At the close of 1995, there were 874 public companies in Brazil, of which 570 whose shares were listed on the stock exchanges. Below is a chart showing changes in the number of companies listed on the exchanges since 1973:
Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world, contains 8.5 million square kilometers (approximately 3,281,000 square miles) of territory and occupies 47% of the South American land mass.
It is located between the 5º North and 32º South parallels, and hence is a predominantly tropical country -- only the far South can be described as having a temperate climate. Average temperatures fluctuate between 23º C and 29º C in the hottest months and between 17º C and 24º C in the cooler season.
Brazil boasts a vast network of financial intermediaries authorized to operate in the derivatives market. Besides the intermediaries linked to the capital market, which has been mentioned above, there are those linked to the exchanges dealing in futures and to banking and non-banking financial institutions, all actively participating in the derivatives market. In addition, Swap operations are carried out by financial institutions in general. On the over-the-counter market, operations are mainly registered in the CETIP. However, the majority of Brazilian financial institutions have the potential to participate in the derivatives markets.
