São Paulo – Qatar Investor Window 2011 should bring together Qatari investors seeking business opportunities and foreign companies seeking capital for their projects. The meeting should take place on November 21st, in Doha, and should include the participation of companies from Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as companies from Europe, the United States, Latin America and the other countries in the Gulf.
Qatar Investor Window is organized by UCI International, a British company established in 1996 to simplify the contact between investors and companies, and the Qatari Businessmen Association. "The idea is to promote partnerships and joint ventures between companies in Qatar and those outside the region,” explained the Brazilian Loran Mariano, Project manager at UCI.
Mariano said he cannot say what Brazilian companies are going to participate in the event, but adds that they are mainly in the sectors of infrastructure, sanitation, energy and agriculture. According to the executive, national companies are interested in seeking Arab capital, but they do not yet know the profile of investors in the region.
"Arab investors were focussed on Europe and the United States,” said Mariano. "With the global economic crisis, Brazil is becoming a priority for investment. Arab investors are not conservative, they invest where they see opportunities,” he said. The executive also added that at the event there are Brazilian companies that have already made use of opportunities in the Arab world, like two construction companies that are participating in a tender for the construction of the Doha metro.
The first edition of Qatar Investor Window took place in 2008, promoting investment that totalled US$ 2 billion. This year, the event should bring together around 100 companies to meet 15 investors and financial institutions in Qatar, among them the Qatar Investment Authority, the Qatar Islamic Bank and Qatar Holding. Furthermore, there should be 32 companies that are members of the Qatari Businessmen Association interested in seeking partners for projects both within and outside Qatar.
"We are also negotiating with investors in the Middle East aiming to take the Global Investor Window to Brazil next year. The event includes investors from all over the world, but mainly from the Gulf, and will be an open channel for companies seeking investment,” said the executive at UCI.
Apart from November 21st, in which the main event at the Qatar Investor Window will take place, there will also be two days of private meetings between investors and companies. The meetings are scheduled in advance and analyse projects ranging from US$ 10 million to US$ 500 million.
Brazilian companies participating in the Qatar Investor Window 2011 may get in contact with Loran Mariano through e-mail loran@uciinternational.com or by telephone, at (+44 208) 998 8890.
*Translated by Mark Ament
