São Paulo – A poll conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Economics (Ibre) at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in Q1 this year shows industrialists’ investment intentions have slowed down. When queried about whether they plan on investing in production, 27% of respondents said they will invest more in the next 12 months than they did in the last 12, and 31% said they will invest less.
According to Ibre-FGV, this is the first time the rate of those envisioning less investment exceeds those who see more investment – by a difference of four percentage points. In Q4 last year, the rates were 30% (for those envisioning higher investment) and 23% (for those envisioning less), i.e. positive perceptions outweighed negative ones by seven percentage points.
The poll also lists the factors that weighed on investment decisions. Expectations have deteriorated in five out of six areas: domestic macroeconomic environment, credit conditions, domestic demand, external economic scenario, and exchange rate. Perception has improved only regarding external demand.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
