CG/LA - Infrastructure - Global Infrastructure and Competitiveness Leadership

Brazil Leadership Forum
November 29 & 30, 2006
Latin American Parliament
Sao Paulo, Brazil

"Strategic Infrastructure for Growth & Competitiveness"

On November 29th & 30th, 2006, 370 of Brazil's top infrastructure executives met at the Memorial das Americas in São Paulo, Brazil, to discuss the 25 best infrastructure projects in Brazil, worth over $30 billion, presented by 30 sponsors throughout Latin America.

The Brazil Leadership Forum was a high-value, multi-tiered, marketplace providing one-stop shopping for infrastructure professionals including: the Top 25 infrastructure projects in the region (strategic, ports & logistics, oil & gas, water & wastewater, electricity, municipal, and ethanol ports & logistics), pre-set private meetings, thought-provoking panel discussions, instructional workshops and roundtables, and a power networking reception.

Keynote speakers included top international and Brazilian officials, including Demian Fiocca, President of BNDES, Brazil's national development bank, Joaquim Levy, Secretary of Finance for Rio de Janeiro State, Gregory Manuel, Special Advisor to the Secretary and International Energy Coordinator, US Department of State, and Curt Goulding, President of FCStone Brasil.

Intriguing workshops on Day Two covered topics vital to the development of infrastructure investment. SAS, the world's leader in business intelligence software, presented methods of optimizing investments through management of costs, risks and performance. A roundtable on structuring the top 10 regional integration projects through IIRSA featured two high-level project developers. The PPP workshop addressed the issue of Brazil's promised PPP structure which has yet to take hold, and how to correctly structure infrastructure investments to increase GDP investment to 5% and the necessity for local partners.

The Brazil Leadership Forum was sponsored by leading infrastructure, competitiveness and good government firms worldwide. SAS was the Forum's Diamond Sponsor, its fifth foray into Leadership Forum Series sponsorship. Caixa Economica Federal was the Platinum Sponsor. Gold Sponsors included: AES; BNDES; Citigroup; Control Risks; DEPFA BANK plc; FCStone; General Electric; Inter-American Development Bank; Lacaz Martins; Panalpina; and WestLB. Rich Networking Sponsor was Fitch Ratings. Supporting Organizations include ABDIB, ABCON, AESBE, Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, COGEN-SP, FIESP, Gerson Lehrman Group and Sistema FIRJAN. AméricaEconomía, Business News Americas, Jornal do Commercio, Latin America Monitor, Latin Finance, Latin Trade and Trade and Transport represent the Media Sponsors.