China investment in Brazil infra 'could top US$53.3bn'

Officials from Brazil's federal bank Caixa and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) are due to form a working group by mid-July to jointly map out infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars.

A Chinese delegation led by Premier Li Keqiang previously announced plans to invest US$53.3bn in Brazilian infrastructure in areas such as mining, energy, transport logistics, and manufacturing.

But Caixa president Miriam Belchior says in a federal government blog post that the total could exceed this amount, depending on Chinese interest.

A memorandum of understanding signed by Brazil and China on Tuesday does not stipulate an exact investment amount.

While ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing has mentioned the possibility of some US$50bn in funding, he has stated the figure is provisional and could grow.

The two banks have set a deadline of 60 days, or July 18, to create the working group, which would establish funding conditions and detail the projects to be financed by the Chinese, according to the blog post.

Brazil's flagship logistics project, being planned in partnership with China and neighbor Peru, is the 30bn-real (US$9.94bn) transcontinental railway which would run from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Peru's Pacific coast. Brazil and China have inked a preliminary agreement.

Pictured top: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.