Brazilian firms are more integrated into their country's financial system than other firms in the

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1 Enterprise Surveys Country Note Series Brazil World Bank Group Country note no Running a Business in Brazil Brazilian firms are more integrated into their country's financial system than other firms in the rest of the Latin American region Brazil has the highest proportion of firms who finance investment using banks and the highest proportion of firms with savings and checking accounts (figure 1). Compared to the region, Brazilian firms highly utilize their own web sites and have the second highest prevalence of internationally recognized quality certification in the region (table 1). However, Brazilian firms face a greater burden of regulation than firms in most other countries of the region and this burden has increased over the last few years. Crime is also a major binding constraint for Brazilian firms and firms are less open to international trade than the average for Latin America. The Enterprise Surveys use standard survey instruments to collect firm-level data on the business environment in a country from business owners and top managers. The surveys cover a broad range of topics, including access to finance, corruption, infrastructure, crime, competition, labor, obstacles to growth, and performance measures. The survey is designed to be representative of a country s private non-agricultural formal economy and firms sampled are stratified by size, location and sector (figure 2) 1 to ensure that most major types of firms are covered. Only firms with five employees or more are included in the sample. In Brazil, 1,82 firms were surveyed from May 8 to June 9. The information collected refers to the characteristics of the firm at the moment of the survey or to fiscal year 7. Figure Mexico LAC regional average - checking/savings acounts LAC regional average - external financing Nicaragua Paraguay Guatemala Uruguay of firms using banks for investment and savings or checking accounts Honduras Bolivia of firms using banks to finance investments El Salvador What is the average firm in Brazil? The average Brazilian firm 2 has been in operation for around 22 years, which is similar to the age of the typical firm in the set of 15 Latin American countries used for comparison (table 2). However, firms in São Paulo are significantly older than in the other eight regions of Brazil included in the survey. The vast majority of firms in Brazil registered when they started operations and there are no significant differences in this respect across firm sizes, regions or industries. Brazilian managers tend to have similar levels of experience as their counterparts in the Latin American region but, within Brazil, managers in the retail sector have significantly fewer years of experience than managers of manufacturing or other services firms Brazilian firms are the most integrated into the financial system in the Latin America Region Colombia Chile Peru Ecuador of firms with savings or checking accounts Argentina Venezuela Panama Brazil

2 Figure 2 Medium (-99 employees) 41% Characteristics of the firms interviewed Size Large (1+ employees) 21% Small (5-19 employees) 38% Paraná 9% Rio Grande do Sul 11% Sector Manufacturing 82% Location Central West 1% Retail 5% Other Services 13% Northeast 14% Santa Catarina 1% Minas Gerais 1% Rio de Janeiro 9% São Paulo 24% North 3% (14 years vs. 23 and 22 years, respectively). Managers of small firms are also significantly less experienced than managers of medium and large firms (18, 23 and 27 years, respectively). Brazil stands out as the country in the region with the highest female participation in ownership (table 1). Female participation in ownership is more common in Minas Gerais where only 12 percent of enterprises have exclusively male owners. While foreign-owned firms present significantly lower female participation in ownership than domestic firms (8 percent vs. 63 percent), foreign ownership is somewhat less prevalent in Brazil than in the rest of Latin America. Female permanent employment in Brazil is around the average for the region, but there are significant differences in female permanent employment depending on whether the firm exports or not and on whether the firm has female participation in its ownership exporting firms hire significantly lower numbers of females than nonexporting firms and firms with some female ownership employ significantly higher numbers of women. Also, foreign-owned firms exhibit lower female employment than domestic firms. How do businesses operate in Brazil? Brazilian firms exhibit the highest proportion of firms that use banks to finance investment in the Latin Table 1 How does Brazil 9 compare with Latin America and the Caribbean? Descending ranking Ranking 1 assigned to the largest value (out of 16 countries) of firms formally registered when started operations in the country 6 Private domestic ownership (%)* 4 Private foreign ownership (%)* 13 Government/state ownership (%)* 11 of firms with female participation in ownership 1 Bank finance for investment (%) 4 of exporter firms 7 Domestic sales (% of sales) 3 of firms with internationally recognized quality certification 2 of firms with annual financial statement reviewed by external auditor 14 Capacity utilization (%) 1 of firms using their own Web site 1 of firms using to communicate with clients/suppliers 2 Ascending ranking Ranking 1 assigned to the smallest value (out of 16 countries) Value of collateral needed for a loan (% of the loan amount) 1 Number of power outages in a typical month 12 Senior management time spent in dealing with requirements of government regulation (%) 14 Average number of visits or required meetings with tax officials 6 Incidence of graft index ** 4 Losses due to theft, robbery, vandalism and arson against the firm (% of sales) 14 Note: This table presents a ranking out of 16 economies for each of the listed indicators. The numbers are ranks as opposed to the actual value of the indicator. 2

