DJ Brazil May 1-14 Foreign Invest In Stks $796M Vs $527M Apr
Dow Jones Newswires
BRASILIA -- Global stock pickers are increasing their investments in
Brazil according to data released by the central bank Monday.
During May 1-14, local stock markets attracted $796 million in foreign
money, the central bank's head of the economic department Altamir Lopes
said during a press confederence on Brazil's foreign-sector accounts in
April.
The partial May figure compares to a $527 million net foreign investment
in stocks in April, $308 million in March, $149 million in February, and
a net divestment of $554 million in January.
Investor confidence in Brazil started to deteriorate in December, when
the government's fiscal austerity plan suffered a first setback in
Congress. That, along with other negative news on the fiscal front, led
Brazil to float its currency, the real, in mid-January, giving investors
the jitters.
Now that the real (BRR) has stabilized at around BRR1.70/dollar after an
overshoot in February, and Brazil's fiscal efforts bore fruit in the
first quarter, investor confidence returned.
Brazil's adjustment plan, designed to save 30 billion reals (BRR)
($1=BRR1.662) in 1999, forms the basis of a $41.5 billion aid package
assembled by international lenders in November last year.
-By Adriana Arai; 55-61 321-1224 or 965-6883;
aarai@ap.org |
