Alexandre Rocha*
alexandre.rocha@anba.com.br
São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) are going to promote, in the second half of November, a trade mission in the construction sector to Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Before that, on September 20, there will be, at the Arab Brazilian Chamber offices in São Paulo, a seminar named "Business opportunities in the construction sector in the Gulf region", when the mission will be officially launched.
"The Gulf countries are growing rapidly and the investment in construction is very large," stated the marketing vice president at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Rubens Hannun. According to him, the trip will have technical and commercial objectives. On the one hand, representatives of construction and engineering companies may learn the techniques currently used in the region. On the other hand, suppliers of material and services for the sector may seek business opportunities.
"They are very advanced in the area, with high productivity and low waste," stated Hannun, who participated in another mission in the sector last year. The three countries, which are living a boom in the sector, have great demand for inputs and labour. In August, for example, Qatar eliminated import tariffs on products like cement, rubble and steel for construction, aimed at expanding the offer and containing the boom in prices of raw materials.
In the seminar on the 20th, the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber is going to provide profound explanations about this demand. According to him, the Emirates should invest US$ 300 billion in construction over the next 10 years, Kuwait, US$ 211 billion and Qatar, US$ 120 billion. The investment is taking place in several sectors, including infrastructure, housing, hotels, resorts, commercial buildings, industries, and others.
A large share of these funds is coming from the high gains the nations are generating through their oil and gas industries. "Some important characteristics of these nations are that they are open to foreign investment; Qatar and the Emirates, for example, permit foreigners to have property, and there is lack of labour," stated Alaby.
And it is not from today that Brazilian businessmen are interested in this market. In 2006 and 2007 the Arab Brazilian Chamber has already organized or supported three missions, one in partnership with the São Paulo State Civil Construction Industry Association (Sinduscon-SP), another with the Federation of Industries of the Santa Catarina (Fiesc) and the third with the Brazilian branch of the International Real Estate Federation (Fiabci-Brazil).
Brazil has already received representatives of Gulf companies, like Greg Sang, assistant project director at Emaar Properties, one of the main companies in the field in the region, who participated in the Revestir fair, in São Paulo. Last year, executives from Dubai Properties, another large company, were in São Paulo to present projects.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber and the Apex intend to take around 20 businessmen on the mission, who are going to visit retail chains in the construction sector, participate in seminars and business meetings at local chambers of commerce and visit construction sites and finished constructions.
Fair
At the end of the trip, the delegation is going to visit the Big 5 Show, the main fair in the construction sector in the region, to take place between November 25 and 29 in Dubai. The Arab Brazilian Chamber and the Apex will have a stand at the exhibition and 26 companies have enrolled to exhibit their products. "On visiting the fair, the businessmen will learn about the market, the prices, who is buying and who is selling," explained Hannun.
Further information
Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce
Marketing Department
Tel: (+55 11) 3147-4070 / 71 / 72
E-mail: marketing@ccab.org.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
