(Reuters) May 26, 2010 – American billionaire Sam Zell’s Equity International investment fund is evaluating opportunities in Brazil’s paper pulp business, Brazil’s Valor Economico reported on Wednesday, citing a fund executive.

Equity International Strategy Director Thomas McDonald said the fund sees advantages to investing in Brazilian paper pulp production, including the fact that trees can be harvested more than twice as quickly in Brazil than in other places.

“It’s a counter-cyclical sector in times of inflation and the planting conditions are extremely favorable in Brazil,” McDonald said.

Zell’s fund is a shareholder in home-building giant Gafisa, Brazil’s second-largest listed real estate company. Equity International began investing in Latin American real estate companies following its 2002 foray into Mexico’s Homex, a developer of single-family starter homes.

McDonald told Valor the fund has about half its assets invested in Brazil, adding that the fund intends to maintain that proportion.

By Brian Ellsworth