May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian companies may be able to offer bonds with longer maturities this year after Standard and Poor's awarded the government an investment-grade rating, bankers including Mauro Morelli of Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA's European unit said.

More borrowers may tap the markets ``within weeks'' as a recovery in U.S. banks coupled with the S&P decision may spark more purchases of Brazil corporate debt, said Ricardo Simone, chief financial officer for Sao Paulo-based Banco Sofisa SA. Mid- sized lenders raised $810 million from the sale of debt no longer than two years this year, according to Bloomberg data. Maturities may double for the best-rated companies, he said.

``We should start to see some stretching out of maturities in new offerings going forward,'' Morelli, Banco Itau Europa's managing director, told Bloomberg Television today in an interview from London. ``The cost of borrowing may also fall for some of them just a few basis points. This may be just a start.''

Before S&P's decision to assign Brazil a BBB- ranking on April 30, only eight Brazilian companies had completed bond offerings in international markets in the year, the fewest since 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Petroleo Brasileiro SA may be among companies that place bonds longer than five years amid an improvement in U.S. debt markets, said Isabella Castilho, head of the debt distribution desk of BCP Securities LLC in Sao Paulo.

Banco BMG

``Companies may be able to step in as the options to diversify exposure to Brazil increase,'' Castilho told Bloomberg Television today.

Belo Horizonte, Brazil-based Banco BMG sold $250 million of debt due in March 2010. Banco Cruzeiro do Sul SA on April 25 sold $110 million of two-year debt; on April 7, Construtora Norberto Odebrecht SA, the Brazilian civil engineering and petrochemicals group, sold $200 million of notes due in 2017 in a reopening.

Braskem SA, Latin America's third-largest petrochemical company, may offer bonds by the end of next week, people familiar with the plans said. Braskem may offer about $500 million of bonds in international markets to stretch out debt payments and help repay a bridge loan, the people said.

Petrobras, as Brazil's state-controlled oil company is known, may step up bond offerings this year to fund new investments, Chief Financial Officer Almir Barbassa told Bloomberg in an interview last week. S&P put Petrobras's BBB- ratings on review for a possible upgrade two days ago.

Petrobras sold $750 million of 2018 notes in a reopening in January, the biggest overseas debt offering by a Brazilian company so far this year, according to Bloomberg data.

To contact the reporters on this story: Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Sao Paulo at gparra@bloomberg.net; Camila Fontana in Sao Paulo at cfontana@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 2, 2008 12:14 EDT