02Macro, politics & other
BRMacro, politics & other
Real posts its worst week since 2008 and the Ibovespa drops 18% after Lula's re-election
The dollar closed Friday 30 October at R$5.446, up about 9.15% on the week, the real's steepest weekly fall since 2008; the Ibovespa closed at 167,921.80, down 18.12%, its worst week since March 2020. Agência Brasil points to fiscal uncertainty while the economic team is unnamed, about R$7.6bn of foreign equity outflows in three sessions, hedging before the Finados holiday and a global tech sell-off.
Why it matters for LIDE membersThe repricing changes hedging costs, the BRL value of Swiss-booked portfolios and deal timing for cross-border members.
BRMacro, politics & otherUnconfirmed report – Brasil 247 (partisan outlet; conflicting reports on a Lula–Lara Resende meeting)
Finance Minister Durigan rules out capping the Selic after a Lara Resende proposal circulates in the PT
Economist André Lara Resende proposed a joint fiscal-monetary council and a gradual cut in the Selic to 7.5% within 12 months, and his text was shared by Gleisi Hoffmann. On 1 November Finance Minister Dario Durigan said no idea such as capping interest rates is on the President's desk. Lula wrote on Sunday that every campaign promise will be delivered; the 2027 Finance Minister has not been named.
Why it matters for LIDE membersSignals of political pressure on the BCB weigh on Wednesday's Copom and on the BRL risk premium.
CHMacro, politics & other
Swiss manufacturing PMI rises to 56.7 in October; services at 59.9
The UBS/procure.ch manufacturing PMI rose 1.4 points to 56.7 in October, its eighth month in a row above 50 and above economists' forecasts, driven by production, delivery times and backlogs. The services PMI edged up to 59.9 from 59.8.
Why it matters for LIDE membersSwiss activity looks resilient while Brazil reprices, supporting the franc and the Swiss leg of members' allocations.
05Private banking & wealth management
CHPrivate banking & wealth managementFintech
FINMA's revised online identification rules take effect: e-ID, QR-code driving licence and mandatory liveness checks
The partial revision of FINMA Circular 2016/7 on video and online identification has applied since 1 November 2026. Swiss intermediaries can onboard clients with the federal e-ID (online only) and accept QR-code documents such as the credit-card driving licence, while liveness detection becomes mandatory to counter AI-driven fraud. Digital proof of residence is also allowed.
Why it matters for LIDE membersIt changes how Swiss banks and wealth managers onboard clients remotely, including Brazilian families resident in Switzerland.
CHPrivate banking & wealth management
Swiss fund market hits a record CHF 1.93tn; bond funds lead Q3 inflows
AMAS data show Swiss-distributed funds reached CHF 1,927bn at end-September with CHF 32.7bn of net new money in Q3. Bond funds led inflows, ahead of equity funds at CHF 9.7bn, and about two-thirds of new money went into ETFs; UBS holds 36.9% of the market.
Why it matters for LIDE membersSwiss investors favour income and low-cost ETFs, a trend that shapes product shelves for Brazilian clients booked in Switzerland.
CHPrivate banking & wealth management
Luzerner Kantonalbank's nine-month profit rises 8.7%; mandate assets reach CHF 18.5bn
LUKB reported nine-month group profit of CHF 242.7m, with commission income up 12.8% and wealth-management and advisory mandates rising from CHF 16.8bn to CHF 18.5bn. It expects full-year profit in the upper third of its CHF 305–320m range; Stefan Studer becomes CEO on 1 January 2027.
Why it matters for LIDE membersCantonal banks are pushing into wealth management, adding competition for private banks and independent managers.
06Private Market
BRPrivate MarketMacro, politics & other
Raízen shareholders approve the split and up to R$39.8bn capital increase; creditors take about 80% and Shell becomes the largest shareholder
On 30 October Raízen closed the restructuring of about R$65bn of liabilities: about R$30bn is converted into equity, giving creditors roughly 80% and four board seats, and R$35bn is rescheduled over up to eight years. Shell commits up to R$3.5bn and, with 13–15%, becomes the largest single shareholder, while Rubens Ometto's Aguassanta falls below 5%. Shareholders approved splitting the group into two listed companies; the board votes on 6 November and subscription rights run from 9 November to 8 December.
