São Paulo – A group of Brazilian civil construction companies is going to start preparing itself to venture into the Arab market. The enterprises are going to participate in a preparatory meeting for a mission to the United Arab Emirates, to be held in the city of Florianópolis, capital of the state of Santa Catarina, on Thursday (5th). The trip will take place from November 19th to 26th, and is promoted by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI), organized by the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc) with support from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
The Marketing manager of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Andrea Monteiro, will give the preparatory lecture to the companies at the Fiesc headquarters. She is going to talk about the Arab market, how it should be approached, and what is the best way to negotiate in the region. The director of Industrial and Institutional Relations at Fiesc, Henry Quaresma, and the organization’s Regional vice president, Waldemar Antônio Schmitz, are going to open the seminar. The lecture should start at 02:00 pm and is geared at companies that are going on the mission.
The mission to the Emirates should comprise 33 people, representing 21 construction industry companies. The enterprises are based in the states of Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Pernambuco, Maranhão, Roraima and Pará. The lecture in Florianópolis will be broadcast by videoconference, so that businessmen from the other states may participate, according to information supplied by the Fiesc press office. The companies are going to travel during the Big 5 Show, a trade fair for the civil construction industry to be held from November 23rd to 26th.
The state of Santa Catarina exports to the Arab countries, but building material is not among the main products sold. From January to September this year, the state shipped the equivalent of US$ 369.8 million to the Arab market. During the same period of 2008, the state obtained US$ 323.6 million in revenues from exports to the region. The main products shipped this year included meats, electric engines and tobacco.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
