Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (9142)	10/23/1998 5:52:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Spain's BBV Aims For Profit in Brazil in 1 Year Reuters, Friday, October 23, 1998 at 17:42 SAO PAULO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya SA (MADRID:BBV) plans to make its newly acquired Brazilian bank profitable in one year, the bank's top Brazilian executive said Friday. "Before one year is over, I hope to reach the break-even point," said Vicente Benedito, chairman of BBV's new bank, Banco Excel Economico, the country's tenth largest. "I hope to have good news next year." BBV formally took over Excel on September 1. At the same time, the Brazilian bank published a loss in the first half of 1998 of 1.11 billion reais, reflecting heavy provisioning and large growth in non-performing loans. Benedito, speaking for the first time to the media in Brazil, said the bank plans to be the third largest in Brazil and increase its branches to 976 by the end of 2000 from 220 now. Excel will be renamed Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Brasil. But he also noted that BBV's number one priority is to make the bank healthier before it embarks on any major investment or expansion plans. BBV bought the troubled Excel for a symbolic 1 real and injected $850 million to recapitalize the bank. It has also brought in an additional $700 million for eventual capital increases and investments. Benedito ruled out BBV's participation in the privatizations of Brazil's state-run banks, including the jewel Banespa, or Banco do Estado de Sao Paulo, which should be sold in the first half of 1999. "Our worry is to relaunch the bank's activities, not to buy other institutions," Benedito said. BBV's Brazilian activities account for 5.0 percent of the Spanish group's total assets and 5.6 percent of lending. Excel has a nonperforming loan to total loan ratio of 5.5 percent to BBV's 1.5 percent in Spain. ($1=1.19 reais) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (9142)	10/23/1998 6:05:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Brazil shares end bullish week with profit-taking Reuters, Friday, October 23, 1998 at 17:42 SAO PAULO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Brazilian share prices ended the week on a downbeat note Friday, as investors took profits after four straight days of gains, traders said. "It was nothing more than plain profit-taking, helped also by the correction in the Dow Jones," said a trader at Banco Patente, referring the U.S. blue-chip stocks. The Sao Paulo Stock Exchange's Bovespa Index (INDEX:$BVSP.X) retreated 4.4 percent to 7603 points on turnover of 446 million reais ($375 million), thinner than in past days . Even with Friday's loss, the Bovespa showed a net gain of 9 percent for the best weekly performance since Sept. 1. Investors, including foreigners, bought shares all week amid hopes that the government next week would reveal its fiscal austerity plan and international lenders would follow with a financial package for Latin America's biggest economy. "I really think that what was moving the market was that foreigners were coming back," the trader said. Telebras receipts (SAO:RCTB40), the market's benchmark, eased 4.4 percent to 93.50 reais, while Petrobras (SAO:PETR4) preferred, one of the biggest gainers of the week, dropped 6.5 percent to 157 reais.

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (9142)	10/23/1998 6:11:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 22640

Telecom Italia May Have To Sell Part Of Brazilian Phone Co Dow Jones Newswires SAO PAULO -- Telecom Italia SpA (TI) would have to reduce its majority interest in Brazil's Tele Centro Sul Participacoes SA (E.TCS) if it acquires a stake in another fixed-line phone company, a spokesman for Brazil's telecommunications regulatory group Anatel said Friday. Telecom Italia earlier this week confirmed its interest in acquiring the 25% of Tele Norte Leste SA, known as Telemar, which is currently held by Brazil's National Development Bank, or BNDES (P.NDB). The spokesman said that no date has been set for the auction of the government stake. "The shares belong to the BNDES so it's up to them to decide on a date," the spokesman said. "But the sale must conform to telecommunications laws." "In the case of Telecom Italia, they wouldn't be able to have a controlling stake in two fixed-line companies," he added.

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (9142)	10/23/1998 6:12:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

IMF's Fischer, Brazil's Malan Mtg -2: No Numbers Discussed Dow Jones Newswires RIO DE JANEIRO -- Eight hours of meetings between International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer and Brazilian Finance Minister Pedro Malan ended late Friday with no new details on a possible financial package to bolster the fragile South American giant. "Discussions centered on reaching an accord between Brazil and the IMF," said Finance Ministry chief of cabinet Joao Batista Magalhaes after the meeting. "The Brazilian government presented the IMF details of an economic plan," he added, noting that the much-awaited fiscal measures should be unveiled in the "next few days." IMF spokesman Francisco Baker said "no numbers were discussed during the meeting." "These talks are a continuation of the discussions that began earlier this month with the IMF and World Bank," Baker said. Aside from Malan, Central Bank president Gustavo Franco, monetary policy director Francisco Lopes and Finance Ministry economic policy secretary Amaury Bier also participated in Friday's meeting. Tuesday, the IMF and the Finance Ministry released a joint communique saying that an international aid package would be released promptly and that the two sides had reached an agreement on the budgetary goals set forth in the government's multiyear austerity plan. Thursday in Buenos Aires, Fischer said that the IMF is willing to put up $15 billion of the estimated $30 billion international aid package being sought by Brazil. Fischer is scheduled to return to Washington later Friday. -By Jamie McGeever; (5521) 580-4442; jmcgeever@ap.org