São Paulo – The CEO of DP World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, said yesterday (20) that his group has opened an exception on deciding to invest in the Embraport terminal, the largest private multiple use port terminal to be built in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo state. Sulayem visited the piece of land on which the terminal will be built, together with the minister of Foreign Affairs of the Emirates, Abdullah Al Nahyan.
DP World, together with Odebrecht, has major participation in the Empresa Brasileira de Terminais Portuários (Embraport – the Brazilian Port Terminal Company), which owns the terminal. Sulayem said that DP World, which is from the Emirates, was seeking enterprises at an advanced level of development in which to invest, and decided to open an exception on choosing the project in Santos.
The minister from the Emirates added, during his visit, that he is pleased with his country investing in Brazil. "It is important for us to work together to reach excellence, and this is good for both parties," he said. Al Nahyan, on meeting with the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, on Monday (19), also showed the disposition of the Emirates to expand investment in the country.
DP World is one of the largest maritime port terminal operators in the world, with 49 terminals and 12 enterprises in 31 countries, employing 30,000 people.
Pedro Brito, head minister of the Special Secretariat for Ports, also present at the event, declared that the DP World investment in the terminal in Santos, as well as the purchase of Santander Brazil bank shares by investors from the Emirates, are important forms of opening the Brazilian market to the Arab countries. He believes that this shows confidence in Brazil.
"I believe that this shows, in the first place, the capacity of the Brazilian economy to answer to crisis situations, like the one we are living now. It shows that Brazil, in truth, has found the right route for investment. I believe that, from now on, this should become a routine, with sovereign funds and international investors wanting to invest in the country. To us, this is very important as, in practice, it means generating jobs for Brazilians."
Brito said that, up to the end of 2010, Brazil should have invested over US$ 1 billion in dredging alone. They said that Brazil hopes to receive around US$ 45 billion in foreign investment next year.
The mayor of Santos, João Paulo Tavares Papa, said that the future of the economy of Brazil depends greatly on Santos port. "The Embraport terminal is the start of a new moment for Brazilian ports," he said.
The Brazilian Odebrecht Investment in Infrastructure and DP World purchased 52% of participation in Embraport, established in 1998 to build and operate the terminal in Santos. Group Coimex and the FGTS Investment Fund, managed by the Federal Savings Bank also have participation in the enterprise.
Marcelo Jardim, Odebrecht representative in the administrative board of Embraport, said that the company is prepared to make its terminal the best in the whole of the port of Santos and pointed out the importance of Arab investment in the construction of the terminal. "This international capital has definitely made the enterprise possible and is very well received by the Brazilian port community," he said.
The works for construction of the terminal should begin in 2010 and the first phase, to receive investment of at least US$ 500 million, should be concluded in 2012. When it is complete, the terminal should have a throughput of 1.5 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) and around 2 billion litres of ethanol.
Minister in São Paulo
The visit to the terminal in Santos was one of the last activities of the minister of the Emirates in Brazil. He was in the company of a delegation of businessmen who also visited the offices of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, in São Paulo. In the city, Al Nahyan also met with state governor José Serra. At the meeting, at Bandeirantes palace, the Arab minister pointed out his desire to invest in Brazil. Arab Brazilian Chamber president Salim Taufic Schahin participated in the meeting.
During the meeting, the minister said that the sovereign funds of the Emirates have great interest in investing in São Paulo and also in other regions of Brazil, but he pointed out the need for a treaty to avoid dual income tax being levied on these funds.
*Translated by Mark Ament
