São Paulo – Brazilian companies interested in internationalisation may apply for a five-day immersion course in the Middle Eastern market. The Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex) is going to promote the second edition of Internationalisation and Competitiveness Programme (Inter-Com), in which executives and entrepreneurs will go to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to learn about the reality of local business. The event will take place in November, in partnership with Dom Cabral Foundation. One of the targets of the programme in the Arab city is to learn about financing and to discuss access to credit from banks in the region.
On Thursday (22), Apex held a meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel, in São Paulo, to present the project to interested companies. Inter-Com is a programme in which the agency monitors businesses interested in accessing the international market, mainly through physical bases, and prepares them for it. Upon entering the project, companies go through several steps. The first is an analysis of whether the company is ready to go to other countries.
If the company is ready, then the Apex and Dom Cabral Foundation offer the possibility of training. The next step is an analysis of the target market and management of the installations themselves. In this process, the company will determine whether it is ideal only to export, establish a unit or a partnership, among other options. Immersion in the market, as will be the case in Dubai, is one of the actions forecasted in Inter-Com. The first was made in Miami, in the United States, this month.
"The goal is to better prepare the company for internationalisation," said the Internationalization manager at Apex, Juarez Leal, in a meeting on Thursday. In Dubai, companies will have an overview of the political and economic situation in the region, participate in roundtables on marketing strategies, make contact with local authorities to learn about the support offered, attend lectures to understand the organizational model of the area, listen to testimonials of global companies and talk to Brazilian multinationals that are present in the region.
The differential of the program in the Emirates is the focus on the credit market. Entrepreneurs will be granted information on credit sources for investment and will have meetings with banks in Dubai, London and Singapore. The idea here is to find funding opportunities for projects in the region or elsewhere.
At the meeting sponsored by the Apex, Raul Silva, an expert in credit and investment in the Middle East, said that Islamic banks are a funding opportunity for Brazilian companies. He gave a brief explanation about Islamic finance and said that Islamic law is not the same in each country, and has different schools in markets like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Egypt, Sudan, countries of the former Soviet Union, Iran and Azerbaijan.
Silva explained some of the principles of Islamic finance, which considers interest sinful and only allows operations based on tangible assets. Other principles of business are that one party cannot lose all the money, the funds cannot be invested in gaming venues, like casinos, futures contracts are not allowed, as they are considered financial bets based on risk, and debt transfer may not take place.
In practice, however, Islamic banking operations are similar to those of conventional institutions, using only different models and denominations. It is possible, for example, to borrow money and pay in a way similar to conventional amortization of the total amount, paying a "margin" to the bank. To purchase a warehouse, exemplifies Silva, the bank buys the structure from the supplier and then sells it back to its customer, with a financial margin. The theme should be discussed properly during the immersion in Dubai.
Registration for participation in the trip to Dubai is open and any company is eligible. The Apex and Dom Cabral Foundation, however, will select a group to be formed exclusively of companies that are already suitable for this phase of the project. Travel and lodging will be in charge of each participant, and the course will cost R$ 5,000 (US$ 2,100).The program is scheduled from the 4th to the 7th of November, but the day before, on November 3rd, entrepreneurs and executives are going to the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix. Enrolment will be open up to October 3rd, but if there is a much demand, it may be closed before.
Service
Inter-Com Middle East
November 4th to 7th, 2013
Dubai – United Arab Emirates
Costs: transport, lodging and a fee of R$ 5,000 (US$ 2,100)
Registration and further information: ana.rodrigues@fdc.org.br
Phone: (+55 31) 3589-7375
*Translated by Mark Ament
