On February 26 2002, the House of Representatives (Câmara dos Deputados) approved the Proposal of Constitutional Amendment (PEC) which allows the opening of Brazilian broadcasting media companies to foreign capital, up to a limit of 30% of their share capital. However, the editorial functions in such companies must be executed by Brazilian-born citizens or foreigners who have been naturalised for more than 10 years.
This PEC also authorises Brazilian written and broadcasting media companies to be managed by legal entities. According to the existing rules, only natural persons can manage such companies.
The PEC will now be remitted to the Federal Senate where it will be analysed and eventually approved and delivered for the sanction of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso before coming into force.
The National Monetary Council (NMC) recent Resolution 2922 allows pension funds, insurance companies and capitalisation companies to invest up to 10% of their resources in receivable funds.
Receivable Funds are regulated by NMC Resolution 2907 and Instruction 356 of the Securities Exchange Commission. They relate to receivables arising from financial, commercial, industrial and real estate transactions and benefit from important tax exemptions not available for other forms of securitisation.
At the end of February, Moody´s Investor Services praised Brazil´s fiscal discipline and growing resilience to international problems, signalling a possible upgrade soon.