Barely a year ago, Vale, the Brazilian mining company, was reeling. Prices of iron ore, its principal export, were at an all-time low, investors were ditching its shares and China — the market on which it most depends — looked as if it was heading for a rapid and uncontrolled slowdown.
Fast forward 13 months and iron ore is back in fashion. Vale is producing record amounts and, on the back of a more than doubling in price to nearly $90 a tonne, last week revealed a 2016 profit of $4bn after a loss of $12bn in 2015. Its share price in S?o Paulo hit a four-year high of more than R$35 ($11) last week, from a low of less than R$7 in January 2016.
Much of that recovery has come since the turn of the year. And while the key factor for Vale has been a recovery in China it is not the only reason driving a revival of fortunes for companies in developing economies.