Economy
São Paulo is considered the "financial capital of Brazil", as it is the location for the headquarters of many major corporations, and the most renowned banks and financial institutions in Brazil. Consequently, Sao Paulo is Brazil's highest GDP city and the 10th largest in the world, based in the Purchasing power parity of the city metropolitan area — and is expected to be the 6th largest in 2025. According to data of IBGE, its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 was R$ 450 billion, approximately $ 220 billion, equivalent to approximately 12.26% of the Brazilian GDP and 36% of all production of goods and services of the State of São Paulo. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers annual economic growth of the city is 4.2%.
The biggest financial center in Brazil, São Paulo's economy is going through a deep transformation. Once a city with a strong industrial character, São Paulo's economy has become increasingly based on the tertiary sector, focusing on services and businesses for the country. The city is also unique among Brazilian cities for its large number of foreign corporations. Many analysts point to São Paulo as an important global city, even though this categorization can be criticised considering its serious problems of social exclusion and spatial segregation. Despite being the most important financial centre of the country, São Paulo also presents a high degree of informality in its economy.
São Paulo has the largest concentration of German businesses worldwide and also considered the largest Swedish industrial hub alongside Gothenburg.
In 2005, the city of São Paulo collected R$ 90 billion in taxes, and the city budget was R$ 15 billion. The city has 1,500 bank branches. There are 70 shopping malls. 63% of all the international companies with business in Brazil have their head offices in São Paulo. The São Paulo Stock Exchange (BM&F Bovespa) is Brazil's official stock and bonds exchange. The BM&F Bovespa is the largest stock exchange in Latin America where about R$ 6 billion (US$ 3.5 billion) are traded every day. The per capita income for the city was R$ 32,493 (2008).
According to Mercer's 2011 city rankings of cost of living for expatriate employees, São Paulo is now among the ten most expensive cities in the world, ranking in 10th place in 2011, up from the 21st position in 2010, and ahead of London, Paris, Milan, and New York City.
| Companies in Financial Times Global 500 of São Paulo in 2012 | ||||||
| SP | Corporation | BRA | World | |||
| 1 | Ambev | 2 | 43 | |||
| 2 | Itau Unibanco | 4 | 100 | |||
| 3 | Bradesco | 5 | 127 | |||
| 4 | Banco Santander Brasil | 6 | 260 | |||
| 5 | Telefonica Brasil | 8 | 282 | |||
| 6 | Itausa | 9 | 348 | |||
| 7 | Cielo | 10 | 423 | |||
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical terms.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.... for really new ideas of any kind—no matter how ultimately profitable or otherwise successful some of them might prove to be—there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction. Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)
“Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behavior. The whole economy of nature is bent on expression. The tell-tale body is all tongues. Men are like Geneva watches with crystal faces which expose the whole movement.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)