Editing Belo Horizonte (section)

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Belo Horizonte|Economy of Brazil}}
[[File:Usiminasmonumento.JPG|thumb|Former headquarters of [[Usiminas]] in Pedro Melo Square.]]
[[File:Praça_ABC_-_panoramio_(cropped).jpg|thumb|Business district of the city.]]
Belo Horizonte receives large numbers of visitors, as it is in the Brazilian main economic axis, exerting influence even on other states. Multinational and Brazilian companies, such as Google, [[Deloitte]], [[Thoughtworks]], [[Localiza]] and [[Oi (mobile phone network)|Oi]], maintain offices in the city. The service sector plays a very important role in the economy of Belo Horizonte, being responsible for 85% of the city's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with other industry making up most of the remaining 15%. Belo Horizonte has a developed industrial sector, being traditionally a hub of the Brazilian [[siderurgy|siderurgical]] and [[metallurgy|metallurgical]] industries, as the state of Minas Gerais has always been very rich in [[minerals]], specifically iron ore.

Belo Horizonte is the distribution and processing centre of a rich agricultural and mining region and the nucleus of a burgeoning industrial complex. Production is centred on steel, steel products, [[automobile]]s, and textiles. Gold, [[manganese]], and [[gemstone]]s mined in the surrounding region are processed in the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sergiok/brasil/belo.html |title=BH city |website=Darkwing.uoregon.edu |access-date=2011-04-17| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110513235809/http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sergiok/brasil/belo.html| archive-date= May 13, 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref>
The main industrial district of the city was set during the 1940s in [[Contagem]], a part of greater Belo Horizonte. Multinational companies like [[FIAT]] (which opened its plant in Betim in 1974), [[Arcelor]], and [[Toshiba]] have subsidiaries in the region, along with textiles like Group Rachelle Textil, Ematex and Cedro Textil, [[Cosmetics|cosmetic]], food, [[chemicals]], [[pharmaceuticals]], [[furnishing]] and [[refractory]] companies. Among the companies headquartered in the city are steel producer Açominas (held by [[Gerdau]], one of the largest multinationals originated in Brazil); [[Usiminas]]; Belgo-Mineira (held by [[Arcelor]]); [[Acesita]] (partially held by Arcelor); mobile communication [[Vivo S.A.|Vivo]]; and [[Telecom Italia Mobile]], Dasein Executive Search<!--Q13418498-->, executive coaching company, as well as the [[NYSE]]-listed electrical company [[CEMIG]]. Leading steel product makers Sumitomo Metals<!--Q96334076--> of Japan and Vallourec of France also have plans to construct an integrated steel works on the outskirts of the city.

There are also a large number of small enterprises in the technology sector with regional to nationwide success, particularly in the fields of [[computing]] and biotechnology. Because of both governmental and private funding in the diversification of its economy, the city has become an international reference in Information Technology and [[Biotechnology]], and is also cited because of the advanced corporate and university research in [[Biodiesel]] fuel. The number of jobs in the Information sector has been growing at annual rates above 50%. The Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area, composed of 33 cities under the capital's direct influence, is home to 16% of the country's biotechnology companies, with annual sales of over R$550&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.belotur.com.br/ing/a_cidade_economia.php |title=Economy of the city of Belo Horizonte |website=Belotur.com.br |access-date=2011-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110113010/http://www.belotur.com.br/ing/a_cidade_economia.php |archive-date=January 10, 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

Projects in these fields are likely to expand because of integration between universities, the oil company [[Petrobras]] and the [[Brazilian Government]]. One of the largest events that ever took place in the city, the [[Inter-American Development Bank]] meeting, occurred in 2005 and attracted people from all over the world.

For a long time it was marked by the predominance of its [[industrial sector]], but from the 1990s there has been a constant expansion of the [[service sector]] economy, particularly in [[computer science]], [[biotechnology]], [[business tourism]], fashion and the jewelry-making. The city is considered to be a strategic leader in the [[Economy of Brazil|Brazilian economy]]. The move towards [[business tourism]] transformed the capital into a national hub for this segment of the [[tourist industry]].

* In 2008, the city's GDP was [[Brazilian real|R$]]42&nbsp;billion (or about [[United States dollar|US$]]26,2&nbsp;billion).<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/noticia_impressao.php?id_noticia=1288|title=GDP|publisher=[[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics|IBGE]]|location=Belo Horizonte, Brazil|format=PDF|isbn=85-240-3919-1|access-date=2009-07-21|year=2006|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701054146/http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/noticia_impressao.php?id_noticia=1288|archive-date=July 1, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2008, the [[Greater Belo Horizonte]]'s GDP was [[Brazilian real|R$]]98,5&nbsp;billion (or about [[United States dollar|US$]]61&nbsp;billion).<ref name="IBGE_PIB">{{cite web|url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/pibmunicipios/2005/tab01.pdf |title=Produto Interno Bruto dos Municípios 2002–2005 |publisher=Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) |access-date=May 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002024524/http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/pibmunicipios/2005/tab01.pdf |archive-date=October 2, 2008 }}</ref>
* In 2008, the city's per capita income was [[Brazilian real|R$]]17,313 (or [[United States dollar|US$]]10,820).<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/noticia_impressao.php?id_noticia=1288|title=per capita income|publisher=[[Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics|IBGE]]|location=Belo Horizonte, Brazil|format=PDF|isbn=978-85-240-3919-5|access-date=2010-01-10|year=2007|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701054146/http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/noticia_impressao.php?id_noticia=1288|archive-date=July 1, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, it was R$15,830<ref name="pnbonline.com.br">http://www.pnbonline.com.br/display.asp?id=36736 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> (about US$9,893).<ref name="pnbonline.com.br"/>