Suddenly the whole world seems to be investing in Brazil.

Banks, investment funds, international hotel groups and resort developers have all been pouring money into Brazil and now shrewd individuals are following suit, keen to secure their investments before Brazil fully wakes up to its potential and prices rise.

Friendly people, unbeatable climate, natural beauty and colourful culture have long been central to Brazil's unique offering. Couple this with its expanding infrastructure, political stability and booming economy and it's not difficult to understand why Brazil is suddenly the word on everyone's lips.

An Emerging Giant

The Brazilian economy is booming. It is hotly tipped to achieve the prestigious Investment Grade as early as next year, and by 2050 Brazil is predicted to have grown into one of the worlds largest economies, alongside China, the US, India, Japan and Russia. (source: Goldman Sachs)

People

The Brazilians themselves are the country's greatest asset; they are happy, friendly and welcoming to any visitor! It’s hard to find warmer friendlier people. Brazil's mix of races makes it a culturally rich and unique country, one of the last places on earth where no-one is a foreigner, where one can change ones destiny without losing ones identity and where each and every Brazilian has a little of the entire world in his or her blood.

With 50% of the population under 25 Brazil boasts one of the youngest populations of the emerging nations. The population is 185 million and expected to grow to 250 million by 2050 – by which time Brazil is widely expected to be one of the world's 4 biggest economies.

Climate

The Brazilian climate is unbeatable. The country basks in year-round sunshine and annual daily temperatures ranging from 22 degrees in the south to 27 degrees in the north east, and more during the peak season of December to February. Brazil is untouched by natural disasters such as Tsunamis and monsoons that have had such a damaging effect on many other emerging nations.

Geography

At 8.5 million square kilometers (roughly the size of the US) Brazil is the largest country in South America, covering around half the continent's land mass, and the 5th largest country in the world. Tropical rainforest covers much of the interior while pristine white beaches fringe over 7000 km of coastline. Except for a small number of islands, Brazil is a single and continuous land mass. The Equator passes through the northern region, near Macapá, and the Tropic of Capricorn cuts through the south of the country, near São Paulo. Brazil’s east to west extension (4,319.4 km) is almost equivalent to its north to south distance (4,394.7 km). The country borders French Guiana, Suriname, Guiana, Venezuela and Colombia, to the north; Uruguay and Argentina, to the south; and Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, to the west. Ecuador and Chile are the only two countries on the South American continent that do not border Brazil. The Atlantic Ocean extends along the country’s entire eastern coast, providing 7,367 km of coastline.

Natural Resources

Brazil is home to more than one third of the world's fresh water reserves. It is fully self sufficient of petroleum-producing regions such as the Middle East and produces all its own fuel from sugar cane. More than 85% of Brazils energy comes from renewable sources, mostly hydro-electrical, isolating Brazil from international energy shocks.

Language

Brazil's official language is Portuguese; however, the accent and the intonation are very different from what one hears in Portugal and other former Portuguese colonies. Some people say that Brazilians speak "Brazilian", just like Americans can say they speak "American", and not English. And there are also many Brazilians who are descendants of immigrants and who speak German and Italian, especially in cities in southern Brazil.

Economics

Brazil’s economy is transforming. Gone are the days of instability and boom time has arrived. Financial leaders are praising today’s politicians with declarations that they’ve never had a government so committed to the capital market. Interest rates are at an all-time low, inflation is stable and with increased credit and more jobs, investor confidence is high and gaining momentum. Brazil has broad-based growth in many markets and is exporting widely. An increase in production, savings, credit and jobs has led to an attractive and profitable private sector and investment is flooding in. Confirmation of this can be seen in the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa). 2006 saw market capitalisation rise by 37% to 1.54 trillion reais ($723 billion) and 26 Initial Public Offerings. In the first 2 months of 2007, Bovespa raised more capital than Hong Kong. Brazil is the largest Latin American economy, producing 40% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its purchasing power is the 9th largest in the world. It is predicted to become one of the 4 most dominant economies by the year 2050.

Brazil is set to become an investment-grade country as early as 2008 following an upgrade to its credit rating. Analysts representing Credit Suisse have attributed the decision, which has boosted Brazil’s financial markets, to “faster-than-expected improvement in the fundamentals of the Brazilian economy.”

This news confirms that Brazil is now one of the most stable countries in South America - to date only Mexico and Chile have achieved investment grade, and that the confidence placed on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is justified, as he looks for faster economic growth and opportunities to take advantage of the global economy.