Why it matters for LIDE membersOne of Brazil's largest restructurings leaves a major agri-energy group without a controlling shareholder, a landmark for governance and credit risk.
BRPrivate Market
CSN grants China's Huaxin exclusivity to buy CSN Cimentos at an R$12.7bn enterprise value
CSN signed a 10-day exclusivity agreement with Huaxin Building Materials to finalise the sale of its cement unit at an enterprise value of R$12.7bn, ending a process launched in March. The sale is central to CSN's deleveraging after S&P cut it to B- with a negative outlook.
Why it matters for LIDE membersA large Chinese strategic buy in Brazilian building materials shows leveraged corporates selling assets to cut debt.
BRPrivate Market
Spanish groups and EDP win all eight lots in Brazil's R$8.9bn transmission auction
Aneel auctioned eight transmission lots at B3 on 30 October; Neoenergia, Cymi, Celeo, Cox and EDP won them all. The average discount on the maximum allowed revenue was 50.1%, giving contracted annual revenue of R$811m against a ceiling of R$1.625bn, on 30-year concessions.
Why it matters for LIDE membersEuropean capital dominates Brazil's grid build-out, and deep discounts show fierce competition for long-dated infrastructure returns.
CHPrivate MarketAI & Infrastructure
Swiss start-ups raised about CHF 209m in ten disclosed rounds in October, with AI and robotics prominent
startupnews.ch counted ten rounds with a disclosed amount, worth about CHF 208.8m (median CHF 7m); Nouscom's EUR 120m Series D was the largest. AI rounds included Namespace (USD 42m, cloud compute for AI coding agents) and Enact Intelligence (USD 30m pre-seed, physical AI). At least nine more rounds had no published amount.
Why it matters for LIDE membersA monthly read of Swiss deep-tech deal flow for Brazilian investors and corporate venture arms.
07Crypto & digital assets
BRCrypto & digital assetsFintech
Binance reopens withdrawals in phases after the US$6.3bn hack; net outflow of about US$3.6bn on day one
Binance restarted withdrawals on Sunday 1 November from 06:00 UTC, beginning with bitcoin, and says it has replaced about 95% of the stolen assets from its own funds, with roughly US$3bn frozen by partners. Between 06:00 and 15:30 UTC it processed about US$4.65bn of withdrawals against US$1.01bn of deposits. Binance Brasil says BRL withdrawals never stopped and that client crypto is segregated in cold wallets.
Why it matters for LIDE membersThe largest exchange serving Brazilian investors faces a liquidity test while its BCB licence application is under review, which bears on custody and counterparty choices.
BRCrypto & digital assetsPrivate banking & wealth managementFintechUnconfirmed report – Cainvest/Finsiders/Bitnoticias
Brazil's crypto licence window closes: unofficial counts range from about 48 to 74 applicants, with Itaú, Bradesco, Nubank and B3 among them
The 30 October deadline for existing virtual-asset providers to apply for BCB (SPSAV) authorisation has passed, and the BCB has not yet published a figure. Trackers differ: Finsiders, citing the Cainvest monitor, counted 62; InfoMoney names about 48; Bitnoticias reports 74 including notifications, all well below the 100–200 once expected. Applicants include Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Mercado Bitcoin and Foxbit, plus Itaú, Bradesco, BTG, Nubank, Inter and B3; they may keep operating while the BCB decides.
Why it matters for LIDE membersBrazil's crypto market is consolidating around banks and large licensed platforms, and members' due diligence should rely on the official BCB list.
