Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 17 April – Brazilian companies with a presence outside their domestic market employ over 42,000 workers in 48 countries, spread over 5 continents, Brazil’s O Globo newspaper reported Sunday.

Most of the workers, around 40,000, are locally recruited foreigners, in sectors such as construction, mining, oil, the aeronautical industry and auto-body manufacturing.

Large Brazilian companies which operate in foreign markets include, oil company Petrobras, mining company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, Marcopolo, aeronautical company Embraer, steel working company Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) and construction company Norberto Odebrecht.

Petrobras is the company with most workers abroad, around 17,200, with just 142 of those being Brazilian.

Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s largest producer of iron ore, is the Brazilian company with the longest history of working outside its home market as 30 years ago it opened an office in Japan.

Currently, the company operates in 18 countries and employs around 2,400 workers outside Brazil, 63 of which are Brazilian.

Marcopolo, which has a factory in Coimbra, Portugal, recently announced it would begin production of bus and coach bodies in Russia by the end of the year.

Currently, Marcopolo is the largest auto-body manufacturer in Latin America and one of the three largest in the world, with factories in Brazil, Portugal, South Africa, Mexico and Colombia. (macauhub)