The FGV supported the seminar Creating the Future – São Paulo, organised by the newspapers Financial Times (FT) and Valor Econômico, on 13 March. FGV Projetos’ Control Director, Antonio Carlos Kfouri Aidar, took part in the panel discussion on Economic Growth and Development, alongside Cristina Palmaka, President of SAP Brazil, Wilson Poit, São Paulo Municipal Secretary for Privatisation and Partnerships, and João Carlos Brega, President of Whirlpool Latin America, under the moderation of FT Bureau Chief, Joe Leahy, and Valor Econômico’s Editor-in-Chief, Cristiano Romero.

Mr. Aidar set out the advantages of privatisation, warning however that state enterprise is not synonymous with poor quality or corruption, and that there are institutions of a strategic nature that should continue to be public enterprises. This, in his opinion, is the case with financial institutions such as the Banco do Brasil, which plays a fundamental role in financing agricultural production in activities of little interest to private banks.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Julio Searson, São Paulo City Secretary for International Relations, and Sandrine Ferdane, CEO of BNP Paribas Brasil, as keynote speaker. Mayor of São Paulo, João Doria, gave the closing address.

To read the FT report, click here.

To read the Valor Econômico article, click here.