Zurich - UBS announced Monday it had agreed to sell its Brazilian financial services business, UBS Pactual, for approximately 2.5 billion dollars to BTG Investments, in an attempt to raise capital.

In a statement the Swiss bank said the sale, which would result in a "small loss," was part of a strategy to reduce its risk profile and improve its balance sheet.

Also, the sale will strengthen by 1.3 billion dollars its Tier 1 capital, which had been slipping in recent months, UBS said. The tier 1 capital ratio is considered an important indicator of a bank's financial strength

Invensys Process Systems (IPS), a global technology, software and consulting firm, has entered into a five-year contract with Petrobras, to provide comprehensive safety services and solutions.

Under the arrangement, the company will implement its Triconex safety and critical controls and Avantis asset management technology to upgrade and modernize 11 Petrobras refining facilities throughout Brazil. The contract is valued at $50 million.

BEML Limited, second largest maker of earth moving equipment in Asia, announced that it has established an assembly division, BEML Brasil Industrial Ltda, at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Shri Pradeep Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production), Govt of India inaugurated the BEML BRASIL INDUSTRIAL LTDA in the company of His Excellency Shri BS Prakash, Ambassador of India to Brazil and Shri V RS Natarajan, Chairman and Managing Director, BEML LTD.

Rio de Janeiro  - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday spoke about the nationalization of troubled banks, in a speech before the 2009 World Economic Forum for Latin America.

Before more than 500 businessmen, bankers and government officials gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Lula stressed the fundamental role that the state has to play to bring about recovery from the ongoing financial and economic crisis, which demands the creation of a new world order.

Rio de Janiero - Brazil's state-run energy company Petrobras has announced the discovery of a new offshore oil find. The light-oil field, referred to as Iguacu, is located in the Santos Basin in the Atlantic Ocean about 340 kilometres off the Sao Paulo coast at a depth of 2,140 metres, Petrobras said Tuesday.

The find was made in a new well in the BM-S-9, or Carioca field, that was discovered in April 2008. Petrobras did not give estimates of the field's size or volume.

The oil giant heads a consortium with Britain's BP Group and Spain's Repsol that jointly explores the field.

Rio de Janeiro - Brazil's government awarded the national planemaker Embraer a defence contract worth 1.4 billion dollars for developing a new military cargo plane. The KC-390 cargo plane, which is expected to have a capacity of 19 tons, is to be developed jointly with Brazil's Air Force over the next seven years to replace old Hercules-C-130 planes.

The Air Force is expected to place an initial order of 22 jets.