Production sector in Alagoas discusses economic perspectives and future possibilities

The first edition of the New Frontiers Business Forum, promoted by Sebrae Alagoas, took part of the state’s productive sector to the Commercial Association, in the Jaraguá neighborhood, this Tuesday morning (30). In the lecture “Economic Perspective and Possible Futures, economist Zeina Latif presented analyzes on the Brazilian and Alagoas scenario, highlighting challenges and potential. The event opens a series of four meetings that will change the business environment in our state, with themes such as innovation, competitiveness and socioeconomic transformations.

“This Forum was born from dialogue with the productive sector itself, which signaled the need for meetings with this purpose, to disseminate information, promote the exchange of experiences and enable networking. The large number of registrations and the packed auditorium prove the growing interest of entrepreneurs in delving deeper into these topics”, says Sebrae’s technical director, Keylle Lima.

For Zeina Latif, who was once chief economist at XP Investimentos and Secretary of Economic Development of São Paulo, Brazil is a complex country with great regional inequalities, generating repercussions on politics and society. “Our differences explain a lot of the current situation and to overcome these disparities it is necessary to invest in dialogue between public entities and the private sector”, she argues. According to her, it is necessary to discuss major national and local issues based on the demands of the productive sector.

“Refining this dialogue is essential for the development of the country as a whole, there is no way to think about the future without resolving current issues such as education and qualification of the population. Improving people’s quality of life depends on encouraging training, entrepreneurship and investments in general,” she says.

She explains that, if successive crises reduce growth potential, the vigor of production can be demonstrated by the dissemination of this growth across various economic segments and not just in a single sector. “The curves are rising, demonstrating that our economy is more resilient than expected”, she adds.

The superintendent director of Sebrae Alagoas, Vinicius Lages, highlighted Zeina Latif’s approach to important challenges for the country’s development. “In addition to the reforms that have already been carried out and others that are underway, the economist pointed to essential issues such as improving the business environment, the need for investment in human capital and appropriate choices for future projects. She also highlighted the essential role of a policy that builds consensus, even living in a polarized society,” she says.

Meet Zeina Latif

Zenia Latif is one of the most recognized and influential economists in the financial market, with a solid career in economic analysis at important institutions. She began her career as a researcher at Fipe/USP and an economist at Tendências Consultoria Integrada, a specialized consultancy company, founded by Mailson da Nóbrega, former Minister of Finance.

He then moved to the financial market and was chief economist at important institutions, such as HSBC Asset Management, ABN-Amro Real, ING Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, and XP Investimentos. In 2012, she joined Gibraltar Consultoria, where she works as director and consultant. The option for a career as an economist happened when Zeina, as a child, was faced with the challenging situation in Brazil in the 1980s, which combined successive crises, unsuccessful economic packages, high inflation, low economic growth and widespread poverty.

He has been a columnist in important publications such as O Globo, Broadcast and Estadão. She is the author of the book We of Brazil: our heritage and our choices (2022), by Editora Record, and published the article Democracy and Growth in Brazil, with Marcos Lisboa, in the book A Via Democrática – How Economic and Social Development Occurs in Brazil (2014).

In 2006, Zeina was elected by Forbes Magazine as one of the most influential women in the financial market in Brazil. In 2008, she received the title of best chief economist by the Order of Economists of Brazil. In 2019, she received the Professional of the Year Award in the Economy/Finance category by Anefac.