São Paulo – The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) is negotiating the supplying of financing to other countries for purchases of Brazilian machinery and capital goods. According to information given to ANBA by the bank’s press office, the BNDES is in touch with foreign banks in order to "try and enable financing to importers who wish to buy Brazilian goods via the BNDES Exim Automático line." Exim Automático (Automatic Export-Import) is a line of credit for foreign banks that aims to fund the purchase of Brazilian goods, thus fostering exports.
Last week, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that the BNDES would offer financing to industries in Latin America and Africa. According to information supplied by the bank, the line is already available in Argentina. In mid-August, the BNDES signed a contract with the Itaú bank, which is going to offer the credit in the South American country by means of its branch there. Last year, Argentina was the country that purchased the most capital goods from Brazil, at US$ 13.4 billion. According to information supplied by the financial institution, the BNDES is negotiating with other banks in Latin American countries Chile, Peru, Colombia and Panama.
There is nothing concrete yet with regard to African countries, according to the Brazilian bank. Some Arab countries in the African continent, such as Algeria, Sudan and Egypt, are importers of Brazilian machinery. The Algerians, for instance, spent US$ 21.8 million on Brazilian capital goods last year, Egypt imported the equivalent of US$ 12.3 million and Sudan, US$ 7.9 million, according to the Brazilian Machinery Manufacturers Association (Abimaq).
When he spoke on the BNDES’ financing line, president Lula claimed that it should help increase Brazilian machinery exports to Africa and Latin America. According to statements made by Lula last week, exports to the two regions have helped Brazil exit the crisis before other nations. Last year, Brazil obtained US$ 13.4 billion in revenues from exports of capital goods and machinery.
Exim Automático is post-shipment-oriented. In order to operate in the field, foreign banks usually sign an "umbrella" contract with the BNDES. The foreign financial institution is then free to foster operations with its local clients, the importers, and assumes the credit’s risk with the BNDES. The disbursements are made to the exporters, in Brazil, after the shipping, on cash and in Brazilian currency. The advantage, according to the BNDES, is that the Brazilian exporter’s client can finance its purchases with competitive pricing and deadlines.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
