Share issuance on Brazil’s capital markets has come to a screeching halt this year after a record-busting 2007 which saw the country come from nowhere to be one of the most significant issuers of new deals in the world. Faced with a hostile market environment, companies are hobbling along without new cash, fingers crossed for a second half reopening of markets.

The numbers speak for themselves. In the first five months of 2007, there were just three initial public offerings (IPOs), one of which was a tiddler.