Marina Sarruf, special envoy*
Kuwait – Kuwaiti business group International Commercial Center (ICC), which operates in various sectors, like civil construction, export and import, as well as in the exploration of oil, plans to expand its area of operation by investing in a sugar refinery in Brazil.
The director-general of the group, Dawoud S. A. Sulaiman, participated yesterday (30) in business roundtables with the businessmen from Santa Catarina that took place in Kuwait, promoted by the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc) and by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. "The businessman asked us to study the economic viability of a refinery in Brazil. He intends to invest approximately US$ 50 million in the project," stated the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby.
The group, which has offices in Lebanon and Iraq, exports 100,000 tonnes of powdered milk and the equivalent to US$ 27 million in equipment for the extraction of oil to Iraq. In the area of civil construction, ICC counts on Hopes International, which has already developed various projects, like the construction of schools, hospitals, mosques and residential building, with total investment of US$ 37 million in the sector in the last three years. "We have already worked on various constructions for the government of Kuwait," stated the secretary general at the company, Abdullah K. Al-Farhan.
The forecast, according to the general manager, is that up to the end of 2007, the group should turn around US$ 75 million to civil construction. "The market is expanding in Kuwait. There are many projects for constructions in the country, and we therefore believe in this market potential," said Al-Farhan.
All the material used by the company is imported from Turkey, Spain and China. "In the case of steel bars alone, we import 5,000 tonnes every six months, which represents US$ 10 million a year," he said. In the case of ceramics, the company imports between US$ 1 million and US$ 3 million every 12 months.
Beyond expectations
During both days of business roundtables in Kuwait, businessmen from Santa Catarina showed surprise with the result of the trade contacts. The export manager at Madepar, a maker of wooden doors that is based in the city of Lages, João Carlos Bunn, said that he expected an interesting number of contacts, but that the interest of the Arab businessmen in his product was above expectations.
"I believe that we are going to be successful on this market. Kuwait is a promising country and Madepar has capacity and technology to supply the market," added Bunn. The company has a productive capacity of 37,000 doors per month, but intends to raise this total to 60,000 doors by February 2007. The company exports 100% of production, with half turned to the United States, 30% to Europe and the rest to Palestine, Canada and Israel.
*Translated by Mark Ament
