Petrobras against the wall, agro startup raises BRL 100 million and what matters in the market

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Petrobras under pressure

Privatization, hike in taxation on oil profits, review of pricing policy, CPI to investigate the top of the company.

These are some of the measures cited by members of Planalto and Centrão as retaliation against Petrobras after a new readjustment on gasoline and diesel prices.

What explains: The increase amid attempts by the government and Congress to ease fuel prices in an election year infuriated President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). They criticized the state-owned company in public and called for the resignation of its president, José Mauro Coelho.

Petrobras against the wall. See some of the proposals articulated by the government and Centrão to pressure the company:

• CPI: Bolsonaro defends a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry to investigate the president, directors and members of the board of directors of Petrobras and said that the market value of the state-owned company will fall another R$ 30 billion this Monday.

• Pricing policy: Discussion of a legislative proposal to review the company’s import parity policy (which simulates how much it would cost to bring the product from abroad). The pressure for interference in the state-owned company ignited a warning among minority shareholders.

• Privatization: the government is working on a bill in which privatization would be carried out through the conversion of the company’s preferred shares (without voting rights) into common shares (with voting rights), which would take control of the company from the Union.

Read more about the Petrobras-government war:

• Opinion | Vinicius Torres Freire: in the energy crisis, Europe sets prices, lowers taxes and gives money. And Brazil with that?

Don’t put all your eggs in fixed income

With the Selic at 13.25% per year and the BC indicating that the basic interest rate may rise even further, fixed income securities are among the favorite investments of Brazilians.

As much as analysts agree that these are the assets of the moment, they recommend that investors do not put aside the old maxim of diversification.

What the experts say: with inflation still widespread throughout the economy, public and private bonds indexed to the IPCA, which offer a real return (above inflation) of 5% up until 7% per year are among the most recommended papers.

• Just as analysts warned during the low interest rate and high risk assets scenario, the strategy of not putting all eggs in one basket is also valid for the current moment.

• As long as the investor has a long-term vision and the stomach to withstand the volatility that comes around, stocks, real estate funds and investments abroad should not be raffled off from portfolios.

More about financial markets:

Startup of the Week: Agrotools

The “Startup of the Week” board brings on Mondays the x-ray of a startup that recently received funding.

The startup: Founded in 2007, agritech (agri startup) claims to connect companies in large centers to what happens in the countryside through the largest agro database in the world.

In numbers: the company closed a fundraising US$ 20.9 million (R$ 107 million), being valued at $94 million (R$ 482 million).

Investors: the contribution was led by Inovabra (a Bradesco fund) and KPTL.

What problem does it solve: Agrotools supplies its database from records made by satellites. It offers services – such as risk monitoring – for those who finance agriculture, for companies that want to guarantee the origin of their supply chain and for trading companies that seek a market for their products.

Why it’s featured: agritech made the largest fundraising in the country in the last week and the second largest in Latin America – behind Colombian Habi, which raised US$ 75 million.

Where does the money go? The funds will go towards expanding the startup in Latin America, making acquisitions and also increasing the number of employees, informed Agrotools.

Contribution history: the startup had already carried out a fundraising BRL 15 million in 2020.

More numbers: agritech says it serves companies in four countries, monitors more than 200 millions of hectares and approx. 60% of cattle slaughter in Brazil.

Main customers: from multinational chains such as McDonald’s, Carrefour, Nestle, Walmart, JBS, BRF, Cargill, to financial institutions such as XP, Itaú, BTG Pactual.

The week at a glance

There were 15 fundraising rounds carried out in Latin America, with $126 million (R$ 646 million) in investments. Colombia was the highlight, with US$ 81.5 million (R$ 418 million) raised in three rounds.

Data is provided by the Sling Hub platform.

How ultra-fast delivery works

In the fierce race for the consumer, having the fastest delivery makes a big difference in ecommerce, a sector with such competitive prices.

THE Sheet visited the Mercado Livre CD (distribution center) and shows here how an ultra-fast delivery takes place, from the moment the order enters the system to when it is stored together with others in containers, allocated inside a trunk truck, which will leave for make the delivery.

In numbers: to make this whole machine work, the largest retailer in Latin America has only this DC, in Cajamar (SP), 3,000 rotating employees. There are still 11 other units like this in the country, which store and manage the stock of virtual retailers (sellers).

In front: Despite the investment and having the largest DC in Latin America, Americanas is leading the same-day delivery race, which offers the option to 900 cities, followed by Magazine Luiza (150 cities).

• The company born in Argentina provides this service to 100 cities in Brazil.

• Because they are well located, they also serve as a collection point for consumers and can be used to separate and ship products from sellers.