Latin America is seen by many international clients and foreign firms as a unified region. This makes it possible for Mattos Filho to play a leading role and coordinate cross-border operations, given Brazil’s dimensions and economic importance. We are focused on becoming a business, information and service hub in Latin America, and the more we position ourselves as such, the more we are able to provide comprehensive services, generate business and create opportunities for our clients, practices and business partners.

Accordingly, our professionals’ close relationships and knowledge of the different markets and cultures in Latin America are fundamental, as is their ability to translate this to our stakeholders.

Having focused on the region for more than ten years, our work is increasingly diversifying across different sectors – in the beginning, the main investment opportunities were in infrastructure and retail, but now technology is an important area, along with the financial and healthcare sectors.

From the firm’s perspective, there have been significant joint efforts around anti-corruption issues in recent years, leading to enhanced company governance and improved security in local investment. The Brazilian Anti-Corruption Law was the first to be implemented in Latin America, as was the General Data Protection Law (LGPD).

Neighboring countries tend to follow Brazil from a regulatory standpoint, and there is a regional trend toward improved legal certainty and more business-friendly environments. These factors inevitably make Latin American markets impossible for international investors to ignore.

Yet despite various similarities in the social, economic and political spheres, Brazil’s language and culture are different from those of its neighbors, which can make adapting to the Brazilian reality difficult when companies want to reach Latin America through one of the other countries. Brazil alone makes up about a third of the region’s total population, therefore making it an excellent gateway

“The Brazilian market is very big, yet at the same time still lacks various products, services and solutions. Many companies find opportunities here to scale up their operations and expand into different activities. Recently, the world of fintechs and venture capital has been the most exciting and interactive development among Latin American countries. A number of unicorns that were founded in other countries have only been able to reach great heights by entering Brazilian markets,” pointed out Paula Vieira, a partner in the Corporate/M&A practice.

For Capital Markets partner Vanessa Fiusa, “on the one hand, if Brazilian companies have been looking for financing alternatives abroad for reasons such as high interest rates, on the other, Brazilian assets are available at more attractive prices. Those who have income in other currencies may find many opportunities here. Among emerging countries, we are more attractive and easier to deal with from a legal perspective than, say, China and India.”