Brazil development bank plans to invest almost a trillion dollars in next three years

Brazil’s Social and Economic Development Bank (BNDES) has plans to invest 1.858 trillion Reais (approx 906bn dollars) between 2013 and 2016, according to the statement by its President Mr Luciano Coutinho.

 In 2012, total investments amounted to approximately 156 billion Reais, up 12% compared to 2011, and a total of 2.394 trillion Reais was invested between 2008 and 2012.

The figures do not include the housing sector.

Manufacturing sector received the highest investment in 2012, totaling 847 billion Reais, and it will be the largest recipient of loans in the next three years too.

Infrastructure absorbed 359 billion Reais in 2012, with a further 498 billion Reais expected to be invested between now and 2016. BNDES supplied the service sector with 159 billion Reais last year and future investments are expected in the order of 219 billion Reais.

The remaining sectors together received 1.858 billion Reais and should receive a little over another billion in the next three years.

The volume of funds released to micro, small and medium enterprises was the largest in the bank's history, totaling 50.1 billion Reais.

Besides lending to companies, BNDES also takes equity participation in some cases.

The financial support of BNDES has helped many Brazilian companies, both public and private, to go global and be leaders in their areas of operations.

Praj gets a 20 million dollar contract to build ethanol plant in Colombia

This is the seventh project of Praj Industries, Pune in Colombia. Riopaila Castilal is the client this time. The project is to build a 400,000 litre a day ethanol plant at La Paila in Valle de Cauca region of Colombia.

Praj has recently commissioned a 150,000 liters per day corn-to-ethanol plant for Vicentin SAIC in the Santa Fe province of Argentina.

Praj, a leader in ethanol technology, has also done projects in Central America.

Zamin plans to produce 27 million tons of iron ore in Brasil

Zamin proposes to buy the Amapá mine ( current production 4.8 m tons) , 70% owned by Anglo American and 30% by Cliffs Natural Resources. The deal is said to be around $300 million. 

Zamin already has ongoing iron ore projects which include

- Susa mine, in Rio Grande do Norte

- Zamapa mine in the Amapá state) 

- mine  at Bahia

Pramod Agarwal, the company’s founder, based in London, is betting on iron-ore production of 27 million tons by 2017 in Brasil

Zamin has a iron ore project in Uruguay, which is undergoing the process of governmental regulatory evaluation for clearance. 

In 2010 Zamin had sold a mine in Brasil at an attractive price.

Zamin plans to export  60% to 70% of the total to China and the rest to the Middle East.