Incorporating a company in Brazil takes time. In average, 3 months (for details about incorporation ,please see this post).I have tried to speed up this process, but without much success. It depends on several independent things: availability of a translator, public hollidays, courier delivery, etc. Indeed, this is one of the aspects of Brazilian bureacracy and lack of competitivity. Each step of the task is slightly inneficient. Combined, they slow down the rythm of business. When the project includes a Brazilian partner, this hindrance does not matter much, because he will be expecting it and the plans would already have counted for the delay. But when the project is totally controlled by foreign parties, this kind of time is essentially counted as a waste. I have been experimenting with a system that is less safe, legally speaking, but that can be used to conduct business at a faster pace. Here it is: a) I will incorporate a service company in Brazil, with two nominee partners and one nominee director. The company will have the same name desired by the investor;b) the nominee partners and directors will enter into a quota/shares sales agreement with the future investor. This agreement will allow for a 60-day period in which the buyer (the investor) will be allowed to participate in the company`s management/c) the investor will prepare the documents required to take possession of the quotas/shares;d) meanwhile, the Brazilian company may enter into agreements with local partner. The company will refrain from issuing invoices, however. The invoices will be issued only after the foreign investors formally acquire the quotas. In short, the procedure is an acquisition of shelf-company. But with some additional agreements that ensure that the foreign investor will have control over the company even before they are formally the owners. This strategy is more expensive than a regular incorporation. There will be extra costs with the nominee partners, with additional agreements, etc.The advantage is that it could allow the foreign investors to conduct business in Brazil within 03 weeks, instead of 12 weeks. Business will be limited, of course, and this strategy will work better with service company. Also, import/export operations will not be possible at first, because any Brazilian company that is to engage in international trade must first obtain a license (the "Radar"). Even so, this strategy will allow investors to have a legal presence in Brazil much faster than usual. SEE ALSO:Incorporating a Brazilian company, step by stepList of documents for setting up a company in Brazil The use of negotiable instruments in Brazil isvery different from it use in Europe.I have a case that illustrates that in aninformative and funny fashion. One of my clients, a European company, performedsales of electronic equipment worth several million dollars to a Brazilianbuyer. We drafter a very good sales contract,according to Brazilian law. It was dully signed and executed. Things werelooking good. However, the bank financing the production ofthe good (my client`s bank) demanded a very specific kind of security linked tothe agreement. It wished for a Bill of Exchange. That is when the