São Paulo – On April 14th, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce promotes the lecture Outlooks for Brazilian Economy, with economist José Mendonça de Barros. The event is scheduled for 7 PM and is open to members and non-members of the Chamber.
“He will talk about commodities, the dilemmas of the Brazilian economy and the perspectives of the foreign trade with real’s depreciation. He will map out scenarios”, said Michel Alaby, CEO of the Arab Chamber.
“I am showing that the situation early this year, both politically and economically speaking, is much worse than last year’s. This political and economic deterioration severely affects the expectations of producers and consumers alike, and should lead to a decline in the GDP,” the economist told ANBA in an interview over the telephone.
According to him, the banking system will “hold back on credit” to businesses, and these will need to adapt to this new scenario “quickly.”
Regarding the exchange rate, Mendonça de Barros claims the depreciation of Brazil’s currency the real “has come to stay.” “And this is a great new breath of fresh air when it comes to exports,” he stressed. “Enterprises will spare no efforts to increase exports,” he said.
The economist noted that the United States economy rebound has caused the US dollar to appreciate against all of the world’s currencies, the euro included.
He believes the real’s loss of value against the dollar “paves the way for external adjustments and creates a route for enterprises to grow, and that includes the Arab Chamber member companies,” he said.
Mendonça de Barros is PhD in Economy at the Universidade de São Paulo and post-doctorate at the Economic Growth Center of Yale University in the US.
He was secretary of economy policy of the Ministry of Finance from 1995 to 1998, during the first term of former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and is a columnist of the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo and commentator at Rádio Estadão radio station.
According to Alaby, the economist will also talk about other issues such as the fiscal adjustment, Brazil’s investment grade rating, inflation, interest rates and exchange rate. In the lecture, Mendonça de Barros will offer his view on the economic challenges facing the country and the international economic scenario.
Service
Lecture Outlooks of Brazilian Economy
With: José Mendonça de Barros
Date: April 14th, at 7 PM
Where: Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce
Avenida Paulista, 326, 11th floor – Bela Vista
The event is free for members of the Arab Chamber. For non-members, the cost for registration is R$ 100 (US$ 30.84). For those interested, registration can be made at http://migre.me/p6lXo
For more information about the event, contact the Arab Chamber by phone 55 11 3147-4066 or email members@ccab.org.br
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
