Despite Brazil's economic turmoil, Chinese companies continue to invest in the country as they bet on long-term cooperation and the recovery of the Brazilian economy.
Brazil's largest power distributor CPFL Energia SA said on Friday that China's State Grid International Development will buy a controlling stake in the company for 5.85 billion reais ($1.8 billion), Reuters reported on Friday.
State Grid International Development Co is a subsidiary of State Grid Corp of China (SGCC), the world's largest utility by users.
Camargo Correa SA, a shareholder of CPFL, is selling the 23 percent stake, CPFL said in a securities filing, according to Reuters.
State Grid is reportedly paying 25 reais for each of Camargo's 234 million CPFL shares.
Other shareholders of CPFL could outbid SGCC or choose to sell their stakes to the Chinese company, according to the report.
A State Grid PR employee told the Global Times Sunday that the company does not comment on ongoing developments.
But the person also said that with its latest investment in a Belgian power company in early June, its assets in foreign markets are poised to exceed $40 billion in value, spanning Europe, Asia, Oceania and South America.
SGCC is building ultra-high-voltage transmission lines to carry hydropower from the Belo Monte Dam, one of Brazil's largest hydroelectric projects.
Also on Friday, China's Three Gorges Corp said it was taking control of two of Brazil's largest hydroelectric dams, according to the company's website.
In a Xinhua report on Friday, Brazil's -Foreign Minister Jose Serra said there are guaranteed investment opportunities in infrastructure, where demand has remained constant even as the Brazilian economy has struggled.
Brazil is set to create a China coordination unit within its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek to bring in Chinese capital to help counter the recession in areas such as infrastructure, roads, energy, ports and airports, the minister said.
"Brazil has huge demand, while on the supply side, China is willing to invest abroad and export its technologies and expertise," Jiang Shixue, vice president of the Chinese Association of Latin American Studies, told the Global Times Sunday.
These long-term investments are conducive to the sound development of bilateral economic relations, Jiang said.
But the recession in Brazil doesn't necessarily mean that asset prices are also low, Jiang said, urging companies to weigh their deals carefully.
Private Chinese companies are also coming.
On June 15, Dakang Pasture Farming, a Shenzhen-listed company based in Central China's Hunan Province, said it would invest $200 million for a 57.57 percent stake in Brazilian agricultural company Fiagril Ltda, the first private investment in the country's agricultural sector, the China Times newspaper reported on June 17.
