Brazil corporate bankruptcy filings double this year, Experian says
SAO PAULO, May 4 (Reuters) - Businesses' requests for bankruptcy protection in Brazil doubled in the first four months of 2016 as the harshest recession in decades and borrowing costs at nine-year highs crimped the ability of factories and retailers to stay afloat, the local unit of credit research company Experian Plc said on Wednesday.
Companies filed an all-time high of 571 requests for court protection from creditors, compared with 289 filings a year earlier. Last year, a record 1,287 companies sought bankruptcy protection, according to Serasa Experian, which has collected data on the indicator since 2006.
Small companies filed 327 of the bankruptcy protection requests in the period, the Serasa report showed.
Gross domestic product contracted 3.8 percent last year as businesses slashed investment plans and laid off more than 1.5 million workers, setting the stage for what could be Brazil's deepest economic recession on record. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
