ABSTRACT
One hundred years ago, São Paulo’s economy was still dominated by the coffee crop and trade. The development of infrastructures like roads and ports, together with an influx of immigrants required by the coffee business, set the foundations for the industrial development of what is today the biggest and most influential economic centre of Brazil. Nowadays, São Paulo is South America’s most important headquarters and advanced services location, while keeping a strong and diversified economy. Besides hosting many high-tech manufacturing activities, like aeronautics (with Brazilian flagship corporations, like Embraer), the state of São Paulo also has an important share of Brazil’s rich and abundant natural resources – it is a net exporter of commodities like orange juice, soya, ethanol, oil and many others.
