I recently attended the 2011 World Economic Forum on Latin America in Brazil. The theme of the conference focused on sustainable business growth in Latin America and creating long-term economic stability. Brazil has one of the fastest growing world economies, and at a time when global interest in the region is ramping up, what better place to discuss its future economic outlook? The country has attracted strong attention from the rest of the world, resulting in increasing cross-border deal flow. A recent article appeared in the Financial Times stating that the volume of mergers and acquisitions in 2010 reached nearly $153bn compared with almost $60bn a year earlier. Banks like JP Morgan and Citibank are also staffing up in the region to support increasing business.

Like many of those involved in the M&A market, I started the new decade thinking that things could only get better after recent economic challenges, and it appears that there are grounds for optimism.