Chinese companies invested US$4.2 billion in projects in Brazil last year. This was a 113% increase compared to 2023, and the highest figure since 2021. The main characteristic of Chinese investments in Brazil is that most of them are linked to structural sectors: electricity, oil, infrastructure, and mining.

This year, there was a landmark Chinese investment in the area: the purchase of the Barro Alto mine (GO), which was previously owned by Anglo American, the British giant. The buyer was MMG, a subsidiary of China Minmetals. The interest behind the deal is in a specific metal, nickel. The purchase of the mine still needs to be approved by Cade. If it goes ahead, China will hold 50% of Brazil's nickel production in one fell swoop.

But this is only the most recent acquisition. With the previous ones, China now controls reasonable portions of the production of four metals in Brazil, in order: nickel, niobium, tin, and copper.

(Source: InvestNews, on October 20)