Brazil will attract US$58 billion of investments in 2022, says Economy Minister

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said that Brazil has R$828 billion (US$159 billion) of investments contracted for the coming years and will attract another R$300 billion still in this government of Jair Bolsonaro.

“We have R$828 billion already contracted in investments. We are reaching almost 20% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of investment, coming from down there. And, before the end of this government, we will have another R$300 billion of investments in all sectors,” said Guedes on Thursday, February 10.

The minister cited the telecommunications, natural gas, oil, sanitation, and cabotage sectors among those that can benefit from these investments. According to him, this will be possible “because the structural reforms are following their course.

Guedes said that the Brazilian economy would grow in 2022 since it has these contracted investments and the “mass consumption force” of Auxílio Brasil -a program that replaced Bolsa Família and pays at least R$400 to the most vulnerable families.

“Don’t believe the predictions that Brazil will not grow. […] Brazil will grow, and they will be wrong again,” said Guedes, about economists who project a stabilization or a fall of the Brazilian economy in 2022.

According to the Focus Bulletin of the Central Bank, the median of market projections points to a growth of 0.3% of Brazil’s GDP in 2022. The expectation has been reduced in recent weeks because of the rise in interest rates and inflation.

FIES

Guedes talked about the prospect of economic growth during the ceremony to announce the new criteria for discounting and renegotiation of debts of Fies (Student Financing Fund), held on Thursday, February 10, at the Planalto Palace. The minister said that the fiscal cost of debt renegotiation is “negligible, very low.”

The Minister of Economy also said that it wasn’t fair to let young people start their professional lives in debt, owing college. In addition, he said that education is the “great factor that ensures greater productivity of Brazilian workers, greater competitiveness of companies and the wealth of the country in the future.”