Latest news with #SimoneTebet
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil, China discuss railway from Peruvian port to Brazil territory
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil is in talks with China to build a railway connecting the Chinese-built mega Chancay port in Peru to Brazilian regions, Planning Minister Simone Tebet said on Friday. "They are very interested in helping Brazil, in crisscrossing the country with railways," Tebet told local outlet Carta Capital in an interview. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the inauguration of the deepwater port in November. The $1.3 billion Chancay project is Beijing's largest investment in South America and part of its push to expand trade and influence across the continent. Tebet said her team met just over a month ago with a Chinese group representing the country's state-owned railway company to discuss a potential route linking the port to Brazil, based on the view that Chancay lies on the shortest path to China, cutting maritime trade distance by at least 10,000 kilometers (6,210 miles). Initially, the Chinese side had considered a route through the Amazon region, but the Brazilian government firmly rejected the idea due to the presence of the rainforest and indigenous peoples, Tebet said. "They ended up understanding, after a full analysis, and the idea now is to chart a southern route," she said, noting that the railway would pass through the states of Acre and Tocantins, eventually reaching Bahia and connecting to the West-East Integration Railway (FIOL). The FIOL railway, which remains under construction, will stretch about 1,527 kilometers from Figueiropolis in Tocantins to the Atlantic port of Ilheus in Bahia. Tebet acknowledged that the project would take time to materialize but said it would be transformative for economic development in Brazil's poorer interior regions. "You could be talking about five years, maybe eight, to see a project like this completed," she added.
Reuters
09-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil, China discuss railway from Peruvian port to Brazil territory
BRASILIA, May 9 (Reuters) - Brazil is in talks with China to build a railway connecting the Chinese-built mega Chancay port in Peru to Brazilian regions, Planning Minister Simone Tebet said on Friday. "They are very interested in helping Brazil, in crisscrossing the country with railways," Tebet told local outlet Carta Capital in an interview. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the inauguration of the deepwater port in November. The $1.3 billion Chancay project is Beijing's largest investment in South America and part of its push to expand trade and influence across the continent. Tebet said her team met just over a month ago with a Chinese group representing the country's state-owned railway company to discuss a potential route linking the port to Brazil, based on the view that Chancay lies on the shortest path to China, cutting maritime trade distance by at least 10,000 kilometers (6,210 miles). Initially, the Chinese side had considered a route through the Amazon region, but the Brazilian government firmly rejected the idea due to the presence of the rainforest and indigenous peoples, Tebet said. "They ended up understanding, after a full analysis, and the idea now is to chart a southern route," she said, noting that the railway would pass through the states of Acre and Tocantins, eventually reaching Bahia and connecting to the West-East Integration Railway (FIOL). The FIOL railway, which remains under construction, will stretch about 1,527 kilometers from Figueiropolis in Tocantins to the Atlantic port of Ilheus in Bahia. Tebet acknowledged that the project would take time to materialize but said it would be transformative for economic development in Brazil's poorer interior regions. "You could be talking about five years, maybe eight, to see a project like this completed," she added.
Reuters
25-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil planning minister sees room for rate cuts in second half of year
BRASILIA, March 25 (Reuters) - Brazil Planning Minister Simone Tebet said on Tuesday that she believes that conditions should be in place for the central bank to deliver interest-rate cuts in the second half of the year, even if the move is small. "Depending on foreign policy, which we do not control, I have the impression that as early as the second half of this year we may start to see a decline, even if minimal, in interest rates in Brazil," she said, stressing that domestic policy was "under control, with public accounts in order." The forecast contrasts with the outlook of private economists polled weekly by the central bank, who see the Selic rate peaking at 15% this year, with easing only beginning at the first policy meeting next year. Tebet also said in an interview with a government radio station that Brazil's economic growth should exceed government forecasts, though it is unlikely to reach 3% expansion this year. The government's latest projection sees Latin America's largest economy rising 2.3% this year, slowing from 3.4% growth in 2024. Brazil's central bank has reiterated that an economic slowdown is necessary to bring inflation to its official 3% target. Since beginning its tightening cycle in September, the central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate by 375 basis points to 14.25%, signaling another hike in May, albeit smaller than the increase of 100 basis points applied last week. Policymakers said in the minutes of its latest policy decision released on Tuesday that heightened uncertainty prevented them from providing guidance beyond the next meeting. Tebet said she sees no inflationary impact from recent measures announced by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to boost consumption, including a broader income-tax exemption to cover the middle class. According to the minister, the move is not surprising as it fulfills a presidential campaign promise.
Reuters
12-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil seeks to reallocate nearly $6.9 bln in 2025 budget
BRASILIA, March 12 (Reuters) - Brazil's government has asked Congress to approve a nearly 40 billion reais ($6.9 billion) budget reallocation, boosting spending on pensions while cutting funds for the popular Bolsa Familia cash transfer program. In a letter to Congress' budget committee, Planning Minister Simone Tebet said the changes reflect shifting priorities and new needs. The government added 39.6 billion reais in spending while making equivalent cuts elsewhere. Congress typically approves the annual budget in the preceding year, but this year's budget bill has yet to receive lawmakers' approval. While cutting 7.7 billion reais from Bolsa Familia, the government proposed an 8.3 billion reais increase in pension benefits. Among other changes, it also allocated an additional 3 billion reais to a cooking gas subsidy for low-income families after facing criticism last year for initially planning to fund the program through offshore oil revenues channeled via state lender Caixa Economica Federal, bypassing the primary budget. But the government did not add extra funds to financially reward low-income high school students under a program aimed at keeping them at school, known as Pe de Meia, which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been promoting as a flagship initiative following a sharp decline in his approval ratings. Brazil's federal audit court recently ruled the government has 120 days to integrate the program into the budget after it initially sought to finance it through an off-budget fund, a move critics also called creative accounting to enable more spending. Latin America's largest economy is targeting a balanced primary budget this year, with a tolerance margin of 0.25% of gross domestic product (GDP), allowing for a deficit of up to 30.9 billion reais.
