Dubai – Brazil is one of the countries that still resist the world economic crisis, one of a few that should grow in 2013, and it can still strengthen its presence in the Middle East. These were some of the topics presented to a 200-strong audience this Tuesday (6th) in Dubai during the “Invest & Trade in Brazil” seminar, in which seven speakers presented business opportunities in the country. The event was organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and CPI, the publishing house responsible for magazine Trade and Export.
The Middle East director for large corporations of bank HSBC, David McGee, said Brazil, as well as other developing countries, has potential to grow in spite of an adverse economic scenario. He said, however, that the leading role that has always been expected from the country has arrived late. “The country of the future has arrived a bit late, but it has potential to grow in spite of the black clouds that hang over the world economy. The expectations for 2013 are very good,” he told ANBA.
According to HSBC forecasts, Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by 1.7% this year and 3.8% in 2013. Exports are expected to decline by 2.8% in 2012, but increase by 6.4% in 2013. In his talk, McGee contrasted the country’s history of high indebtedness and political instability with the present moment, in which Brazil stands out for its balanced economy and economic growth driven by population consumption.
The Bank of Brazil’s representative to the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and India, Carlos Machado recalled that Brazil attained financial stability during the administration of former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002). He added that starting in 2003, the year of the inauguration of also-former-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazilian ties with Arab countries were strengthened. Machado said the current administration, led by president Dilma Rousseff, is committed to lowering interest rates, and that state-owned banks are working to provide the population with cheaper credit.
The Emirates SkyCargo commercial vice president, Robert Siegel, said operations have grown rapidly in Brazil ever since Emirates created a passenger route to São Paulo in October 2007. From then on, the company began flying cargo-only to the Viracopos airport, in the city of Campinas, and inaugurated passenger flights to Rio de Janeiro. The latter route, as well as the São Paulo one, also flies cargo.
According to Siegel, cargo transport has grown in Brazil over the last three years. In the meantime, shipped volume has declined in the main European distribution centres. In 2011, cargo volumes dropped by 11.3% in Frankfurt, 9.7% in Paris, and 3.2% in Amsterdam.
The regional director general to the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), Sidney Alves Costa, said that bilateral trade between Brazil and the United Arab Emirates has risen since 2003, when former president Lula paid a visit to the Middle East. “Since then we have seen a clear-cut increase in exports, and an improvement in relations between these two countries. Aside from an increase in food exports, the range of export products has become broader, and came to include cosmetics and aircraft. We regard Dubai not only as a logistics hub, but also a financial one. That is why we’re here.”
The Brazilian ambassador to Abu Dhabi, João de Mendonça Lima Neto, said Brazil cannot be compared to China and India, because it has different growth characteristics, and that the government’s priority is investing in ports, airports, and road infrastructure. He also emphasized the interest rate cuts seen in the past few months, and the depreciation of the real against the US dollar, which improve the conditions for doing business with the country.
The seminar also featured the Dubai Exports CEO Saed Al Awadi, who opened the event by highlighting the increase in bilateral trade between the countries, and the senior vice president for global sales at EZW, the controller company of the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Adil Al Zaroony, who wishes to attract more Brazilian companies to the area.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO, Michel Alaby, gave a talk entitled “Why Brazil?” He showed that exports and imports have grown in the last two years between Brazil and the Emirates, and said sales to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries are also on the rise. Alaby discussed investment opportunities in telecommunicatinos, roads, mining, and ports.
To Alaby, the event fulfilled its mission of presenting Brazil as a business opportunity to the Arabs. “People became interested and asked lots of questions about Brazil. That goes to show that we should promote this seminar on other occasions,” he said. The senior editor at publishing house CPI, Aparna Shivpuri Arya, said that just like Russia, China and India, Brazil is one of the countries that boast the most opportunities in business growth and development.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
