The chief executive officers (CEO) of five big Brazilian companies from different sectors showed concerns about Brazil’s future economic growth, during a panel discussion at the IBM Forum this week in São Paulo. While emphasizing past progress, they also agreed that the economic development rate might slow down.
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“Brazil’s growth rate has fallen over the last quarter, and I do not believe there will be an accelerated increase for this period. My bet is that Brazil will grow less [than in previous years], reaching a GPD of 1.5%,” said Edson de Godoy Bueno, president and founder of Amil, the biggest Latin American healthcare company and the biggest private medical company in Brazil.
The CEOs acknowledged past achievements, despite the global financial crisis, but some of them said the government could have done more to boost Brazil’s economy. “The euro zone concerns me, but I believe Brazil can have a positive 2013,” said Horácio Lafer Piva, chair of Klabin, Brazil’s biggest paper producer, exporter and recycler.
Bueno agreed, adding that he is confident about coming years. “From 2003 to 2011, without even doing much, Brazil’s per capita income jumped from U.S.$3,000 to U.S.$12,000. Brazil is well-positioned on the global scene,” he said.
However, the engine that boosted the Brazilian economy may be weakening. “What pulled the economy up—an enormous number of new customers, more accessible credit and the rise in commodity prices—has been depleted,” pointed out Pedro Wongtschowski, president of Ultrapar, a Brazilian conglomerate with operations in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, the U.S. and Venezuela with segments in fuel distribution, chemical production and integrated logistic solutions for special cargo. “When private and public investments resume, we will know if country is on the right track,” he said.
Taking a balanced view, Thomaz Cabral de Menezes, president of the insurance group SulAmérica, said that people should not be as optimistic as in the past but not too pessimistic either.