3 Table 2 The average firm in Brazil 9 Brazil LAC16 LAC9_UMI Age (years) of firms formally registered when started operations in the country Most common legal form Closed Shareholding Co. Closed Shareholding Co. Closed Shareholding Co. Private domestic ownership (%)* Private foreign ownership (%)* Government/state ownership (%)*..2.1 of firms with female participation in ownership of firms with female in top management position N/A N/A N/A Experience of the top manager (years) Average number of temporary workers Average number of permanent, full-time workers of full-time female workers American region and it is also among the top four countries in the region in the proportion of investment financed through banks, after only Colombia, Peru and Chile (table 1). About 48 percent of firms in Brazil use banks to finance investment compared to only 24 percent of firms in the LAC region; additionally, the average firm in Brazil finances 34 percent of its investment through banks which is 6 percentage points higher than the LAC regional average (table 3). Firms in Rio Grande do Sul get 63 percent of their investment financing from banks, which is the highest value across regions within the country. In addition, 66 percent of firms in Rio Grande do Sul use banks to finance investments (which is 18 percentage points higher than the country average). Banks are also widely used to finance working capital. Firms in Brazil finance 25 percent of their short term needs through banks which is 7 percentage points higher than the LAC regional average (ranking second in this indicator, after Peru). The favorable lending conditions in Brazil may be one of the driving forces behind the high use of bank financing. The value of collateral pledged for loans and the share of loans requiring collateral are the lowest in the region. The Brazilian private sector is highly integrated with the financial sector, according to regional standards, as shown by the fact that the country also ranks the highest in the LAC region in the use of banks for savings or checking accounts. The use of bank finance is significantly higher among retail firms than among manufacturers and firms in other services sectors (85 percent vs. 48 and 38 percent, respectively), which explains why retail firms only need to finance 1 percent of their investment through internal resources considerably less than manufacturing at 44 percent or other services sector at 6 percent. Small firms use of banks to finance investments (23 percent) is significantly lower than medium and large firms (49 percent and 68 percent, respectively). On the other hand, financing investments may be harder for firms in Minas Gerais as they have the highest level of internal financing for investments (65 percent) and are expected Table 3 Choices by the average firm in Brazil 9 Brazil LAC16 LAC9_UMI Internal finance for investment (%) Bank finance for investment (%) Value of collateral needed for a loan (% of the loan amount) Loans requiring collateral (%) of firms with a checking or savings account of exporter firms Domestic sales (% of sales) Sales exported directly (% sales) Sales exported indirectly (% sales) Sales that are pre-paid (%) Sales sold on credit (%) of firms with internationally recognized quality certification of firms with annual financial statement reviewed by external auditor Capacity utilization (%) of firms using their own Web site of firms using to communicate with clients/suppliers

4 to provide higher collateral 126 percent of loan value, higher than in any other region (figure 3). Firms in Santa Catarina also face high collateral requirements and use less bank financing for investments compared to firms in other locations. Brazilian firms are less integrated into international trade than firms in the rest of the countries in the Latin American region. The average Brazilian firm sells 98 percent of its output in the domestic market and exports directly only 1.4 percent. Brazil ranks third to last before Venezuela (.93 percent) and Mexico (.63 percent) in terms of sales exported directly. The large size of the internal market may explain the relatively lower export orientation. The country is large enough to exploit its internal trade. However, the relatively weak results for exports could also be associated with inefficiencies in the trade framework since Brazil ranks lowest in the region in efficiency in customs for exports. It takes an average of 16 days to clear export customs in Brazil compared to 2 days in the best performer in the region. Additionally, Brazil ranks fifth to last when customs efficiency is measured by the average time to clear imports for manufacturing. Not surprisingly, Brazil presents the highest percentage of firms in the region indicating customs and trade regulations are a major constraint to their operations. Firms in Minas Gerais face significantly longer times in customs when exporting than firms in the other regions included in the survey (figure 4). 