Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 30, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 8 Winnipeg free october 1981 Canadian finance helps Brazil to grow by Peter Smith a photo by Peter Smith special to the free press Brazil and Canada have much in the two nations began and developed As extensions of european and their current Prosperity is due largely to foreign of industrialized much sooner than producing capitalists willing to risk Money not Only in Canada but Brazil looked attractive to because it seemed so much like the Canada of a few generations any discussion of Canadian invest ment in Brazil must begin with Bra scan for decades our largest overseas it has been Active in Brazil for Over 80 far longer than any other Canadian Compa in recent years Bra scan has Diversi creating purchasing companies and investing in other coun particularly Canada even though its holdings in Brazil have also changed and shrunk As a percentage of total Bra scan is still a significant entity in the land that gave it the Story began in when some entrepreneurs from Sao Paulo were looking for funds to install an electric Tramway system they found it in largely from capitalists involved in the to acquire the the brazilians had to sell their Concession to a company incorporated in the Sao Paulo Light and Power company successful canadians the new company enjoyed such Suc Cess that within five years it had created a sister corporation to electrify the Tramway system of Rio de in 1912 the two were Consolida into brazilian Light a Power with a capitalization of its achievements in electricity production gave the company a crucial role in brazils Industrial which began in Earnest after the first world by 1930 brazilian traction controlled the Supply and distribution of Gas and and ran the Telephone and Tramway systems of brazils major Sao Rio de Janeiro and Porto but government was no longer willing to give the company a free hand rates and fares were kept the consternation of directors and and the Delight of brazilian government interference in company operations con steadily reducing profits and operating the company began to shed its responding to a situation in which it could not the Tramway systems were the first to then Telephone and electricity until by 1967 All that was left of the original company was the controlling electricity distribution in Rio and Sao while at that time it appeared that the company might abandon Brazil it had in fact already begun to the Sale in 1966 of the Tele phone sector Cut a growing liability the requirement that 70 per cent of the million Purchase Price remain in Brazil gave the company an incentive to diversify its investments by when brazilian traction had become brazilian govern ment was receptive to foreign invest Bra scan was allowed to raise electricity rates and the company created subsidiaries to invest its new wealth in consumer the two articles on this Page discuss the historical background and current state Canadian investment in the huge South american country of they have been specially written for the free press by Peter author of Oil and politics in modern Brazil and an associate professor of history at Jerome University of real estate and All within within less than a dec its new portfolio had expanded further to include truck Manu cellulose and Many other by that the late 1970s the Light had become too much of a liability to even with rate Bra scans directors concluded that they could not continue to manage electricity distribution to Rio and Sao negotiations with the brazilian government resulted in a Price of showing its extreme friendliness to foreign the brazilian government allowed Bra Scanto take the entire sum out of the country not even the most optimistic company directors had believed that none of the Money would have to be invested in further diversification and Consoli Dation have marked Bra scans performance in Brazil and elsewhere since edger investments the investment vehicle of the Bronfman of Seagram and distillers corporation Fame took control in Bra scan in Brazil began to concentrate its invest ments in natural resources and real which directors believe will Best protect the company from inflation currently around 100 per and a third which has yet to be in the first sector Bra scan has acquired several mining for specialize in and another Bra scan subsidiary oper ates a smelter to which the Ore is Bra scan controls 29 per cent of brazils tin Ore production and 60 per cent of tin the company plans to develop tin with a View to replacing imported compounds and by in real estate Bra scan initially went where the Money appeared to building luxury but recently the company has changed direction and has begun work on housing units for the lower Middle the stated aim is to build inter Esting dwellings at prices that will be lower than the going rate while of making a the third sector it could Well be Wood Bra scan shares with Macmillan Bloedel a company that grows Pine Trees in Southern and has investments in companies engaged in similar there seems to be no other such package in its miscellaneous total Bra scan assets in Brazil were valued at million in this represented Only five per cent of