By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s national development bank BNDES approved 59.3 billion reais in credit for Minas Gerais from 2023 through the end of the first quarter of 2026, a 78.6% increase from the amount approved between 2019 and 2022.
The annual average rose to 18.2 billion reais from 8.3 billion reais in the previous four-year period, a 119.3% jump. The figures are set to be presented Tuesday (May 5) at Casa BNDES, a business event held at the headquarters of Minas Gerais’ industry federation, Fiemg.
BNDES President Aloizio Mercadante said the state has become a major destination for financing tied to the green economy.
“So far, there have been 54 billion reais in credit for the sustainable economy. The state is making a major shift in its energy pattern, investing in ethanol and biofuels. There are many new developments,” Mercadante said.
The bank’s lending growth comes as BNDES seeks to expand its role in Brazil’s industrial policy and infrastructure agenda. Mercadante said he would present business leaders with the main credit lines organized under the Brasil Soberano 2 plan, designed to support the Brazilian economy.
“We are doing 1 billion reais in credit per day in Brazil, including what we do directly, indirectly and through guarantee funds,” he said.
Mercadante also said BNDES currently has a 0.06% default rate, which he described as the lowest in Brazil’s financial market.
In Minas Gerais, credit approvals increased across major sectors. Agribusiness received about 16.6 billion reais from 2023 through the first quarter of 2026, compared with roughly 8 billion reais between 2019 and 2022. Industrial approvals rose to about 12.4 billion reais from 4.8 billion reais. Commerce and services increased to about 13 billion reais from 6 billion reais.
Infrastructure financing reached about 16.6 billion reais since 2023, compared with 14.8 billion reais in the previous period. Credit to the state’s public sector also expanded sharply, rising to 1.43 billion reais from 110 million reais.
Approvals for Minas Gerais totaled 23.2 billion reais in 2025, the highest annual figure in a historical series that began in 1995. The state was the biggest recipient of BNDES funds for biofuels in Brazil, with 1.5 billion reais, and ranked second in approvals for innovation, with 1.7 billion reais, behind São Paulo.
Under the Mais Produção plan, Minas Gerais had 34.3 billion reais approved across 32,000 operations through March 2026. Credit offered through BNDES Digital reached 14.4 billion reais in 2025.
The main on-lending lines last year included Finame Materiais, with 3.2 billion reais; the Bus and Truck Line, with 2.4 billion reais; Brasil Soberano, with 1 billion reais; Moderfrota, with 900 million reais; and Pronaf Investimento and Mais Inovação Máquinas Rodoviárias 4.0, with 800 million reais each.
Road projects backed by BNDES in Minas Gerais between 2023 and 2026 totaled 21.4 billion reais, including 10.1 billion reais in bank financing. The projects involve the restoration of more than 1,200 kilometers of roads and the duplication of more than 650 kilometers.
Among the projects is the upgrade of BR-050 between Cristalina, in Goiás, and Delta, in Minas Gerais. The 436.6-kilometer corridor links the Triângulo Mineiro region and Goiás to major consumer centers.
BNDES also structured the Rota das Gerais concession with the National Land Transport Agency and the Transport Ministry. The project covers BR-116/MG and BR-251/MG, spans 734.9 kilometers and is expected to require 7.3 billion reais in investments, including the duplication of 186 kilometers on a route linking Brazil’s Southeast and Northeast.
In airports, Uberlândia, Uberaba and Montes Claros are part of Aena SME SA’s (AENA SM) expansion, modernization and maintenance plan. BNDES-backed airport projects in Minas Gerais total 600 million reais in financing.
In renewable energy, BNDES supported five projects in the state from 2023 to 2026, totaling 6.3 billion reais in overall investment and 3.98 billion reais in BNDES financing. The projects add up to 1,650 megawatts of renewable power generation, including 40 megawatts of distributed generation, with the potential to serve more than 1.5 million households and avoid more than 1 million tons of CO₂ per year.
One of the projects is a 1 billion-real loan to Atlas Renewable Energy for the construction of 11 solar plants in Arinos, in northwestern Minas Gerais. The project is expected to create about 2,100 jobs during construction.
In biofuels, BNDES highlighted 480 million reais in support for Companhia Mineira de Açúcar e Álcool, known as CMAA, in Limeira do Oeste. The financing will help expand ethanol production by as much as 85,000 cubic meters per year, taking output to 205,000 cubic meters per harvest, while doubling biomass power generation capacity to 68 megawatts from 34 megawatts.
In Montes Claros, Acelen Renováveis received 257.9 million reais to build Acelen Agripark, a technology innovation center focused on the production chain for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel made from macaúba.
BNDES is also financing urban climate resilience projects. In Uberlândia, the bank is backing an 88.2 million-real Urban Operations Center, designed to integrate real-time data monitoring and improve the city’s response to crises, emergencies and extreme weather events.
In Juiz de Fora, BNDES approved 210 million reais to redevelop the historic center, with a focus on urban infrastructure, accessibility, tourism, economic activity and climate adaptation. The bank also approved 40 million reais for a biomethane plant using urban solid waste in the same city.
In Contagem, BNDES is supporting municipal modernization through a 49.5 million-real PMAT operation focused on digital infrastructure, e-government, smart cities and social services.
Industrial projects also received financing. Uberlândia Refrescos, a Coca-Cola Co. (KO US) franchisee, obtained 102 million reais to install a fully digitalized PET bottle filling line. Gerdau SA (GGBR4 BZ; GGB US) received 566 million reais for a pipeline linking the Miguel Burnier mine to its steel unit in Ouro Branco, along with a 10-kilometer tailings pipeline and a scrap recycling center in Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo.
In Extrema, Grupo Multi SA (MLAS3 BZ) received 294.1 million reais for an innovation and Industry 4.0 plan to digitalize and integrate processes and systems at its Minas Gerais and Manaus units. From 2023 to 2025, Minas Gerais had 2.7 billion reais approved under BNDES Mais Inovação – Indústria 4.0, across 1,424 machinery and equipment diffusion projects.
BNDES is also involved in the repair and reconstruction of the Rio Doce Basin. Across Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, disbursements from the Rio Doce Fund exceeded 2.1 billion reais. The bank will manage 49 billion reais from the fund over the next 22 years for social, environmental and structural investments under court-approved reparation and compensation measures.
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