Brasília – Foreign investment in shares in Brazil brought net income of US$ 844 million in March, the first positive result since May 2008, when funds coming in totalled US$ 1.518 billion. The figures were supplied by the head of the Economic Department of the Central Bank, Altamir Lopes, and showed continued entry into the country of these funds.
This month, up to Wednesday (22), foreign investment in shares in the country reached US$ 650 million. In the case of investment in fixed income, in March, the net total was US$ 708 million and, this month, should reach US$ 237 million. "They are flows that also contribute to the financing of the balance of payments," said Lopes.
The foreign direct investment this month, up to yesterday, reached US$ 2 billion. In March, the value was US$ 1.444 billion. The balance for entry into and exit of dollars from the country is also positive, at US$ 557 million this month, up to the 17th, according to the Central Bank.
The preliminary figures for March show that the trade flow result (exports, imports and foreign trade financing) is US$ 1.003 billion positive. The flow of financial operations (investment in papers, fund and dividend transfer abroad and foreign direct investment, among other operations) is US$ 446 million negative.
In the accumulated result for the year, the exchange flow is US$ 2.417 billion negative, against a positive result of US$ 13.065 billion registered in the same period in 2008. From January to April 17th, the trade flow is US$ 7.510 billion positive, and the financial sector result was US$ 9.927 billion negative.
*Translated by Mark Ament
