© Reuters. Brazil on course to be the largest destination for EU foreign investment in emerging countries
Brasilia, Mar 17 (EFE).- Brazil, with 263,000 million euros, is the largest destination for foreign direct investment from the European Union (EU) among Latin American countries and is poised to displace Russia as the main destination of European resources towards emerging countries, according to a study released this Friday.
The war in Ukraine, which scared away foreign direct investment from Europe to Russia, and the possibilities that open up with the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union will make Brazil a preferred destination among emerging countries, according to the Bilateral Investment Map Brazil-European Union.
The study, prepared jointly by the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Apex-Brasil) and the EU office in Brazil, was presented at the meeting held by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission (EC), Margrethe Vestager, had this Friday in Brasilia with the Brazilian Vice President, Geraldo Alckmin.
According to the document, Russia, with 279,200 million euros of European investment in productive projects, is still the main destination for EU investment among the emerging countries, but Brazil, with 263,000 million dollars, threatens it in second place.
Brazil currently accounts for 41.5% of all European foreign direct investment in Latin America, but only 3.1% of that destined for the entire world.
“The tendency is for Brazil to assume leadership as a result of the conflict in Eastern Europe,” the study states.
The future entry into force of the free trade agreement between Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the European Union is also cited as a tool for Brazil to surpass Russia.
“This agreement will provide us with a structure for joint action in relation to the challenges faced by both regions: greening our value chains, facing climate change, strengthening scientific and educational cooperation, and promoting digital development,” the study states.
EU INVESTMENT IN BRAZIL IS 49.5% OF THE TOTAL
The report also indicates that the European Union, as a whole, is the main source of foreign direct investment in Brazil, with about 49.5% of all that foreigners have applied to productive projects in the country.
Between 2016 and 2020 alone, European companies made 385 announcements of investments in Brazil, for a value of 20,000 million dollars.
The Bilateral Map, which identifies the most promising business opportunities between Europe and Brazil, highlights the growing interest of European capital in the Brazilian potential in the generation of renewable energy, mainly wind and green hydrogen.
Of the 133 infrastructure projects in Brazil that had European capital between 2000 and 2020, 50 were wind farms and 24 solar plants.
“Brazil, one of the largest owners of natural resources on the planet, is positioned as a protagonist in international environmental negotiations, and this agenda has a direct impact not only on environmental management but also on the economy and development,” the study states. .
The report highlights the need for the European Union to seek alternative sources of energy, not only because of the supply crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, but also because of its commitment to reduce its emissions of polluting gases by 55% by 2030.
Such a goal, according to the document, obliges the bloc to invest some 350,000 million euros per year until 2030.
According to the study, Brazil is also the main source of foreign direct investment from Latin American countries in Europe, with accumulated 75.2 billion dollars, the equivalent of 50% of everything invested by Latin Americans in the “old continent”. “.
