RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) announced on Tuesday that its disbursements in the first 10 months of 2009 increased to 107.5 billion reais (62.1 billion U.S. dollars), up 50 percent from the same period in 2008.

    In a statement, the BNDES explained that the increase could be attributed to the good performance of the Brazilian industry, especially in the sectors of metallurgy, chemicals and transportation.

    From January to October, the statement added, disbursements in industry increased to 52.6 billion reais (30.4 billion dollars), up 82 percent from the same period in 2008, accounting for 49 percent of the total disbursements.

    The statement also disclosed that disbursements for the approved projects in the January-October period reached 129.9 billion reais (75 billion U.S. dollars), up 40 percent from the same period in 2008, hitting an all-time high.

    Disbursements in the consulting sector for new and existing projects totaled 183.5 billion reais (106 billion U.S. dollars), up 20 percent, said the statement.

    The bank also informed that its financing to export sector totaled 7.2 billion U.S. dollars in the first 10 months of the year, up 60 percent.

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