Words: Keith Osborne
Published: 27th March 2008
Brazil - Top 10 research resources
As we continue our search for the best online resources for property destinations around the world, this week we take a look at
Brazil. Government investment in
construction and infrastructure coupled with low land prices,
high rental yields, a cheap cost of living and an exotic climate have put Brazil on the radar of international agents and investors.
Although research from
Doing Business indicates that standards vary considerably across the country when it comes to conducting commercial activity, there are a number of organizations, that can help overseas companies overcome the language and cultural barriers.
Already the
18th largest tourist market in the world,
Brazil’s tourism revenue grew by 7.2% in 2007 and is predicted to continue to grow by an average 5.3% per year in real terms until 2017. These numbers will also receive a boost when Brazil holds the
FIFA World Cup in 2014 which will act as shop window for the country as well as the beautiful game.
We’ve looked at hundreds of sites and narrowed down our selection to what we think are the ten best sites for researching Brazil. If you feel we might have missed any useful sites off our list, please feel free to
post your comments at the bottom of the page:
- Brazilian Tourism Portal. If you’re not sure what the fuss is all about, this is a great introduction to the country and its culture. There’s useful information too on what you’ll need before embarking on a trip to Brazil and some extensive resort and city guides.
- Doing Business Country Profile. In-depth and free-to-access guide to how undertaking a range of commercial activities (setting up business, worker relations, protecting investors etc) in Brazil compares to the rest of the world, ranked from research data from the World Bank Group. Includes a useful step-by-step guide to the property buying process in Brazil.
- Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain - Buying Guide. This is a brief overview from the respected trade organization and a good starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the purchase process in Brazil. The site also contains general business news and articles and a directory of current members. Corporate subscription is £411.95 for UK companies.
- Latin Business Chronicle. Excellent source for economic news and opinion from Central and South America. News can be sorted by country or sector (there’s a dedicated real estate strand). Though you can access quite a number of stories free of charge, and sign up for a free weekly email newsletter, the $299 (£150) annual subscription gives you full access to all stories and an extensive archive as well as regular updates on all country profiles throughout the year. For an additional $100 (£50) a year, you can receive a daily news bulletin to your inbox.
- ADIT Nordeste. From the Association for Real Estate and Tourism Development in the Northeast of Brazil, this site is a great source of information for this part of the country. They also organize their own exhibition and conference Nordeste Invest, attended by many of the major industry players in the region. The next show takes place in May 2008. Membership of ADIT Nordeste costs from BRL3,000 (£870) per year.
- BrazilTradeNet Legal Guide. A free 228-page guide to Foreign Direct Investment in Brazil, published by Brazil’s Ministry of External Relations' Trade Promotion Department. It’s a dense tome, as you might expect, explaining in detail the latest regulations from the country’s government concerning FDI.
- Economist Country Briefing. News stories, analysis and economic data relating to Brazil. There’s a good deal of general free-to-access content but for $21 (£10) each you can have access to full individual sector reports, or get a complete annual subscription to the Country Briefing for $295 (£150). Online and print options are available.
- Real Estate Investment World Latin America 2008. Taking place in Florida in September 2008, this conference has a number of high-profile speakers and covers many important topics concerning the property industry in the region. The event has a limited number of delegates and due in part to its high attendance fee ($1,165-$3,235, approximately £600-£1,600) is targeted at affluent investors and industry professionals. The website details the conference themes and speakers for 2008, as well as giving an overview of last year’s inaugural event.
- BrazilMax. “Hip” guide to life and travel in Brazil. Lots of free articles about visiting and living in the country, though there’s more to it than simply tourism. There’s business news and some in-depth regional profiles giving a more personal perspective on the country than the traditional sources.
- CIA Factbook. Exhaustive socio-economic country profile from America’s secret service. It won’t tell you much about the Brazilian real estate industry, but it does pull some of the most up-to-date data available on the country together in one place.
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