Population (2017): 209 million GDP (2017): US$2.06 trillion World Bank “Ease of Doing Business” Rank (2018): 125th Bilateral Trade with Singapore: S$3.67 billion Trading Partner Rank (2017): Singapore's 3rd largest trading partner in Latin America, and Singapore’s 31st largest trading partner worldwide
Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy in terms of GDP, and the 9th largest in the world. It is characterised by its large and well-developed agricultural, oil & gas, manufacturing, and service sectors.
Brazil has a population of 210 million people, making it the world’s fifth most populous nation1. Its economy is the largest in Latin America and ninth largest in the world. The resource-rich country is estimated to become the fifth largest economy in the world by 20502. Beyond that, Brazil is an ideal bridge to Latin America, with many companies using it as a way to reach the region’s huge middle class population.
Brazil has one of the biggest consumer markets in the world for goods and services, including banking and e-commerce. Its growing middle class makes up more than half its population. More than 60 Singapore companies operate in Brazil’s consumer sectors such as education, food products and info-communications technology.
1 Worldometers, 2019 2 International Monetary Fund, 2018
Beyond the traditional economy, the country is embarking on a digitalisation drive that is driven by the private sector. Large banks, insurance, healthcare companies, retailers are investing heavily in technology and Brazil is considered a key startup hub of Latin America, with the country having already produced Unicorns such as 99Taxi, having the largest technology entrepreneurship hub (Cubo), and being home to one of the most vibrant agri-tech hubs in the world.
While predominantly agri-commodity driven, the economy is transforming itself through large-scale infrastructure development through the government’s Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) programme. The oil & gas sector is also embracing foreign competition with the lowering of traditionally high local content requirements.
Doing business in Brazil is also getting easier for Singapore companies, with an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation signed between the two countries in 2018. Ongoing talks on a free trade agreement between Singapore and the MERCOSUR states (which include Brazil) will also pave the way for Singapore companies to access the combined market of more than 260 million people.