SAO PAULO – Switzerland’s Swatch, the world’s largest watchmaker, plans to invest $100 million in the Brazilian market, which it exited due to a bribery scandal in 2002, the O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper reported on its Web site.

Brazil is the company’s No. 3 market for investment, trailing only Switzerland and Asia, the company’s chief, Nicolas Hayek, told the newspaper.

The company had a plant that produced Tissot watches in the free trade zone in Manaus, the capital of the northern state of Amazonas, but it closed the facility in 2002 because local officials allegedly demanded bribes.

“The officials wanted bribes and we did not pay, creating a serious situation. Now, the situation is different,” Hayek said, adding that he expected to meet in the next few days with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss Swatch’s investment plans.

The Swiss company sells watches under 19 different brands, including its namesake Swatch, Tissot, Omega and Breguet.