During the first nine months of last year, direct investment from Brazil in Portugal grew again to 5.3 billion euros, an increase of 10% compared to the same period in 2022, according to the latest official data from the Bank of Portugal made available by AICEP - Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal.

According to data from the Brazilian Foreign Trade Agency (Apex-Brasil), since 2018, 21.6% of the Brazilian business sector has initiated internationalisation processes.

Figures from Fundação Dom Cabral also show that, in 2022, 45.1% of international Brazilian companies increased their investments abroad.

Fundação Dom Cabral has existed for 40 years and is a business school that offers national and international educational solutions, supported by strategic alliances and cooperation agreements with institutions in Europe, the United States, China, India, Russia and Latin America.

For Francisco Saião Costa, the growing desire for internationalization among Brazilian investors in recent years is due to the “domestic economic and political situation” in Brazil and the desire of investors to protect their assets and diversify their portfolio, through presence in other markets, "to avoid exposure to different economic cycles", he pointed out.

In this context, Brazilian investors are beginning to look at other markets and Portugal emerges at an advantage “as a natural option”, but also as a “priority”, considers the AICEP delegate in Brazil.

Initially, for reasons of historical, cultural, social and linguistic affinity.

Then, taking a closer look, also “due to the competitive advantages offered” by Portugal and “highly appreciated by Brazilian companies and investors – namely security and legal stability, highly qualified human resources, excellent infrastructures and attractive operational costs, combined with a framework of favorable incentives” for foreign investment, considers the AICEP delegate in a written response to questions posed by Lusa.

Francisco Costa also admits that there is a lot of Brazilian investment in real estate in Portugal, but highlights that there are also companies created with Brazilian capital and generating jobs.

"In a clearly positive sense, we are beginning to identify signs of a possible transformation in the investment matrix, in a movement that has been strengthening since 2020. There is a growing number of Brazilian companies, especially in technological services, opening 'tech hubs', centers of innovation or development in Portugal, with a relevant level of associated investment and with a tendency to scale", he stated.

On the other hand, industrial investments by large Brazilian companies “already with a large presence” in Portugal also continue to be highlighted, he added.

Concluding that there is a predominance of small and medium-sized Brazilian companies investing in Portugal, with particular emphasis on start-ups, Francisco Costa said, however, that large Brazilian business groups also begin their expansion "with a medium-sized presence" in Portuguese market.

For him, the sectors preferred by the Brazilian investor to develop in Portugal are technological, financial and machinery and equipment because "these are the sectors where the Brazilian offer is stronger, structured, developed and capable of standing out compared to its competitors with proven in other highly competitive markets".

"The clear interest of these investors in using Portugal as a 'test market' to validate their internationalization process for the European continent is verifiable," he concluded.