Brazil's Listings Carnival

Rio Carnival

To get a sense of the strength of Brazil's economy, board an airplane. They're packed—filled with business travelers making day trips, and local and international tourists heading to beaches, mountains and other hotspots. Demand for flights in Brazil has nearly tripled in the past decade, according to Brazilian aviation authorities. Last year alone it increased 16 percent over 2010, according to wire service Associated Press. I know all about demand for plane travel in Brazil, having spent many hours in the air in early January.

Demand for flights is just one indicator of the nation's economy, in my view. Another is its growing companies, more and more of which are coming to the New York Stock Exchange. An interesting article was published on Brasil Economico newspaper on Jan 17, 2012 regarding some of the reasons Brazilian companies benefit from a NYSE listing. A link to the English version of the article is attached.

Brazil is an important market for the NYSE Euronext. We currently list 30 companies from Brazil with a total market capitalization of more than $1 trillion. Approximately $3.0 billion on Brazilian NYSE-listed companies is executed in the US representing about 65% of these companies’ global liquidity (US plus Brazil). This illustrates the very strong appetite from US and global investors, both institutional and retail, to buy Brazilian companies to diversify their portfolios.

Through their NYSE listing, Brazilian companies have gained exposure to the world’s largest pool of capital and liquidity. When we look at Brazilian companies listed in our market, their trading volumes have increased steadily over the past few years. Some examples: CEMIG, Eletrobras, Banco Bradesco and Banco Itau.