Table of Contents Table of Contents
Previous Page  8 / 68 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 8 / 68 Next Page
Page Background

CLIPPING

8

| PAINT&PINTURA |Agosto2017

PROSPECTSREMAIN FAVORABLE

New forecasts forBrazil’seconomyhavebeenannounced

by the InternationalMonetaryFund (IMF),which raised its

expectedGDPgrowth rate for2017 from0.2percent to0.3

percent.The improvement isascribed to theGDP result for

the first quarter - 1-percent growth relative to the fourth

quarterof lastyear.

TheIMF’sforecastfor2017matchestheestimatefromecono-

mists in the Focus report, published by the Central Bank,

pointingto0.34-percent increase intheGDP.

For next year, the entity anticipates theGDPwill gain 1.3

percent, lowering itsprevious forecast of 1.7percent. That

demotion isassociatedwith thecountry’sgrowingpolitical

uncertainties and aweak demand for both products and

servicesinthedomesticmarket,whichwillcausetheBrazilian

economicrecoverytobemoremoderatein2018.Inaddition,

theIMFstressesa“strongdecline”ininflationandtherecent

depreciationof the real (Brazilian currency) on account of

thepolitical crisis.On theflipside, according to theCentral

Bank, economistshavemuchmoreoptimistic forecasts for

thecomingyear,announcinganexpectedGDPgrowthrate

of2percent.

Iftheprojectionsforthisyeardomaterialize,thentheBrazil-

ianeconomywillstartgrowingagain,whichhasn’thappened

fortwoconsecutiveyears.

For thepaint and coatings industry specifically, 2017 is ex-

pectedtobeabetteryear lduenotonlytoexistingpositive

signs, but also to the industry’s own initiatives. However,

accordingtoAntonioCarlosdeOliveira,executivepresident

atABRAFATI,thecurrentsituationstilldoesn’twarrantmuch

ofanoptimisticoutlook.“Salesfortheearlymonthsof2017

remainedstablerelativetothesameperiodoflastyear.Based

ontheseresultsandtheexpectationforstrongerbusiness in

thesecondhalf -awell-establishedtradition inthe industry -

weexpectaslightgrowth insalesfor2017overtheprevious

year. Suchgrowth is expected to exceed that of theGDP

byonepercentagepoint,whichwouldmeana 1.5-percent

increase inpaintsalesfor2017.”

Thatsaid,Abrafatialsoanticipatesthatmanyfamiliesarestillgoing

topaintbothindoorandoutdoorenvironmentsontheirproperty,

and that automotive refinishcoatings, for small repairs,will also

be indemand through theendof theyear,despite thecountry’s

political andeconomicuncertainties.Furthermore, there issome

expectation foraslightpick-up insales forvariousproducts that

arepainted, suchas cars andmanyother consumer goods, and

for projects concerning urban improvement and infrastructure

toberesumed,yetmodestly.“Also, there’sanothermajorfactor

abouttoboostbusinessthisyear:Abrafati2017,”Oliveiraenthuses.

Also according to the entity, the current scenario is a transient

one, asmid-termand long-termexpectationsare favorable. This

isbecause it isaratherbroad industry,withseveralopportunities

invarioussegments.

DonotmissthefullpieceonAbrafati, inwhich itsexecutivepresi-

dent talksaboutprojections for thepaint andcoatings industry,

andtheentity’snewplansandgoals,whiletellingusdetailsabout

the15theditionofthe InternationalCoatingsCongressand Inter-

national ExhibitionofCoatings IndustrySuppliers,which isgoing

tostirandheatup themarketplace fromOctober3 to5, 2017, in

SãoPaulo.

LucéliaMonfardini

INTERVIEW - NEW STRUCTURE DELIVERS HIGH-

PERFORMANCEADDITIVES

Evonikcompletesthereorganizationof its internalstructure

inthepaintandcoatingadditivesbusinessandcreatesanew

business lineworldwide -CoatingAdditives.

Over the course of 2016 Evonik carried out an important

process of internal reorganization in its business of addi-

tives forpaintsandcoatingswithaview tomaking thatbusiness

more relevant and concentrating it inone business line, which

contributedtothecompany’sdecisiontoacquirethePerformance

Material business fromAirProducts, inadeal thatwas sealed in

Januaryof2017.

Fromhereonout, thenewly-createdCoatingAdditivesbusiness

linewill beprovidingcustomersaround theworldwithall of the