Brazil set to join investment elite

In recent weeks, the nation has enjoyed a number of currency upgrades by ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch. A further upgrade to the rating would place Brazil alongside the other so-called BRIC countries of India, Russia and China which have all recently achieved full investment grade status. Luiz Ribiero, manager of the HSBC GIF Brazil Equity fund, predicts Brazil will achieve the status by the end of 2008 and says investment opportunities in Brazil are likely to continue to improve. Ribiero, who works for Halbis, the asset management arm of the HSBC Group, says: “The r...