Brazilian infrastructure projects may require as much as 160 billion reais ($85 billion) in financing over the next decade as the country expands transportation and boosts energy production, state-run lender Banco do Brasil SA said.
Infrastructure projects are luring investors as the country prepares for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, Banco do Brasil’s Ricardo Flores, the bank’s vice president for credit, said in an interview in Sao Paulo. Offshore oilfield discoveries and a government program to expand housing will also help drive infrastructure spending, he said.
“The country has a very positive agenda for the next 10 years,” Flores said. “In this context, several infrastructure projects are included.”
Brasilia-based Banco do Brasil estimates World Cup-related projects will require 99 billion reais in financing. That includes 4.6 billion reais for stadiums, 86 billion reais for subways, 8 billion reais for railroads and 400 million reais for the hospitality sector. Brazilian Cabinet Chief Dilma Rousseff said Jan. 13 the country will spend 19.5 billion reais to improve infrastructure and prepare for the World Cup.
The transportation, energy and construction industries had the fastest growth in Banco do Brasil’s investment portfolio as of November, accounting for 28 percent of the total, Flores said.
“The proportion should not alter significantly” this year, he said.
The Olympics will help sustain Brazil’s growth by bringing $51.1 billion into the economy through 2027 and adding 120,000 jobs annually in the next seven years, according to a Sao Paulo business school study prepared for the Ministry of Sports.
Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, will report fourth-quarter results Feb. 25.
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