transnational companies are characterized by having headquarters in a country of origin and operating in other nations through the installation of branches. These companies emerged in the late nineteenth century, however, they only gained prominence on the world stage after World War II (1945).
Most of these companies have origin (headquarters) in the countries of the European Union, the United States, Canada and Japan. However, in recent decades, emerging countries have significantly expanded their companies to various countries on the planet. In Brazil, this process has been significantly intensified, being driven by the current national and global economic scenario, in addition to the strengthening of the Real.
Brazilian companies have made high foreign investments and are operating, through the installation of branches, in several countries. In a period of 30 years (1970 to 2000), the number of Brazilian transnational companies operating abroad rose from 70 to 350.
Several transnational companies have branches in Brazil (Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Nokia, Unilever, among many others). However, during the 1970s, the first Brazilian companies started to operate in other countries. In 2006, for the first time in history, Brazilian investments abroad were higher than foreign investments in the country. According to data released in 2007 by the Central Bank, Brazil occupies the 12th place in the ranking of the largest investors in the world, surpassing countries like China, Russia and Australia.
The need to expand the consumer market drives Brazilian companies, which operate in the segments of civil construction, food, mining, aviation, logistics, information technology, cosmetics, spare parts. cars, etc. Altogether, there are more than 300 Brazilian groups with branches in other countries, earning around 1 billion dollars a year.
Among the main representatives of Brazil in the international market are: Vale (mining), Petrobras (oil and gas), Gerdau (steel), Embraer (aviation), Votorantim (diversified), Camargo Corrêa (diversified), Odebrecht (construction and petrochemicals), Aracruz (cellulose and paper), Tigre (construction), ALL (logistics), Perdigão (food), Natura (cosmetics), Sadia (food), Itautec (information technology), Sabó (car parts), WEG (machinery and equipment), among others.
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/as-transnacionais-brasileiras.htm
