Foreign funds more optimistic than local firms on Brazil -survey

SAO PAULO, July 6 (Reuters) - A majority of global private-equity funds want to raise their exposure to Brazil at a time when many local firms are watching from the sidelines, an industry survey released on Wednesday showed.

Eighty-eight percent of global investors plan to increase their private equity stakes in Brazil over the next three years, according to the survey of 38 buyout firms by ABVCAP, the Brazilian association representing buyout and venture capital firms, and consultancy firm KPMG.

Only 21 percent of local investors intend to do the same, the survey released at an industry summit in Rio de Janeiro showed.

Foreign firms are betting on lucrative opportunities offered by the recent economic and political turmoil, Luiz Eugenio Figueiredo, an ABVCAP director, said in an interview at the sidelines of the summit.

"Global firms know the investments they do during a crisis will have a higher return," Figueiredo, who also heads alternative investments for BNP Paribas Asset Management, he said.

Latin America is poised to attract more capital as the political environment favors market-friendly policies, said Cate Ambrose, president of industry group Lavca, formerly known as the Latin American Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

"The new Latin American governments favor companies and private investments," Ambrose said at the summit, referring to Argentina and Peru.

"Argentinian President Mauricio Macri has been well regarded by foreign investors. The elected Peruvian president has been one of the first Latin American asset managers," she said, referring to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former World Bank economist and financial executive.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Richard Chang)