Lima – The Qatar-based company Hassad Food, which operates in agriculture and cattle farming, is open to investment opportunities in South America, as stated by its president Nasser Mohamed Al-Hajri this Monday (1st) during the Business Forum for South American-Arab Countries, currently taking place at the Swissôtel in Lima, Peru. The company invested US$ 1 billion in agribusiness projects worldwide in the last few years and the executive told ANBA that Brazil is a good choice for investment.
During a panel at the Forum, however, Hajri criticized existing barriers to foreign investment in Brazil, among them taxes and land-buying laws for foreigners. Still, he did not rule out investment in the region. “There are great opportunities in South America which meet our demands, investment-wise,” he said. “We import over 60% of our food needs,” he said.
Hajri featured in the panel on food security, but the topic was not restricted to the panel only; rather, it was mentioned by most speakers in the first morning of the forum. Complementarity between the two regions, one of which produces oil and the other, food, was a consensus. ”The Arab countries import food, and South America is a food-producing region,” said the Peruvian president Ollanta Humala Tasso at the opening of the business forum.
The Peruvian minister of Foreign Trade, José Luis Silva Martinot, even gave an overview of his country’s agricultural production and the opportunities it holds. “In Peru, one can sow and harvest almost every product all year round,” he said of local farming. The general manager to the Peruvian Foreign Trade Society (ComexPeru), Eduardo Ferreyros, emphasized that South America accounts for but a small share of overall imports by the Arab countries, which amount to roughly US$ 570 billion, according to him; of those, US$ 50 billion concern foodstuffs.
The president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Fiergs), Heitor José Müller, who also took part in the debate, discussed Brazilian farming, whose output increased by a much higher rate than the actual planted area, as a result of investment in technology-based productivity. “By investing in technology we will be able to feed the world, because we have the water, the sun, and the soil,” said Müller.
They all claimed that agricultural efficiency requires infrastructural investment, and called on the Arabs to invest. “Investing in infrastructure drives products’ prices down,” said Hajri. Infrastructure, by the way, was the theme of the meeting’s initial panel, featuring DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem. Dubai’s port operator is investing in building a terminal at Brazil’s Port of Santos via the local state-owned company Embraport, in which it owns a stake.
The Embraport project should be completed early next year. Thus, Sulayem told ANBA, DP World expects to be contributing to the development of Brazil. He did not discuss new investment plans for the region, but said they are open to opportunities. During the panel on investment, Sulayem claimed that despite the world economic crisis, the company has not ceased to invest. “This crisis was caused by investor speculation and we have learned a lot from it,” he said. The company has 60 terminals worldwide, including some in South American countries other than Brazil, such as Argentina and Peru. Sulayem explained how Dubai took advantage of its strategic location to have the best possible infrastructure.
Businessmen
The debates were seen and heard by an audience packed with businessmen and business organization representatives, among them the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce’s president Salim Schahin, CEO Michel Alaby, administrative vice president Marcelo Sallum, and advisor Alberto Pfeifer. Brazilian companies in attendance included the government-owned energy company Eletrobras. According to manager Flavio Albuquerque Castelo Branco, the company has projects in Peru, is undergoing international expansion, and is open to talks with Arab countries.
Several Arab businessmen have also travelled to Peru, eager for opportunities in South America. The vice president of the Qatari Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mohammed Ahmed Al-Kuwari, claimed his country is looking at investment opportunities in Peru, Brazil, and the region as a whole, in various fields ranging from real estate to foodstuffs. “We are ready,” he said.
The director of the United Arab Emirates-based DeNovo Corporate Advisors, Medhdi Al Amine, is also looking for business contacts. The company provides advisory in different types of deals, including acquisitions. It is based in the UAE but covers the entire Arab world. According to Amine, the company has not yet been involved in transactions with South America, but is available for eventual jobs.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