the company total an indication of How Brazil has shrunk in relative importance for net equity has also dropped for from million to reflecting the consolidation of resources the company As a Bra scans Bra Zilian sector recorded what the company described in its 1980 annual report As a modest compared with a substantial loss in 82 vow its five of Oki Rabbit diesel Jetta diesel Van agon diesel Van agon camper diesel vow pickup diesel half dozen of the other rabbi regular Gas Rabbit convertible regular Gas Jett regular Gas scirocco regular Gas Vanago regular Gas Van agon camper regular Gas hike your dont Settle for Volkswagen Madison Ness 1 West of Polo 888o260 award Winner our entrepreneurs have blended in Well Canadian companies brazils Economy by have carved financial Success out of taking risks and behaving by Peter Smith special to the free press some if pressed about investment in Brazil by our Corpora would be Able to come up with Bra scan would realize that several other Canadian companies Are Active in and some them have been there for for has had a Brazil Ian subsidiary since before the second world Alcan Luminio do Brasil emerged Little More than ten years after the Parent company was formed and began exporting to Brazil in today with Headquarters in Sao has total assets of Over million annual sales exceed ing and employs Over Bauxite for Canada Alca Brasil mines Bauxite within on its own and As a partner in several joint ventures with both Pri vate companies and government corporations and investment the Ore is produced for internal consumption As Well As some of the latter comes to Brazil strongly encourages Domestic smelting and production of and Alca Brasil has been manufacturing a growing variety of products for the Domestic Market for 30 Brazil will become an exporter of such goods with Canada very Alcan is particularly proud of its personnel policies in not Only is every from the president but Alca Brasil has become so skilled in management training that it produces its own executives and those for Alcan operations in Many other Masse Ferguson entered Brazil very tentatively in fleeing an Argentine government hostile to for eign company operations were limited to distribution of a narrow Range of finished machines until government pressure in the mid1950s forced it to begin manufacturing in head office reluctance to proceed was so great that production did not begin until when the first Masse Ferguson do Brasil tractor rolled from a Small Sao Paulo Facto the company then established to Tores Perkins to manufacture diesel followed by Progresso Metal producing production expanded rapidly until the and the company Posi Tion seemed secure it was the Only North american firm manufacturing tractors and harvesters in the company was actively engaged in pro Grams to encourage mechanization in and deeply involved in assisting the government to diversify and expand particularly for brazils vigorous promotion of both boosted masses sales to outside markets and improved company revenues with Gen Erous credit recent company difficulties have forced some retrenchment in As a fourth which had never been was Massey and Perkins the company confident about its future in the Canadian business forms Moore has had a Brazil Ian Moore form Laries since its approximately 650 employees produce business forms for Domestic consumption from two fac tories in the Industrial Moore International regards Brazil As having promising growth and expansion of Moore formula Rios is being recent arrival in Brazil is Macmil Lan which in 1975 joined with Bra scan to create Embr Asca Macmil Lan Bloedel holds 51 per cent of the the company has planted a Pine Forest in the and has erected Pine and Hardwood while two Canadian Banks the Commerce and the Royal operated in the former was a casualty of the and the latter closed its branches there 25 years when Brazil demanded reciprocal banking privileges in not permitted at the perhaps the new Canadian banking Al lowing foreign Banks to operate will see our tanks venture into profit Able they thought i was crazy to buy this 68yearold but i knew it could be Chc believes in encouraging renovation of older and in Many financial assistance is provided through a macs residential rehabilitation assistance program and Home improvement the reason is very about two million of Cana Das eight million Homes Are Over forty years but it Doest make sense to tear them Down when they show signs of old its better to invest in renovation and keep them Well for advice and publications about Chc housing programs and services con sult your local Chc and the Good thing about the wrap program was not All that much red it All seemed to happen really Erica every time you plugged something a fuse would it was a fire so under a macs wrap program i had a Complete new electrical system Pierre Nova we get 100kilometre an hour winds and snowdrifts Halfway up the so we fixed up the House to make it More Fred and Helen Crow nest British we fixed up the House with a wrap theres no sense in tearing Down older Homes renovating is Prince Edward local Chc office Winnipeg 870 Portage Avenue office hours Chc making Canada a better place to live d Mona go i tit of logo Tel canals ;