Eike the Spartan and How to make $100 billion in 10 years

Following the crisis, the richest people in the world have probably gotten poorer, just like the rest of us. But they are by no means poor. Eike Batista is a Brazilian entrepreneur that made most of his fortune in the mining sector. Batista rose to the top 10 of Forbes magazine’s billionaires list this week for the first time as his fortune soared to $27 billion. In 2009, the magazine ranked him as the 61st richest man in the world. He is now ranked 8th. And the man intends to become the richest by making $100bn in the next 10 years. How? I'm not quite sure. And apologies if the title misled you to believe that I would set out a cunning plan on "how to make you
$100bn richer in the next 10 years."

But such performance by Batista illustrates Brazil's potential in the global arena. It sets a good precedent and works as a strong indicator of the country's growth in the years to come. However, Brazil must continue its investment in infrastructure, energy and education. It must also keep an eye on its interest rates. The upcoming presidential elections will provide the world with a political laboratory to study the resilience of the Brazilian markets, and above all, to test the core policies of the next president.

Once characterised as a sleeping giant, Brazil's horizon is now relatively clear. The global political "axis of power" has flipped. A new world economic order is emerging. What role will the US play in the novus modus operandi? I haven't formed an opinion yet, but Eike seems to have a pretty good answer: "[the US is] now heavily indebted like Brazil was before. [It has] to be a little bit more Spartan. In the last 20 years [the US] has focused too much on banking and finance. The best students went to banks or law firms. Where are the engineers?"

Bleak winds from Greece: A summary of January 2010 (in Economic poetry)

A sleeping giant awakens, tomorrow,

When an old man is desperate to borrow.

A communist clears his throat and speaks,

Of European bleak winds from Greece.

Ouvre-toi Bresil: The Time is Ripe to Enter Brazil

In the wake of the recent financial crisis Brazil has emerged as one of the most promising and economically resilient locations in the world. A number of companies are already entering the Brazilian market, eager to benefit from the plethora of opportunities available in a country that was once characaterized as "the sleeping giant".

So Why Brazil? Why Now?

Economic Growth & Resilience

• Brazil will be the 5th largest world economy by 2050 in terms of GDP.
• The country was able to sustain the global crisis better than most developing and developed countries in the world.
• Exports have doubled in the last four years, and imports have increased in a similar pace.
• Brazil ranks amongst the world’s 6 biggest economies ahead of Spain, Mexico and South Korea.

BRIC

• Part of the leading emerging economies denominated BRIC by Goldman Sachs.
• By 2050, Goldman Sachs predicts that Brazilian GDP will grow at a faster rate than that of China and Russia
• Unlike other BRIC countries, Brazil has a stable democracy, no ethnic or regional conflicts and speaks one language

Company Value Growth

• The Brazilian banking industry has an enviable outlook. No Brazilian bank went bankrupt following the financial crisis.
• Companies listed in BOVESPA Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo – the main stock exchange in Brazil) have more than doubled between 2008-2009.
• The finance sector in Brazil is set to become a key player in the international arena.
• Companies like Vale and Petrobras are growing exponentially

International Investment Status

• The rating agency Standard & Poor’s upgraded Brazil’s investment grading to BBB-
• The 30% increase in FDI in Brazil in 2009 is a reflection of the new confidence of global business in Brazil.
• Foreign companies settled down in Brazil are free to send their profits to their country of origin.

Stable Political Environment

• Brazil is one of the biggest democracies in the world
• It has one language and one faith and does not face ethnic, religious, linguistic conflicts, terrorism or troublesome neighbours
• Brazil has no border disputes
• Brazil does not have ideological polarisation nor extremist political parties.

Tourism

• The 2014 Football World Cup will be held in Brazil
• The 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro
• Construction, transport, tourism and steel manufacturing in particular, are likely to benefit substantially from increased demand for local facilities.

Natural Resources

• One of the worldwide largest producer and exporter of agricultural products.
• The world’s largest producer of iron ore
• Self-sufficient in oil and predicted to become a major player in the Oil & Gas industry
• The worldwide largest producer and exporter of coffee, sugar cane and fruit juices.
• The world’s largest exporter of soy, meat, chicken and leather.
• The world’s largest producer of ethanol

Infrastructure

• 67 airports with annual flow of 110 million people.
• Ports with capacity for over 600 million tons/year
• 29,596 km of railways – the eleventh world railway mesh.
• 1.6 million km of roads – the third world road mesh.
• 100% digital telephone lines in Brazil
• Government to invest US$313 billion in roads, railways and ports by end of 2010.

Growing Retail Market

• 3rd largest cosmetics market4th largest cellular phone market
• 5th largest population, market for books and music
• In the next 15 years, São Paulo, will establish itself as one of the main consumer centres in the world and it will have a middle and high income population bigger than London and Paris.
• The consumption market covers more than 900 million of potential consumers, considering Brazil, Latin America and North America

Innovation and Technology

• A competitive differential within the sectors of aircraft building, oil exploration in depth water and software development.
• The biggest and most diversified science, technology and innovation system of Latin America.
• The growth rate in number of personal computers between 2002 and 2007 increased more than 120%
• Expected to be the 3rd largest market for PCs by end of 2010