OREANDA-NEWS. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. (BTMU) is pleased to announce that BTMU and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Brasil S.A. (BTMUB), BTMU's wholly owned subsidiary in the Federative Republic of Brazil (Brazil) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES), a Brazilian governmental development bank. This MOU sets out the strategic collaboration to provide a wide variety of financial services in both Brazil and Japan.

BNDES, the Brazilian government's wholly owned development bank, provides long-term local currency financing in which area BNDES is the biggest financial institution in the country. BNDES plays a major role in the continuous development of its economy and involves many developmental projects in the country.

Established in 1952, BNDES is very influential in such areas ship buildings, infrastructure, agribusiness, mineral resources and energy where Brazil and Japan envision the potential collaboration.

Brazil, which has a population of nearly 2 hundred million people, has a huge potential for economic development, while currently the country is economically the seventh largest nation in the world. Thanks to the abundant mineral and agricultural resources, the country holds an important position in the world and consumer spending in the domestic market is expanding thanks to the decreasing poverty and rise of the middle-class. Stable economic growth is expected in the medium and long term.

BTMU has had a presence in Brazil since 1919 when one of its predecessor banks, Yokohama Specie Bank Ltd., established a branch in Rio de Janeiro. Since then, as a BTMU wholly owned subsidiary, BTMUB provides a variety of services. Through this MOU, BTMU introduces investment opportunities in Brazil to potential Japanese investors by holding investor seminars and other events. BTMU, together with BNDES, aims to expand its services in order to meet the various needs of our customers.