BRICS Business

Can Temer successfully implement tough austerity and reform measures without suffering a public backlash? [Xinhua]
Brazil’s Central Bank on Thursday released data indicating that economic activity rose 0.15 per cent in September compared with August, even as the International Monetary Fund signals there may be light for Brazil at the end of the dark tunnel of chronic economic recession.
An IMF report early Wednesday indicated that South America’s largest economy could be on the verge of a slow and gradual recovery.

The AIIB now has 57 members, including Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany and Italy [Xinhua]
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told reporters he welcomed the prospect of the US joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
“It would be a good thing if the United States, the world’s largest economy, were to join the AIIB. We have held this attitude since the very beginning,” he said in response to a question about the new White House administration reversing its opposition to the bank now that a Republican has been elected.

Banks have been struggling to replace the withdrawn 500 and 1,000 rupee bills in the past few days [Xinhua]
Just hours after returning from a successful state visit to Japan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to national TV to urge his countrymen to be patient as the government demonetizes the currency of 500 and 1,000 rupee bills.

Petrobras is going ahead with plans to fire thousands of employees by 2020 [Xinhua]
In yet another challenge to President Michel Temmer’s drive to revitalize the Brazilian economy, the country’s biggest company – state-owned oil company Petrobras – reported a third-quarter loss on Friday, despite drastically reducing the value of oil fields and other assets.
Weak prices in the oil market worldwide hit the company hard resulting in a net loss of $4.9 billion in the last quarter, five times more than a year earlier.

Will Temer spearhead a revitalization of Brazil’s economy in 2017? [Xinhua]
Brazilian President Michel Temer appeared less optimistic about the country’s emergence from recession, on Tuesday, saying he expects the economy to recover as late as the second half of next year.
During his speech to the powerful National Confederation of Industry (CNI) lobby, Temer acknowledged that cutting the budget deficit and reversing the course on recession will take time. He also said that he wanted to boost Brazil’s financial rating and combat rampant unemployment.

Brazil must diversify its trade portfolio to include certain industrial areas where it can truly compete on a global level [Xinhua]
Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles told local media this week that the economy is ripe for reforms, which could include a proposed cap on government spending, in order to restore long-term growth.
Latin America’s biggest economy has contracted significantly this year, with economists expecting Brazil’s gross domestic product to contract 3.3 per cent this year.

Gordhan, right, seen here with IMF chief Christine Lagarde, has always said that the charges against him were politically motivated [Xinhua]
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn fraud charges against South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan
NPA head Shaun Abrahams said that Gordhan “did not have the requisite intention to act unlawfully,” in the case of alleged severance payments made to two senior executives at the South African Revenue Service while it was under the finance minister’s tutelage a decade ago.

China and Egypt have long enjoyed strong close ties; in September, President Sisi was one of a handful of leaders invited to the G20 Summit in China [Xinhua]
Following months of speculation that the whole project had been scrapped, construction on Egypt’s New capital city by two of China’s biggest developers could begin as early as next year.
The Egyptian government is targeting up to $45 billion in investments, and the agreements set to be finalized before the year’s end will bring the country closer to that target.

Oil inventories are up, demand is sluggish, and OPEC can’t agree on a cap – what could go wrong? [Xinhua]
While Chinese consumers have for the past two years enjoyed the low prices at the pump, there is a reverse side to that fortune: with global oil prices still far below their 2014 levels, energy producers such as PetroChina have seen their profits slashed.
PetroChina, the country’s leading oil and gas producer, announced on Saturday that its net profits have plunged by 94.3 per cent year on year in the first three quarters of 2016.

A number of business leaders and scholars have come to Gordhan’s aid and expressed outrage at his “vilification” [Xinhua]
South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is set to announce the country’s midterm budget today which is supposed to curb the government’s budget deficit and cut spending.
Gordhan said he plans on cutting the deficit to 3.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) down from 3.9 per cent the year before.
This, however, comes as Gordhan’s court date for charges of alleged fraud looms closer.