São Paulo, July 4, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The president of the Votorantim group, Antônio Ermírio de Morais, said today that he sees possibilities for a six percentage point reduction in the prime interest rate (Selic) - which now stands at 26% per year - even as soon as the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom).

In his view, Brazil's chief problem is lack of jobs. The entrepreneur also affirmed that Brazil cannot continue to produce no more than 1% of the world's GDP, and he criticized the fact that "a population of starving people" exists in the country, while the agricultural harvest amounts to 300 kilograms per capita. Today, Morais received from the hands of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a prize awarded by Exame magazine to the Votorantim group as the best company in the last 30 years. (DAS)