São Paulo – Since the 2nd, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has been allowed to operate in Brazil and should not waste time, according to the organisation’s regional manager for Latin America, Angela Martins. The institution’s proposal in Brazil is to finance projects involving import and export of Brazilian products from its regional head office, in São Paulo. NBAD has chosen to support projects of three banks and ten companies in the sectors of agribusiness, oil and energy and also foods.
The financial institution called, in February, for the Central Bank to authorise operation in Brazil. The monetary authority conceded permission eight months after the request, a period Martins considers “record”. Usually, she said, the Central Bank takes a year to authorise a new financial institution to operate in the country.
“Now we are going to operate. We have a new global CEO (Alex Thursby, since July) who hopes for NBAD to become more and more global and for the bank to do business of all nature. We facilitate export and import operations in all countries. But our focus is on the corridor between Africa, the Middle East and Asia,” said Martins to ANBA, while visiting the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, on Friday (18).
Among the operations developed by NBAD, for example, is the financing of an export project by a Brazilian company or an importer wishing to buy Brazilian products. The projects by companies do not, necessarily, need to cross the Middle East.
According to Martins, the companies with which NBAD should operate are “pure blooded” Brazilian companies aiming at a greater participation abroad. Apart from the Arab countries, said the executive, there is great interest of Brazilians for business in Asia.
“Brazil’s largest companies know the importance of operating abroad. Even if they have between 60% and 70% of revenues here, they bet on the foreign market to compensate potential losses here. No matter what the internal demand is, exports have a guaranteed share in their revenues,” said the executive.
Capital for investment
The NBAD office in São Paulo will serve the whole of Latin America, but the priority at the moment is business with Brazil, Peru and Chile, the main partners in the region and in the Middle East. Starting in 2015, the bank should also prioritise operations with Columbia and Mexico. “We have no capital restrictions, and want to supply company needs. We have much capital, a strong shareholder and are capable of injecting capital in companies.”
The slow recovery of the global economy after the 2008 crisis and the doubt regarding the Brazilian economy do not affect NBAD plans. “In the short term, the scenery is challenging. But our investment is not in the short term, and to us, Brazil has great and relevant economic importance. Not only is it one of the main economies in the world, but Brazil is also a great producer and exporter of food. We believe that when the global economic situation is good again, they (prices) will be a problem. Brazil has a stable population, surplus production of food. In the long run, it is the place we need to be,” she said.
The executive added, however, that infrastructure bottlenecks in ports, highways, railways, warehouses and the delays in the liberation of cargo and water transport are still the main problems for Brazilian exporters.
Service
Starting on November 1st, the NBAD office in São Paulo will be at Rua Iaiá, 77, 3rd floor, in Itaim Bibi.
*Translated by Mark Ament