3 Firms in São Paulo and Paraná are the most export oriented (28 percent and 35 percent are exporters, respectively). Considering all regions together, firms with foreign ownership are more engaged in export trade and are five times more likely to export as domestically-owned firms. In addition, almost all foreign-owned firms use material inputs and supplies of foreign origin, while less than half of domestically-owned firms use these types of inputs. Brazil presents the highest percentage in the region of firms selling on credit to their clients (almost 8 percent, trailed by Argentina with 7 percent). Exporting firms and manufacturing firms tend to utilize sales on credit significantly more often than non-exporting firms and firms in other sectors of activity. The use of technology in Brazil is high when compared to the Latin America region. The percentage of firms that have an internationally recognized quality certification 26 percent is the second highest in the region, only surpassed by Argentina at 27 percent. Brazil has the highest share of firms using their own web site in the region and only Argentina has higher use. These results are in line with the capacity for innovation index (Global Competitiveness Report 8-9) that ranks Brazil 27th among 134 countries and first among all Latin American countries. Brazil is one of the countries with the lowest share of firms with annual financial statements reviewed by external auditors. Only Paraguay and Uruguay show lower shares. The use of technology is not uniform across all firm types and Brazilian regions. São Paulo shows a significantly higher share of firms using their own web site than most of the other regions in Brazil. Firms with at least one female owner are less likely to have their financial statements reviewed by external auditors compared to firms with only male owners (17 percent vs. 39 percent). Furthermore, only 12 percent of firms with female participation in their ownership have an internationally recognized quality certificate compared to 45 percent of male-owned firms. What constrains firms in Brazil? Brazilian firms face a heavy burden of regulation compared to firms in the rest of Latin America. Only Venezuelan and Mexican firms face a higher time tax, i.e., the percentage of senior management time spent dealing with regulations (table 4). In Venezuela the percentage is 34, in Mexico percent and in Brazil 19 percent. Firms in São Paulo face a greater burden of regulation than in all other regions, although the difference is not statistically Figure 3 Collateral requirements are higher in Minas Gerais Figure 4 Number of days to clear customs is the highest in Minas Gerais Value of collateral needed for a loan (percentage) 3 25 Average time to clear direct exports through customs (days) Central - West Paraná Northeast North Rio de Janeiro Rio Grande do Sul São Paulo Santa Catarina Minas Gerais Northeast Rio Grande do Sul Paraná Santa Catarina Central West Sao Paulo Rio de Janeiro Minas Gerais 4

5 significant. Small firms in Brazil show a significantly lower time tax than medium and large firms. One aspect of regulation that is not particularly constraining is the time spent with tax officials. Brazil shows a lower number of visits or required meetings with tax officials than the average firm in Latin America, although foreign-owned firms indicated a significantly higher number of visits/ meetings than domestic firms. When firms are visited by tax officials, firms in Brazil face corruption more often than other firms in Latin America Brazil ranks only below Paraguay and Bolivia in the percentage of firms expected to give gifts or informal payments when visited by tax officials. This percentage, however, is significantly lower for retail firms than for manufacturing and other services firms. Unlike the higher corruption in dealing with tax officials, the incidence of graft index, which is an indicator of the importance of bribery in dealing with government officials, is one of the lowest in the region. Only Uruguay, Panama, and Colombia have lower graft index values. Electricity provision does not stand out as a major constraining factor for Brazilian firms. Even though Brazil presents a higher number of power outages and consequent losses than the average for Latin America, these figures are similar to the average for the nine uppermiddle-income Latin American countries. However, Brazil ranks at the bottom in the duration of the typical water shortage for manufacturing firms. In addition, only the four Central American countries included in the regional group for comparison fare worse in the frequency of these water shortages. Exporting and large firms, however, present significantly less water shortages than non-exporting and small and medium firms. The duration of the average water shortage is considerably higher for medium-size firms than for small and large firms. Brazil, however, is the country with the shortest waiting time to obtain a water connection in the whole region access to the service does not seem to be a problem but the quality of the service delivery appears to be. The results of the survey indicate that crime is a major binding constraint for Brazilian firms. Brazilian firms have one of the highest security costs in the Latin American region, only Venezuelan firms have higher security costs. Additionally, Brazilian firms exhibit high losses due to crime, at 1.7 percent of sales. Only El Salvador and Honduras have higher losses, at 2.6 and 2.2 percent, respectively. These results may explain why Brazil presents the largest percentage of firms in the Latin American region choosing crime as a major obstacle to their operations. Within Brazil, the region of Rio Grande do Sul faces significantly higher losses due to crime (7 percentage points higher than the country average). In addition, firm size is positively correlated with having to pay for security services (figure 5). How has the business environment changed over the past five years? The Enterprise Surveys data provide tools to monitor changes in the business environment across different rounds of surveys. Of 1,82 firms surveyed in 9, 452 were previously surveyed in 3. 4 The following analysis refers only to the firms that were interviewed in both rounds of surveys. 