RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's economy is warming up and would register better growth in the second half of 2012 despite revised downward forecast for the year, Finance Minister Guido Mantega reaffirmed Friday.
Brazil was lowering its 2012 GDP growth forecast from 3 percent to 2 percent.
"We have to stop looking to the past," said Mantega, adding "Indicators point to a resumption of growth."
The finance minister said that recent moves announced by the government, such as the cuts in its benchmark Selic interest rate, which is now at record-low 7.5 percent, would take some time to boost the economy.
Mantega believed that the stimulus measures taken by the government would bring about faster economic growth in the second half of 2012, while ensuring a sustained GDP growth of 4 to 5 percent in next few years.
The measures include cuts on payroll taxes for 40 sectors of the economy, a reduction in the electricity cost, and investments in transportation and logistics.
The minister revealed that about 119.4 billion U.S. dollars would be invested in state-run oil giant Petrobras in the next four years to help increase oil production and exports of the company.
In the first half of 2012, Brazil's GDP expanded 0.6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The low figures can be mostly attributed to the agricultural and industrial sectors, which shrunk 3 and 1.2 percent respectively in this period.
Brazil's GDP grew 2.7 percent last year.
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