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

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (8292)	9/18/1998 2:32:00 PM
From: Petrus	Respond to of 22640

Steve, Thanks for the info, & please keep on posting. Petrus

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (8292)	9/18/1998 2:45:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

U.S. supports Brazilian economic measures Reuters, Friday, September 18, 1998 at 13:52 WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said on Friday the United States supported measures taken by Brazil to combat financial turmoil rocking Latin America. "I will make clear U.S. support for the steps Brazil has taken and must continue to take to respond to the turmoil," Albright said before talks with Brazilian Foreign Minister Luiz Felipe Lampreia. Brazil has raised interest rates and announced plans to cut spending in an effort to support its currency, the real, and boost confidence in its economy. Albright, speaking at a ceremony in which Brazil acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, said the financial turmoil in emerging markets would head her discussions with Lampreia. "Brazil's economy is the largest in the region and its financial stability matters profoundly to both the region and the United States," Albright said. She said Washington hoped that over time international investors would differentiate between those markets where fundamental macroeconomic reforms had been lacking "and those such as Brazil with a strong record of economic reform." Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (8292)	9/18/1998 2:47:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

FOCUS-Toyota rolls into bumpy Brazil Reuters, Friday, September 18, 1998 at 14:07 By Noriko Yamaguchi SAO PAULO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Undaunted by an economic crisis that is driving troops of foreign investors out of Brazil's financial markets, the world's third biggest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp. (TOKYO:7203), on Friday cut the ribbon on its first car plant in the country. Toyota rolled into the region's largest car market with plans to crank out its flagship Corolla models at a time when Brazil's stocks and currency markets are thrashed by the worst crisis in recent years and the economy seems headed for a serious recession. But Toyota's worldwide chairman Shoichiro Toyoda kept his cool. "President (Fernando Henrique) Cardoso is doing his best to overcome the crisis and we believe better times will come. We also want to contribute to Cardoso's efforts by showing we have confidence in the market's future," Toyoda told reporters at the inauguration ceremony. Japan's top automaker expects to produce 15,000 cars per year at the start and ramp up output to 20,000 units or full capacity by late 1999 or 2000. Its plans, though not too ambitious for Brazil -- the world's fifth largest auto market -- come at a time when the industry is trying to throw off a 10-month sales slump that began with last year's Asian crisis. Toyota do Brasil president Kazo Uji predicted the Brazilian market would shrink by 15 percent this year, after carmakers sold 1.94 million vehicles last year. Toyota, which so far only produces pickup trucks in Brazil, has already invested $150 million in the plant, located in Indaiatuba, in the interior of Sao Paulo state. Toyota's move to install a car plant in Brazil lagged behind that of its main international rivals like Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) and General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM) by nearly four decades and the Japanese company was not seen winning a market share anywhere close to that of its competitors. GM do Brasil sold 331,432 cars and Ford Brasil 218,717 units last year, while European veterans Volkswagen AG (FSE:VOWG) and Fiat SpA (MILAN:FIA) sold nearly 500,000 cars each. The four heavyweights have long dominated Brazil's automobile market, shielded by the government's controversial car trade policy known as the "auto regime." Under the plan, carmakers already operating in Brazil are protected from imports for years by a bulky tariff, which stands at 49 percent this year. Toyota was one of automakers encouraged to start local production to avoid the tariff and take advantage of a growing market, which was also enjoying the lowest inflation rate in 50 years. Its Brazil plant opened three months after Chrysler Corp. (NYSE:C) inaugurated its Dodge Dakota truck factory in the southern state of Parana and 11 months after Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TOKYO:7267) opened a Civic plant in the interior of Sao Paulo. The newcomers were also expected to be joined by France's Renault SA (SBF:RENA) by the end of the year, while Peugeot SA (SBF:PEUP) and Audi AG (FSE:NSUG) have also announced plans to start production in Brazil in the coming years. "There's definitely a squeeze in the market... Even without the crisis, there will be a total 17 automakers operating in Brazil in the next decade," said Fabio Silveira, an industry analyst at MCM consultants. Nevertheless, Toyota could not miss out in a region which has offered one of the world's big underexploited markets, along with Russia, China and India. "Traditionally, we were not strong in some of these markets. But as Toyota is aiming to grab 10 percent of the world's automotive market; we need to get a reasonable share in the South American market too," Toyoda said. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service