Cash equivalents and financial investments, excluding cash and bank deposits, are substantially represented by investments: (i) in Brazil, in certificates of deposit of first-rate financial institutions linked to the CDI, in repurchase agreement and in short term investments funds, whose portfolio comprised exclusively of Brazilian Federal Government bonds; (ii) outside Brazil, in certificates of deposit of first-rate financial institutions and in short term investments funds, whose portfolio comprised of Federal Government bonds; and (iii) in currency and interest rate hedging instruments.
The financial assets were classified in Note 31, according to their characteristics and intention of the Company and its subsidiaries.
The balance of cash, cash equivalents and financial investments amounted to R$ 6,369,928 in 2017 (R$ 5,701,849 as of December 31, 2016) and are distributed as follows:
| · · | Cash and Cash Equivalents |
Cash and cash equivalents are considered: (i) cash and bank deposits, and (ii) highly-liquid short-term investments that are readily convertible into a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.
| 2017 | 2016 | |||
| Cash and bank deposits | ||||
| In local currency | 73,128 | 47,177 | ||
| In foreign currency | 74,798 | 66,141 | ||
| Financial investments considered cash equivalents | ||||
| In local currency | ||||
| Fixed-income securities | 4,821,605 | 3,837,807 | ||
| In foreign currency | ||||
| Fixed-income securities | 32,473 | 323,033 | ||
| Total cash and cash equivalents | 5,002,004 | 4,274,158 |
| · · | Financial Investments |
The financial investments of the Company and its subsidiaries, which are not classified as cash and cash equivalents, are distributed as follows:
| 2017 | 2016 | |||
| Financial investments | ||||
| In local currency | ||||
| Fixed-income securities and funds | 1,153,040 | 1,174,458 | ||
| In foreign currency | ||||
| Fixed-income securities and funds | 129,131 | 34,775 | ||
| Currency and interest rate hedging instruments (a) | 85,753 | 218,458 | ||
| Total financial investments | 1,367,924 | 1,427,691 | ||
| Current | 1,283,498 | 1,412,587 | ||
| Non-current | 84,426 | 15,104 |
(a) Accumulated gains, net of income tax (see Note 31).