Disbursements from BNDES to reach $19.4 billion in 2015

Disbursements from Brazil's Social Development Bank (BNDES) earmarked for infrastructure works, including direct, indirect and automatic operations, should add up to approximately $19.4 billion this year, which is close to the amount invested last year.

The announcement was made Wednesday (Apr 8) by Nelson Siffert, superintendent of the bank's infrastructure division, during a congress in Rio de Janeiro. Those resources, he said, are aimed  not just at the energy and logistics segments, but also at urban mobility, sanitation, and part of the credit line for purchasing machinery, locomotives, train cars, and electrical material for infrastructure.

Altogether, the funds to be disbursed by BNDES in 2015 should surpass $55 billion, which shows a slip from 2014's more than $60 billion, he said. “The [amounts] estimated for infrastructure are therefore slightly above 40% of the bank's total budget,” he added.

The idea, Siffert said, is to make it so that the bank no longer relies on the financial support of the National Treasury, and to encourage a greater participation of the capital market in the financing of the productive sector, through the issuance of debentures. “BNDES doesn't have a budget capable of growing elastically. It's crucial that the capital market join efforts with the bank in financing infrastructure,” he pointed out. The superintendent believes that the debentures will play a more relevant role not just in financing infrastructure, but also in the economy as a whole.

He noted that the bank's financial division is working to balance the funding, in a bid not to have to resort to the Treasury. He argues that the capital market will join BNDES in an effort to bridge “any funding gaps in the projects.” He said that it is possible even though the basic interest rate is high and estimated to grow even further.

Siffert said that the bank is planning on further launching into the market, still this year, a fund supported by debentures for infrastructure. To coordinate the public offering of quotas for the investment fund supported by debentures from BNDES's portfolio,  a consortium has been selected formed by the banks Bradesco BBI and BTG Pactual. The fund will be managed by Caixa Econômica Federal, which is also to take part in the consortium. “The idea is to attract savings from the private enterprise to support the funding for infrastructure projects.”

Today, BNDES's infrastructure portfolio comprises 399 projects, with disbursements adding up to nearly $64 billion, which are part of a total $117 billion in investments.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira