Saudi Arabia’s money lands in Brazil

There is potential, according to investment bankers, for the region to leave behind a small direct investment position until recently – it did not even appeared in Central Bank’s ranking in 2021, according to the latest available survey. Now, considering only what has already been committed, there is about R$50 billion ($10 billion), of which R$14 billion has already been invested this year in meatpacker BRF and mining company Vale alone.

It was not for nothing that the first official event of the delegation was held at Fiesp, a building where the industry GDP is gathered, on Paulista Avenue, the country’s former financial corridor, and where the first talks to attract multi-billion investments from Saudi Arabia were built. Important ministers and allies of the Lula administration were present, such as Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Aloizio Mercadante (president of the Brazilian Development Bank, or BNDES), Márcio França (Ports and Airports Ministry), and São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, in an effort to attract dollars from the region.