Brazil and China Launch $1 Billion Investment Fund
Brazil’s national development bank, BNDES, is partnering with the Export-Import Bank of China too establish a $1 billion investment fund aimed at bolstering projects within Brazil. the fund is slated to launch in early 2025.
According to a BNDES release issued late Thursday,the Chinese lender will contribute $600 million to the fund,with BNDES committing the remaining $400 million. BNDES planning director Nelson Barbosa stated, “This fund will be structured to finance capital market investments in Brazil.”
The fund’s investment strategy will focus on both debt securities and equity, with a particular emphasis on key sectors including energy transition, infrastructure development, and artificial intelligence.Barbosa highlighted the meaning of the agreement, noting it will be the first bilateral fund created between a Brazilian and a Chinese financial institution.
This initiative coincides with a considerable increase in chinese foreign direct investment in Brazil, wich saw a 113% surge to $4.2 billion in 2024, as reported by the Brazil-China business Council. Bilateral trade between the two nations reached $188 billion in the previous year, according to Brazilian government figures.
The fund’s creation also arrives as BNDES is actively supporting Brazilian exporters facing challenges due to recent increases in US import tariffs. During a seminar last week, Barbosa emphasized the need for diversification, stating, “In today’s world where the West carries more risks, especially in the North… it is indeed critically important to diversify.”
Echoing this sentiment, china’s ambassador to Brazil, Zhu Qingqiao, at the same event, asserted, “The international community, especially the Global South, cannot remain idle nor allow historical setbacks in the face of the hegemony and intimidation from a power.”
