently the world’s tenth largest economy, Brazil would seemingly have a long way to go in just over half a decade, but when Lula runs through the long list of recent achievements and future plans it all seems more than possible.

A combination of massive infrastructure investment, credit availability and tax reduction on key goods to stimulate consumer spending have helped, in the words of Lula, Brazil “get into the crisis last and be the first out”. Lula predicts at least 5% growth for next year, a forecast recently boosted even higher by Merrill Lynch who expect 5.3%.

Lula was in London to spread the word about Brazil’s investment opportunities. “We have lots of projects – petroleum, construction, railways, high-speed trains,” he said while claiming that no other country has the fiscal soundness of Brazil. Among construction opportunities is property – through investment in Brazilian real estate for the luxury second home market or the first home sector.

Brazil is already a favourite for investment. While many countries have been struggling to attract foreign investment, Brazil is acting as a magnet to those with big money to spend. The latest investment, announced while Lula was in London, is US$20 billion from BG Group, the UK’s third largest natural gas producer. BG Group plans to invest this amount in Brazil over the next decade. Already present in Brazil, BG Group announced “outstanding results” in its third quarter Brazilian operations.

Looking beyond current investment projects, Lula cites the World Cup 2014 and the 2016 Olympics, premium sporting events that will help Brazil move up the world economic ranking. He also reminds us that by 2016 the pre-salt exploration will have finished to allow the exploitation of Brazil’s giant oil reserves in Tupi. The discovery of these reserves was the biggest in the Americas since the Cantarell fields were found in Mexico in 1976. The Tupi fields are thought to hold between 5 and 8 billion barrels of oil and gas, which translate into massive potential wealth for Brazil.

Lula’s enthusiasm for his country’s progress (present and future) is contagious and at the end of the interview he invites us all to enjoy “this very glorious moment, almost magical in Brazilian history”. If his assurance that Brazil will join the world’s economic elite is correct, Brazil has plenty more glorious and magical moments to come. So, for those thinking of Brazil investment property, it’s just a case of getting in before everyone else does.

For more information on overseas property investment and to find out about Obelisk's latest projects, contact Obelisk on 0034 952 820 319.

Obelisk also produces its Absolute Guide Series which contains the most recent investment information on 30 of the world’s top emerging markets. They can be downloaded free of charge at www.absoluteguideseries.com.

Contact us via email: info@obeliskinternational.com or visit our website: www.obeliskinvestmentproperty.com.

Strong Fundamentals for Brazil Investment

Brazil was the first country to emerge strongly from recession this year. With most other nations still struggling to find their way out of the tunnel, it’s more than obvious that we can all learn some lessons from Brazil. But what is Brazil’s secret?
This was the question The Economist asked the Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil in an interview in its weekly column on financial markets. Introducing Brazil as a country that “has had a very good crisis”, Greg Ip, the editor of US Economics, asked how Brazil has managed to ride out this worldwide recession so well.

The Governor, Henrique de Campos Meirelles, cited a trio of economic fundamentals – austerity in the fiscal budget, surplus in the balance of payments and controlled inflation. This three-prong economic policy together with tight control on exchange rates has meant that Brazil has, in the words of the interviewer, “come through exceptionally well”.

There is plenty of proof of this exceptional performance. Brazil has already made up all the jobs it lost during the last quarter of 2008 – in the interview, Ip compares this to the US where employment is still declining. Consumer spending is up for 23rd month in a row. The Brazil stock exchange is going from strength to strength. And foreign interest in investment in Brazil is booming.

De Campos Meirelles explained that a key to Brazil’s success has been to remove dependence on international markets. Brazil has a huge domestic market, keen to buy and take out credit, and this boom in national consumption is one of the factors behind Brazil’s brilliant emergence from recession.

According to De Campos Meirelles, the ingredients behind Brazil’s resurge of growth are also a trio – job creation, increase in income and ready availability of credit. With growth next year predicted at a minimum of 4.5% (Merrill Lynch are forecasting 5.3%), Brazil certainly seems to have found the right recipe.

Its “remarkable macro-economics” are just one of the attractions of Brazil, now one of the brightest opportunities for property investment overseas. Like the Brazilian economy, interest in Brazil real estate is soaring. Figures from Moneycorp show that enquiries about Brazil property rose by a massive 57% during August this year, proof that interest in property investment in Brazil is more than booming.

Last year was a good one for buying property in Brazil as illustrated by the over ₤22 million Moneycorp clients in the UK transferred to Brazil for property-related transactions. But this year promises to be even better. A buoyant economy and rising consumer spending are two essential players behind any real estate boom. Add to this Brazil’s huge potential for tourism on the back of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and you have another trio. This one is perfect for Brazil property investment.

For more information on overseas property investment and to find out about Obelisk's latest projects, contact Obelisk on 0034 952 820 319.

Obelisk also produces its Absolute Guide Series which contains the most recent investment information on 30 of the world’s top emerging markets. They can be downloaded free of charge at www.absoluteguideseries.com.

Contact us via email: info@obeliskinternational.com or visit our website: www.obeliskinvestmentproperty.com.