5 When compared to 3, Brazilian firms in 9 performed better in at least two areas employment and use of bank finance. The average number of full-time permanent workers grew by 44 percent among the firms interviewed in 3 and 9. Survey data results also reveal a very positive change in the use of bank financing for investments: a percentage point increase in the use of bank financing and a corresponding decrease in the use of internal finance occurred between 3 and 9. This finding is robust across different subsets of the firms interviewed in 3 and 9. Another financial indicator that improved over time is the value of collateral needed for a loan: it decreased almost 4 percentage points since 3. Dealing with government regulations has become more time consuming in Brazil. Senior management time spent dealing with government regulation is nearly 2.5 times higher for firms interviewed in 3 and 9 (7 percent in 3 vs. 19 percent in 9). The increase in the burden of regulation holds for all subsets of firms exporting and non-exporting, foreign and domestically-owned, small, medium and large firms, and manufacturing, retail Table 4 Constraints on the average firm in Brazil 9 Brazil LAC16 LAC9_UMI Number of power outages in a typical month Senior management time spent in dealing with requirements of government regulation (%) Average number of visits or required meetings with tax officials of firms expected to pay informal payment to public officials (to get things done) Incidence of graft index** Losses due to theft, robbery, vandalism, and arson against the firm (% of sales) of firms paying for security

6 Figure 5 age of firms that pay for security this trend has only gotten worse over time. Reforms aimed at streamlining regulations, such as tax administration, could improve firm efficiency. In addition, governmentled efforts to reduce crime could also aid the private sector Brazilian firms concerns about security increase with size Total Small Medium Large and other services firms. Customs and trade is the other area of major concern for Brazil. The average time to clear exports through customs showed a significant increase between 3 and 9 from 9 days to 15 days. Brazil implemented a new electronic reporting system in 8 to reduce congestion at customs and the port, as described in the Doing Business 9 report. This reform may provide lasting benefits in terms of customs efficiency that were not yet visible at the time of the survey. In the area of trade, the average number of firms exporting directly decreased significantly, from 31 percent to 26 percent, over the same period. The decrease was particularly significant for small firms (from 1 percent in 3 to 2 percent in 9) and large firms (from 66 percent in 3 to 53 percent in 9). Enterprise Surveys data reveal that firms in Brazil have more access to banks and credit products compared to other countries in Latin America. Firms perform well in the use of computer technology and internationally recognized quality certificates. Compared to firms in peer countries, fewer Brazilian firms have their financial statements reviewed by external auditors. Firms spend significantly more time complying with regulatory requirements compared to other firms in the region, and Notes 1. This figure presents the unweighted distributions by size, sector and location of the firms interviewed without any inferences to the whole economy. The Central-West region includes Distrito Federal, Goiás and Mato Grosso; Northeast includes Ceará, Pernambuco, Maranhão, Paraiba and Bahia; North includes Amazonas. 2. The term "average firm" is used to convey the average firm characteristics from the Brazil 9 Enterprise Survey. The sample of firms interviewed is representative of the manufacturing and services sectors of the economy. For more information on the survey methodology please consult org/methodology/. 3. This figure excludes the North region as firms in this region did not provide responses to this particular survey question. 4. The information collected in 3 refers to the characteristics of the firm at the moment of the survey or to fiscal year 2. The firms surveyed in both years may not be representative of the Brazil s private non-agricultural economy since these are a subset of the full sample. Firms with less than five employees may be included among the firms surveyed in both years. 5. The analysis over time is presented as survey results for the intertemporal subsample without inferences to the population due to the high level of attrition. LAC16 includes Argentina 6, Brazil 9, Chile 6, Colombia 6, Mexico 6, Panama 6, Peru 6, Uruguay 6, Venezuela 6, Bolivia 6, Ecuador 6, Elsalvador 6, Guatemala 6, Honduras 6, Nicaragua 6, Paraguay 6. LAC9_UMI includes countries in upper-middle-income econ o- mies. The surveys used are Argentina 6, Brazil 9, Chile 6, Colombia 6, Mexico 6, Panama 6, Peru 6, Uruguay 6, Venezuela 6. * The ownership variables represent the average ownership composition within a firm. These variables do not represent the ownership composition across firms. ** The incidence of Graft Index is the percentage of instances in which a firm was either expected or requested to provide a gift or informal payment during solicitations for public services, licenses or permits. This Index uses data from 6 survey questions for each firm. For purposes of Index computation, a refusal to answer a particular survey question is considered an affirmative answer. This Index is a modified version of the Graft Index defined in A. Gonzalez et al. 7. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper #4394. The Enterprise Surveys measure the business environment in over 1 countries in the world. A standardized questionnaire,universe under study, and implementation methodology is used to make sure information is comparable across countries and time. The full data and documentation explaining the methodology are available at The Country Notes are a product of the staff of the Enterprise Analysis Unit. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of theworld Bank or the governments they represent. 6