BRCrypto & digital assetsFintechUnconfirmed report – Blue Consult (advisers' interpretation)
6 November bank cut-off: deleted wording in Resolução BCB 589 leaves applicants' access to banking unclear
From 6 November, banks and payment institutions may not carry out or enable virtual-asset operations with providers 'not authorised to operate in the country' (Art. 91 of Res. BCB 520 as amended by Res. 589). The amendment deleted the earlier words 'or in the process of authorisation', while another article lets applicants keep operating during review. Advisers warn that banks reading the rule strictly could delay BRL withdrawals at platforms still under review; the BCB has not clarified it.
Why it matters for LIDE membersMembers with treasury or banking links to Brazilian crypto platforms should get their bank's written position before Friday.
BRCrypto & digital assetsFintech
Licence deadline triggers exits: Uphold, Oobit and Revolut's crypto unit wind down in Brazil
Uphold has ended service in Brazil, with withdrawals open until 30 November; Oobit keeps Pix and cards until 6 November; Revolut ends crypto services on 25 November but keeps its other products. NovaDAX, Coinext, Digitra, Bity and Bitnuvem had already left, and Bitso moved its retail clients to Mercado Bitcoin. Firms that did not apply can still serve clients through licensed partners.
Why it matters for LIDE membersConsolidation opens M&A and client-book transfer opportunities and leaves investors with dated withdrawal deadlines.
08AI & Infrastructure
BRAI & Infrastructure
Survey of 150 Brazilian CIOs: 45% of companies meet none of seven AI-maturity criteria
The 'Raio X da IA no Brasil' study by Cena Digital and Leega surveyed 150 CIOs in 14 states: 77% of firms meet at most two of seven criteria, and only 6% meet the cost/ROI criterion. Even among companies with revenue above R$5bn, a quarter meet none.
Why it matters for LIDE membersGovernance and ROI discipline, not technology, are the bottleneck for AI in Brazil, an opening for Swiss AI and governance providers.
BRAI & InfrastructureUnconfirmed report – Brazil Journal (opinion piece by law-firm authors)
Brazil's AI bill PL 2338: lawyers expect a Chamber vote in 2027 and outline company obligations
Lawyers at Bichara e Motta write that the Senate-approved risk-based bill is still pending in the Chamber, with a vote they expect in 2027. Fines would reach 2% of Brazilian revenue, capped at R$50m per infraction; companies would get 730 days to adapt, but 180 days for general-purpose and generative AI, with the ANPD coordinating enforcement.
Why it matters for LIDE membersMembers using or selling AI in Brazil get an early view of compliance costs and timing.
CHAI & InfrastructureUniversity spin-offs & innovation labs
Swiss national supercomputing centre CSCS switches its power supplier to Zurich's EWZ
ETH Zurich tendered the electricity supply for CSCS in Lugano, home of the Alps system used to train Swiss AI models, and received five bids. EWZ won and replaces Lugano's AIL for 2029–2033 at an offered price of CHF 76.6/MWh.
Why it matters for LIDE membersIt gives a public benchmark for the power cost of AI compute in Switzerland, useful when comparing with Brazil's renewable data-centre offer.
10University spin-offs & innovation labs
BRUniversity spin-offs & innovation labsAI & Infrastructure
Embrapa's drone-and-AI system pinpoints the best time to sell cattle and seeks an agtech partner
Embrapa Agricultura Digital uses deep learning on drone images to track the body shape of Nelore cattle, with 95.6% detection precision; in a 110-head trial it flagged the best sale window up to a week earlier than conventional management. The work was presented at FAPESP Week Netherlands, and the researchers want an agtech partner to turn it into a product.
Why it matters for LIDE membersAn open licensing or co-development opportunity for Swiss precision-tech firms and Brazilian agribusiness members.
CHUniversity spin-offs & innovation labsAI & Infrastructure
Venture Kick awards CHF 150,000 to Prismus, whose AI platform maps deep-tech markets and partners
Prismus's platform Lupa combines scientific and industrial data, with AI agents ranking markets, companies, researchers and partners by technological fit and citing sources. The start-up already has 30 paying Swiss deep-tech customers and will use the funds to scale.
Why it matters for LIDE membersA practical tool for scouting technology transfer between Swiss labs and Brazilian industry.