Dubai – Brazilian participation piqued more interested than anticipated at the expo held concurrently with the (AIM). The event featured 11 Brazilian agribusiness companies that are canvassing for investors for their projects in Brazil. The companies were based in a stand organized by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, and had 200-plus meetings with investors throughout the three-day event. The AIM, an annual forum on foreign direct investment (FDI), wrapped up this Wednesday (10) in Dubai, the UAE.
The companies selected for the event by the Ministry presented projects worth a combined USD 500 million. “It was better than expected. Whenever you think of the UAE, you get the impression that all they care about are big projects, but we realized they’re also interested in projects in the USD 10 million-50 million range. We had people from several funds here, and they were definitely interested,” the acting director to the Ministry’s International Promotion Department told ANBA.
Matta said relevant progress was made regarding three of the projects, worth USD 210 million between them and involving specialty coffee, aquiculture and technology. Soul Fish Aquicultura showcased a project designed to enable the building of a complex encompassing fish farming operations, production of feed and the furnishing of live fish to packers. “Results have been great so far and we have a lot of work to do. Our project amounts to USD 80 million, and we need 20% of direct investment and 80% of the full amount ensured in order to get clearance from the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank),” company founder Manoel Padilha said.
In an investment event for the first time, Solo Water do Brasil is working to break into the Dubai market with a type of water which marketing executive Nivea Heluey describes as rare and special. “The product is naturally alkaline, pH 10 water that’s great for your health and contains collagen-metabolizing minerals,” she said. The water originates from the municipality of Guaraniaçu (PR). The company is certified by the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA), and Heluey said the expo yielded great prospects. “Right now, we only sell B2C, and the plan is to make a grand entrance. We have the capacity to cater to restaurants, businesses and even hospitals. The market is competitive, but we want in and ours is a very specific niche,” she concluded.
Also featured was Netto Alimentos, which is seeking out investment for Granja Diamantino, a farm that started being built in September 2018. The company has been to events in Arab countries in the past, but this was its first time in an investment-oriented show. “We produce 5 million eggs a day. Investment talks take longer to come to fruition, but we had 10 to 15 meetings and some have been promising,” said international business executive Paulo Ricardo.
Arab Brazilian Chamber
Brazilian participation in the expo relied on support from the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce , which oversaw the companies’ talks at the stand. “The fair was surprising. The feedback from the companies about people wanting to learn about their projects was amazing. Brazil’s image is a big selling point, and they had meetings and contacts here that they would hardly have had back in Brazil,” said Arab Chamber Investments director Daniel Hannun, who attended the event in Dubai. In addition to providing support, Arab Chamber executives at the AIM sat down with Arab investors and officials. “We are here to ascertain who these investors are and what they are interested in, so that we can foster the work of Brazilian companies in the region,” explained Hannun.
One of the meetings took place this Wednesday morning (10) at the stand of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), involving Arab Chamber Government Relations manager Fernanda Baltazar, Shurooq investment promotion head Marwan Saleh Alichia, Sharjah FDI Office CEO Mohamed Juma Al Musharrakh, Daniel Hannun, and Arab Chamber international office head Rafael Solimeo.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
