Brasil Business X/2015

**************************************************
1. Why Brazil is the hottest opportunity for online retailers right now
2. Brazil Doubles Its Solar PV Target To 7 GW By 2024
3. Real worries: Why is Brazil's currency now so weak?

I. Job Opportunities
General Manager (m/f), São Paulo Area – Brasil
***************************************************


1. Why Brazil is the hottest opportunity for online retailers right now

This year, 36.1 million of Brazil’s 200 million population will purchase products online. Whilst this is a low percentage by European standards, it still means that it has more online shoppers than Benelux and Nordics combined.

Famous for its world class footballers and six foot tall supermodels, Brazil can also boast its place as the largest e-commerce market in Latin America, and it’s anticipated it will be quite some time before it relinquishes the top spot.

The country represents more than half of the market for the continent with total sales expected to reach 37 billion USD in 2015. This makes Brazil amongst the largest e-commerce markets in the world, with eMarketer ranking it as the number ten worldwide. Brazil is not only the biggest market in Latin America for macroeconomic reasons such as population and economy, but also because it has one of the most mature e-commerce markets in the region.

Mapping out a strategy: Mobile penetration is high, with an average of more than one phone per capita. From the Copacabana beach to the Amazon basin, over half (53.7%) of Brazilians are now accessing the internet and by 2017, it is estimated that almost all of these internet users will access the internet with a mobile device. Therefore, it is important for merchants to keep mobile payments in mind to fully capitalise on the future potential in the market.

43.7% of Brazil’s population is aged between 25 and 54, with 85% residing in urban areas, whether it is in the emerging modern apartments in the Leblon region or the famous Favelas on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Read the complete Article under
www.information-age.com/it-management/strategy-and-innovation/123460272/why-brazil-hottest-opportunity-online-retailers-right-now
Source: InformationAge

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Brazil Doubles Its Solar PV Target To 7 GW By 2024

In December 2014, the Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy announced a goal to deploy 3.5 GW of solar PV by 2023. Now, the Ministry has moved forward to almost double the previous “relatively conservative” target and will now be chasing a capacity of 7 GW by 2024 (Plano Decenal de Expansão de Energia – PDE 2024).

If achieved, the 7 GW would be enough to cover up to 3.3% of Brazil’s electricity demand in 2024. The decision was taken in light of the successful solar auctions held in August this year. The country’s first solar PV auction held in 2014 was similarly well received.

In August this year, 834 MW of solar projects went under the hammer, and awarded under 20-year power purchase agreements at an average tariff of BRL 301.79/MWh (~$0.084/kWh). Enel Green Power gained the largest share by bagging 553 MW of solar projects. Other winners included SunEdison, Canadian Solar, Conergy, and Sun Premier.

Last year, Brazil announced its solar plans with its first solar auction after releasing contracts totalling 1048 MW at an average solar tariff of $0.089/kWh. The country is also looking to establish sizeable domestic PV manufacturing capacity. The revised targets are seen as a step in this direction. Apart from utility-scale plants, there are ongoing efforts to promote distributed solar installations by way of providing tax exemptions and removing bureaucratic hurdles.

As part of its commitment to national electricity generation and transmission plans, the Brazilian government will contract roughly 2 to 3 GW of new solar energy projects between the years 2015 and 2018, according to recent reports.

Read the complete article under
https://cleantechnica.com/2015/09/29/brazil-doubles-solar-pv-target-7-gw-2024/
Source: Clean Technica

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Real worries: Why is Brazil's currency now so weak?

Tourists who came to Brazil for last year's World Cup are probably lamenting the fact that the tournament wasn't held in 2015 instead. Since the beginning of the year, Brazil's real has been one of the fastest-falling currencies among major economies.

A tourist arriving in Rio de Janeiro with $6,600 (£4,300) in January would have been able to book a suite for a week in the city's luxurious Copacabana Palace. Now the same amount of US dollars can stretch to ten nights.

Brazil is not alone in its currency woes. The devaluation is a worldwide trend among many currencies due to different factors; from China's slowdown, the fall in commodity prices and the US's imminent decision to raise its interest rates. When that happens, some investors are likely to leave riskier emerging countries for safer gains in the US.

But Brazil also has severe domestic problems that are taking its toll on the currency. The year started with a big challenge for Brazil's newly re-elected President Dilma Rousseff, as everyone expected the economy to contract.

Brazil's government had been overspending in the previous three years and markets were wary that soon the country could be in a situation where it would be hard to service its debt. Despite problems, there was some degree of confidence that Ms Rousseff's market-oriented Finance Minister Joaquim Levy could reign in spending, as he was given strong support from the president. Sao Paulo's Bovespa index grew slowly but steadily until May.

But the second half of the year has seen Brazil's crisis turn sharply to worse. In July, Mr Levy acknowledged that despite his best efforts, the government would not be able to meet this year's spending target - needed to lower the country's debt burden. Under pressure, the government took one of its most controversial decisions a month later. It sent congress a budget proposal that predicted the government would run a deficit next year.

Read the complete report under
www.bbc.com/news/business-34455980
Source: BBC Business

I. Job Opportunities
General Manager (m/f), Brasil (São Paulo Area)

Our client is a German technology leader in separation technology, where their products have a reputation for extremely high performance and reliability, and handle key functions in many industries like for example biofuels, beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, mineral oils and other. The company is looking to recruit an experienced General Manager with strong operational background who will be responsible for managing the Brazilian entity by providing a strong presence and structured growth in the local market. This is a challenging and exciting opportunity to work in an international business group and to develop strategies and policies to achieve company´s future goals.

More details under www.boavista-executive.com/bv1228.pdf

BoaVista Executive Consultants is a consultancy specialized in top business services like

- Executive Search
- M & A (TucanAdvisory Partners)
www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-ma-transactions-brazil-fail-five-questions-avoid-hans-j-zeese
- Brasil Business Consulting

Fur further informations please also visit our website www.boavista-executive.com or contact us directly under info@boavista-executive.com , Tel.: +49 89 4135 3323