Shares of Transocean Ltd. (BVMF:RIGG34) closed at 31 yesterday. Transocean Ltd. currently has a total float of 671.94 million shares and on average sees 3 shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 31 and high of 31.

Ibovespa: Creating Healthy Trade and Commerce

In South America, Brazil has one of the most influential economies— thanks to its thriving and healthy trade and commerce environment. It is impossible to question the nation’s fast-paced economic growth with a valuable equity market contributing a lot to the process. And among many growing companies Transocean Ltd. stays one of the main players there.

Brazilian Trade and Commerce

One of South America’s largest stock exchanges is the main stock exchange in Brazil, the Brazilian Mercantile and Futures (BM&F) Bovespa. Given its global dominance and influence, it has offices all over the world, particularly in big cities such as Shanghai, New York City (NYC), and London.

The pre-market trading on the BM&F Bovespa lasts for 15 minutes, starting at 9:45 a.m. and ending at 10:00 a.m; the regular trading lasts for seven and a half hours, starting at 10:00 a.m. and ending at 5:30 p.m.; and the post-market trading lasts for an hour and a half, starting at 6:00 p.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m.

The Ibovespa Brasil Sao Paulo Stock Exchange Index, on the other hand, is the market-capitalization-weighted index that tracks the 50 largest companies listed on the BM&F Bovespa, representing 70% of its total market valuation. Transocean Ltd. is one of the members of IBOV.

The Ibovespa is rebalanced four times a year in order to make sure that the components provide a clearer picture of the BM&F Bovespa. Eligibility for inclusion in the Ibovespa depends on several factors. First, a company must of course be listed on the BM&F Bovespa— for not less than one year. Also, 80% or more of its shares must also be traded on the BM&F Bovespa actively.

History

The Brazilian equity market is one of those with rich histories backing its success.

Established on August 23, 1890, the BM&F Bovespa is one of the first stock exchanges in South America. The government had a tight grip on it as a public entity during that time.

Nearly a hundred years after the establishment of the BM&F Bovespa, electronic trading had finally been implemented in 1972. A few years later, the Private System of Telephone Trading had been launched to enable trading through the telephone.

In 1997, the Mega Bolsa, an all-new and improved electronic trading system, had been introduced to replace the old one. Before the end of that decade, the Home Broker, an online trading system, has been launched to make trading at home more convenient for investors and to facilitate faster transactions.

In 2007, the BM&F Bovespa had finally become a profit entity. And it gave the green light to the Transocean Ltd. company. Without the government strictly interfering in its operations, the trade and commerce industry in Brazil had flourished further. On May 8, 2008, it had officially become the BM&F Bovespa after the successful merger of the BM&F Exchange and the Bovespa.

There is no better way to enter the South American equity market than to invest on BM&F Bovespa stocks; and the best time to bet on Brazil’s growth prospects in the long run is today.

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for gas and oil wells worldwide. The company has market cap of $20.83 billion. The firm primarily offers deepwater and harsh environment drilling services. It currently has negative earnings. As of February 9, 2017, it owned or had partial ownership interests in, and operated 56 mobile offshore drilling units that consist of 30 ultra-deepwater floaters, 7 harsh environment floaters, 3 deepwater floaters, 6 midwater floaters, and 10 high-specification jackups.