São Paulo – The Middle East has great potential for boosting exports of software and technology services from Brazil, according to the president of the Brazilian Association of Information Technology and Communication Companies (Brasscom, the Portuguese acronym), Antônio Gil.
“Our level of exports to the Middle East is still very low, at 1%,” he points out. “This trade is perfectly able to grow. Our [overall] exports will increase eightfold in ten years, therefore the potential for growth is very strong,” he says.
As one of the actions aiming to attract buyers from the region, from June 8th to 10th, the organization and some of its associates will participate in the Forrester IT Forum EMEA 2011, an event held in Barcelona, Spain, that should attract importers from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
According to the president of Brasscom, the Brazilian information technology industry (IT) posted US$ 81 billion in revenues in 2010. “The figure places the Brazilian market as the sixth or seventh largest market in the world for the IT market,” he says.
However, he claimed that the share of exports in total revenues is still very low, at only US$ 2.5 billion. Within this scenario, he pointed out that by 2020, the Brazilian IT market is expected to generate US$ 150 billion, of which US$ 20 billion should originate from foreign sales.
Gil explains that the main products shipped from Brazil to the Arab countries are financial services software, remote maintenance of datacentres, and general software. “Brazil is very good in IT. Brazilian banks are the most computerised in the world, more so than the European and United States bank,” says the president of Brasscom, highlighting that financial services software should remain the highlight of exports to Arabs. “That region (Middle East) is becoming the global centre of finance,” he claims.
The executive also points to the oil industry as another sector of great interest and possibilities for sales of technology from Brazil to the Middle Eastern countries. “The oil exploration sector is booming. With the pre-salt layer, Brazil will become one of the leading oil explorers in the world.”
He names other factors that should benefit Brazilian software exports to the Arab world. “It is an extremely important region from the perspective of global wealth. They have no trade protectionism, and they import a lot,” he claims.
At present, the leading foreign market for Brazilian technology is the United States, which account for 67% of foreign sales. According to Gil, one of the main obstacles to the expansion of the Brazilian technology industry in Brazil is the high cost of labour. “We are working on a program for lowering the tax burden on the payroll,” he says.
Aviation software
Also in the field of IT, from May 31st to June 2nd, three Brazilian aviation software manufacturing companies enrolled in the competitive internationalization program managed by the Association for Promoting Excellence in Brazilian Software (Softex) will participate in the Airport Show, in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
This is the first time that the companies affiliated with the program, which is promoted in partnership with the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex), will attend the event in the Arab country. The companies Atech, Saipher ATC and MC-1 will exhibit their products at a booth named Brasil IT+, the brand that identifies the Brazilian technology industry abroad. “We are taking part in the event because we have realized that the aviation market of the region is strong right now,” says Djalma Petit, the market director at Softex.
At the booth, integrated solutions systems are on display for sales, check-in, cargo, maintenance and operations; defence and air control technology; solutions for reservation centrals, e-tickets, loyalty programs, flight planning, team and aircraft management; labour security, training, e-learning, among others.
“It is a difficult market, but we possess our competitive differential,” he claims. According to director of Softex, the emergence of low-cost companies and the modernization of airports are factors that have made the Brazilian aviation market more dynamic.
The United States and the Latin American countries are the leading buyers of Brazilian aviation software. Regarding the Arab market, Petit sees the emirate of Dubai as holding the most promise for sales in the region. “We are constantly monitoring opportunities for our software in the Middle East,” he finishes off.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
