国际英语新闻：Brazilian stock exchange becomes world's 2nd largest in market value

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) is now the second largest stock in market value in the world, the stock's president Edemir Pinto said Friday.

Bovespa reached a market value of 30.4 billion reais (17.7 billion U.S. dollars) by closing time on Thursday, only after Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

According to Pinto, Bovespa's value registers 25 percent more than the total values of the New York, London and Nasdaq stock exchanges together.

The figures were achieved with the large help from state-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras, whose latest global offering increased 120 billion reais (70 billion U.S. dollars), according to Brazil's Finance Minister Guido Mantega.

Petrobras offered 2.174 billion new common shares and 1.585 billion preferred shares in the Sao Paulo and New York Stock Exchanges.

According to Mantega, the offering is an evidence of the good state of the Brazilian economy.

"It is the largest share sale in the history of capitalism. In the difficult moment in the world's economy recovery and 10 days before the elections in Brazil, I would say it is an important event," Mantega said.