BELO HORIZONTE
Belo Horizonte is a Brazilian city, capital of Minas Gerais, located in southeastern Brazil. With planned construction, the city has a population of 2,479,175 inhabitants, being the sixth most populous city in Brazil and is also among the seven cities with the best infrastructure in the country.
Belo Horizonte has already been indicated by the UN Population Crisis Commitee as the metropolis with better quality of life in Latin America and occupies the 45th position among the 100 best cities in the world. It is also nationally known as the "national capital of pubs," for there are more bars per capita than in any other major city in Brazil.
As one of the biggest financial centers in Brazil, Belo Horizonte is characterized by the predominance of the tertiary sector in its economy. During the 1990s, the city began to develop and host a joint industrial park of non-polluting and high technology industries, making it one of the most important industrial centers in the country with leading companies in the areas of clothing, footwear, computer, food, electronic and electrical appliances, perfumes and business tourism with light production structures, large outsourcing activities and large investments in marketing and advertising.
Today the city has the fifth largest GDP among Brazilian municipalities, representing 1.33% of the total wealth produced in the country. Evidence of the city's development in recent times is the classification in the ranking from América Economía magazine, in which Belo Horizonte appears as one of the 10 best cities to do business in Latin America.
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MANAUS
Manaus is a municipality, capital of the Amazonas state and the main financial center, corporate and economic development of northern Brazil. It is a historical and port city, located in the center of the largest tropical forest in the world.
With a population of 2,020,301 inhabitants, the city stands as the seventh most populous in Brazil. Manaus is one of the best known Brazilian cities worldwide, mainly by its tourist potential and ecotourism, which makes the city the tenth largest tourist destination in Brazil. Manaus was one of the twelve Brazilian host cities for the World Cup 2014.
With the sixth largest economy in Brazil, the city gradually increased its participation in the formation of Brazilian economic sector in recent years, rising to account for 1.4% of the Brazilian economy. In the ranking of the América Economía magazine, Manaus appears as one of the top 30 cities in the line of business in Latin America, ahead of capital from South American countries such as Caracas, Asuncion and Quito.
The Manaus Free Trade Zone is one of the main industrial centers in Brazil, home to major industries of transport and communications areas. It is an economic model project with characteristics of tax exemption, established by the Brazilian government in 1967 in order to economically develop the Amazon - at the same time that stimulates the preservation of biodiversity and the environment.
PORTO ALEGRE
Porto Alegre is the capital of the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul. The city is considered one of the best cities to live, work, do business, study and have fun. Also, it has been highlighted three times by the UN, in recent years, as the metropolis number one in quality of life in Brazil.
In addition, the city ranks among the 40 best models of democratic public administration for its participatory budget and for the best Human Development Index (HDI) between national metropolises. Moreover, Porto Alegre is one of the greenest cities in the country, hosted the first World Social Forum and was chosen as one of the venues of the 2014 World Cup.
The economy of Porto Alegre is based on rural and industrial production, and is the second biggest of the country. The Doing Business report prepared by IBRD placed the city among the most favorable in Brazil for business activity, standing ahead of São Paulo.
Along the municipalities of the metropolitan area, the city has a wide range of industrial plants, which includes everything from metal industries to food. This gigantic industrial park area, along with the metal-mechanical industrial park in the city of Caxias do Sul, located about 100 km from Porto Alegre, makes up one of the largest and most diversified industrial complexes in Latin America.
RECIFE
Recife is a Brazilian city, capital of Pernambuco, located in the northeast of the country. The city has the fourth most populous urban concentration in Brazil and is the eighth richest city in Brazil, with the fifteenth largest GDP in the country.
As the oldest among Brazilian state capitals, Recife is known as the "Brazilian Venice" and was described by the writer Albert Camus, in 1949, as the "Florence of the Tropics".
With the highest GDP of metropolitan areas in the North-Northeast, about two-thirds of Recife economy come from the trade and services sector, especially from tourism.
The city was elected by a research commissioned by MasterCard Worldwide as one of the 65 cities in Emerging Markets poised to drive long term global economic growth. According to the British consultancy PwC, Recife will be one of the world's hundred richest cities in 2020.
According to a research from Urban Systems consulting, Recife today has the best infrastructure in Brazil for business, as well as excellent human capital. Both in telecommunications and in transport, Recife has the advantage over other major Brazilian cities, having a port and an airport in its urban perimeter, resulting in greater ease in exporting.