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 Brazilian Wilson Amaral de Oliveira, CEO of Gafisa S.A., a leading homebuilding company in Brazil, rang the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) opening bell today, March 16, to celebrate the company's initial public offering on the NYSE. Gafisa, a US$ 1.5 billion corporation, began trading under the ticker symbol "GFA".
"We are privileged to welcome Gafisa S.A. to the NYSE family of listed companies," said NYSE Group, Inc. CEO John A. Thain. "Gafisa is an outstanding addition to the NYSE Group, Inc.'s growing roster of companies from Brazil.
"We look forward to a strong and long term partnership with Gafisa and its shareholders and to providing them with the highest levels of market quality and unsurpassed visibility."
Gafisa S.A. joins other successful Brazilian IPOs on the NYSE including: TAM S.A. (NYSE: TAM), a Brazilian-based international airline company with a market cap of US$ 4.1 billion; CPFL Energia S.A. (NYSE: CPL), a Brazilian energy company with a market cap of US$ 6.5 billion; and Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL), a Brazilian-based international airline company, whose market cap increased by approximately 300% to US$ 5.1 billion since its 2004 listing.
The listing by Gafisa S.A. brings the total number of NYSE-listed companies from Brazil to 32 with a combined market cap over US$ 410 billion. On average, the NYSE Group, Inc. trades US$ 1 billion in Brazilian ADRs per day.
Gafisa is one of Brazil's leading homebuilding companies, focusing on residential markets. Over the last 50 years, the company has been recognized as one of the foremost professionally-managed homebuilders, having completed and sold more than 900 developments and constructed nearly ten million square meters, believed to be more than any other residential development company in Brazil.
Gafisa is one of the best-known brands in the real estate development market, enjoying a reputation among potential homebuyers, brokers, lenders, landowners and competitors for quality, consistency and professionalism.
NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange LLC (the "NYSE") and NYSE Arca, Inc. (formerly known as the Pacific Exchange).
NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. In 2006, on an average trading day, 2.3 billion shares, valued at US$ 86.8 billion, were traded on the exchanges of the NYSE Group.
The NYSE is the world's largest and most liquid cash equities exchange. On December 31, 2006, the operating companies listed on the NYSE represented a total global market capitalization of US$ 25.0 trillion.
NYSE Arca, Inc. operates the former ArcaEx, the first open, all-electronic stock exchange in the United States, which has a leading position in trading exchange-traded funds and exchange-listed securities.
NYSE Arca, Inc. is also an exchange for trading equity options. NYSE Arca, Inc.'s trading platforms provide customers with fast electronic execution and open, direct and anonymous market access.
NYSE Regulation, an independent not-for-profit subsidiary, regulates member organizations through the enforcement of marketplace rules and federal securities laws. NYSE Regulation also ensures that companies listed on the NYSE and NYSE Arca meet their financial and corporate governance listing standards.
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the Brasilian housing market to meet the inevitable increased demand for housing as interest rates fall
and Brasilian banks increase their mortgage lending. Brasil has already gone a long way in
developing its domestic market for government debt. News like this is essential to strengthening
the nascent domestic mortgage market. And, of course, residential construction is a huge jobs generator with positive follow-on effects for the entire economy and especially the working class.