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To: MichaelW who wrote (4725)	7/1/1999 6:57:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 11568

INTERVIEW-Brazil's Embratel sees revenue up 20 pct Thursday July 1, 5:36 pm Eastern Time By Denise Luna SAO PAULO, July 1 (Reuters) - Brazil's long-distance phone carrier Embratel aims to boost revenue by 20 percent with its entry on Saturday into the market for handling calls between parties in the same state. ''Last year, revenues were 4 billion reais. This year we're going to see an increase of about 20 percent in revenues with the new market,'' Embratel's financial director, Luigi Giavina Bianchi, told Reuters in an interview. In the second half of the year, Embratel will compete for the first time with regional fixed-line phone companies to offer domestic long-distance service within states. ''With the new regulations we will have access to double the market that we had with national telephony,'' Giavina said. He said third-quarter results should reflect the sudden increase in market. To be sure, beginning Saturday, Embratel will also face competition in areas that it has exclusively controlled. Embratel, which was bought by MCI WorldCom Inc. (Nasdaq:WCOM - news) during last July's privatization of the federal Telebras system, is currently the only Brazilian company offering foreign long-distance service and domestic long-distance service between different states. Starting on Saturday, fixed-line phone companies for the first time will be able to handle long-distance calls between different states within their regions of operation. Still, Embratel was confident it would be a net winner when Brazilians are given a choice in the domestic long-distance business. ''We already have competition in the information business and we have 50 percent of the market. Nothing is going to keep us from having 50 percent of the telephony market,'' Giavina said. Embratel plans to invest about 1.6 billion reais in advertising in 1999 to ensure it secures a good chunk of the market. Brazilians will suddenly be able to decide on a call-by-call basis which company they want to use for domestic long-distance service, and advertising and discounts are expected to weigh heavily when they make their decisions. Telesp Participacoes, which was bought by Telefonica de Espana, is offering a short-term discount of up to 50 percent on calls, while Tele Centro Sul published a letter promising the lowest connection tariffs. Tele Norte Leste has also offered discounts. Embratel and MCI WorldCom also plan to integrate their operations for corporate clients in Brazil, Giavina said.