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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MGV who wrote (7054)	8/23/1998 10:14:00 PM
From: chirodoc	Respond to of 22640

wow, thanks for the p/e, peg etc. that makes me even more certain this is a great buy the peg is especially compelling thanks curtis

To: MGV who wrote (7054)	8/24/1998 4:31:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

In Brazil, Poised To Reap the Benefits of A Blossoming Economy washingtonpost.com By Steven Ginsburg Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 24, 1998; Page F20 While Asia tries to right itself, the challenges in Brazil are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Last month, Brazil's government-run telecommunications network was privatized, signaling the start of a massive shift in the Brazilian economy. Other utilities, as well as oil companies, will soon follow. In addition, government barriers to international business and trade are steadily being lifted. The result is a burgeoning economy that companies from all over the world are eager to enter. Watson, on the other hand, has already been there for two years. Brazil is the quintessential example of Watson's strategy of setting up shop in anticipation of opportunity. The company opened its Sao Paulo office in November 1996. Thus, as multinationals move in, Watson already is familiar with local business issues, pension plans and the nature of the Brazilian workplace. For example, a large American client, which Watson would not identify because of a privacy agreement, is considering purchasing a Brazilian company. The American firm has signed on Watson to help assess the Brazilian company's pension plan to see if there are enough long-term assets in the program or if it must be reworked upon takeover. "Our main challenges are helping local companies face globalization," said Giovani di Gesu, managing consultant of the Sao Paulo office, "and helping international clients with mergers and acquisitions in Brazil." In another case, after a European firm bought a local company, di Gesu's team helped integrate all of the local human resource operations with the foreign conglomerate, by setting up employee performance measurements, for example, and assessing pension plans. But integrating these businesses into Brazil's new economy brings along its own set of headaches. "Interest rates in Brazil are 10 percent a month, compared to 8 percent a year in the U.S.," di Gesu said. "That means if you need to grow here and invest a lot of money, it can be challenging." Also, pressure from shareholders for executives to perform quickly is much higher than in the states, di Gesu said. Another problem Brazil faces is a shortage of qualified workers. Di Gesu hopes to double his employee base from 12 to 24 this year as business swells, if he can find people, that is. "We face the same pains any company faces in finding and attracting the talent we need," di Gesu said. "We compete for the same talent as our clients and other consulting firms." Watson Wyatt Sao Paulo, Brazil Year opened: 1996 Number of employees: 12 Managing consultant: Giovani di Gesu Revenue: $1.2 million c Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company