Upon waking up at 8:15, when the group was leaving at 8:30,
I ate my breakfast at a pace not seen before at any point in my life; nothing
short of inhalation. On the treck to
BOVESPA, I was charged with the quite enjoyable task of choosing who was to
blog on day three; undoubtedly setting the stage for quite an exciting
adventure.
Apparently due to a strike on part of Brazilian subway
workers, traffic was almost unbearable.
Amidst the sound of horns from motorcycles and scooters quickly passing
through traffic, with such grace only seen in Broadway theatre, traffic was at
an almost standstill; with only cars and brake lights being seen for what appeared
to be mile after mile.
Before I dive into what occurred at BOVESPA, it should be
made known what occurred the night before.
Although Dr. Samra had contacted Marina (a representative at the
exchange) months prior to coming to Brazil; he received an email late Monday
night stating that unless we arrived an hour earlier than originally planned,
we would not be able to have the tour.
This, on top of the fact that the subway strike caused a total of 210
kilometers worth of traffic in Sao Paolo, made our activities for the day seem
impossible; however, Day two somehow still proved to be as eventful as planned.
Once we arrived at BOVESPA, our tour guide Eduardo somehow
finagled our group into the exchange; even though our group was more than an
hour and a half late. The first part of
the tour process was to watch a film on both the history, as well as the
services offered within the exchange.
Asides from being simply an equity index, BOVESPA had merged with
BM&F in 2005; a market for derivatives such as forwards, futures, options,
and swaps. BOVESPA is currently the
largest stock market within Latin America, and is the fourth largest equity
index in the world in terms asset value; also using proceeds from asset trading
on the part of the exchange to invest in projects that are Eco-friendly, and ensure
the longevity of the plant. Another note
that should be mentioned: our tour guide Flavio Pacheco da Silveira was the
best English speaking Brazilian we’ve met in Brazil thus far, and if you ever
need investment advice; contact him.
Immediately following our tour of BOVESPA, we headed to Banespa,
a bank that has been referred to as Empire State Building of Brazil. The view atop the pinnacle of the tower was
absolutely breathtaking; with the majority of Sao Paolo within eyesight. Much to Kevin’s discontent, he neglected to
bring his camera; which I’m sure he’ll regret for a while to come. Sorry Kevin.
Next was the United States consulate, located next to the
financial district of Sao Paolo. The
presentation made by Thomas Hansen, the representative in charge of commerce
relations between the United States and Brazil, contained a great deal of
interesting information. The power point
contained a great deal of information in regards to growth of business within
Brazil; stating that in terms of GDP, Brazil is now fifth in the world,
recently surpassing the United Kingdom.
Essentially, the purpose of the commerce department of the consulate is to
help facilitate both foreign direct investment by other companies hoping to
invest in Brazil, as well as helping Brazilian companies invest in foreign companies;
an extremely important role in development of economic growth within the
country. This meeting definitely
contributed to both my understanding of how foreign direct investment truly
works, as well as allowing me to see the role that the United States plays
within assisting the Brazilian economy gain a foothold as an economic
powerhouse.
Finally, upon return to the hotel, it was immediately
decided that dinner should be obtained, as lunch had been skipped (thanks for
letting us starve Dr. Samra!). After an
attempt to find the restaurant our tour guide had recommended (which failed due
to the neighborhood being a bit on the “scary after dark” side) we decided to
try the mall, only to discover that we did not want to eat at a food court
while in Brazil; so we settled in at the hotel restaurant. Dinner was fantastic, and we all finally
strayed from the French Fry diet we had somehow grown accustomed to. After about an hour and a half quite
entertaining banter, we all decided to call it quits; and thus here I am,
writing this blog to my immense amount of followers.
Stay classy United States,
Michael Farrell
One interesting thing is that no one (it seemed) spoke English, my American-self, thinks everyone in the world should speak English. It was interesting because at the mall, the music playing over the speakers was American music, but no one in the mall seemed to speak any bit of English. We also had to have two waiters at dinner at Outback, which we came later to find out if was the third most successful in the world.
ReplyDeleteSao Paulo was an interesting city that provides a wealth of knowledge on the business economy of the Brazilian country and how the country is becoming a part of the global economy. The city showed the vast diversity in classes and showed there is still a lot to be accomplished before they become a large player. Sao Paulo is another city in the business world.
Anne M.