São Paulo – Civil construction industry businessmen from the state of Mato Grosso are going to Dubai, this month, seeking to transfer technology. A mission from the state, comprising 36 industry representatives, will be in Dubai during the Big 5, the leading construction industry trade fair in the Middle East, due November 23rd to 26th. They are not going to exhibit at the fair, but will attend meetings with local real estate developers such as Emaar and Nakheel.
The delegation will include architects, representatives of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae) and government officials from the state of Mato Grosso, seeking to do business in the United Arab Emirates. In order to prepare the mission members to negotiate with the Arab market, the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce held a lecture at the SEBRAE Convention Centre in the state capital, Cuiabá, in the afternoon on Monday (9th).
According to the Sebrae market analyst, André Schelini, one of the major fields of interest to businessmen from Mato Grosso in the Emirates is technology transfer, because many of the Arab country’s natural conditions, such as weather and soil, resemble those of Mato Grosso. "They want to know how the Arabs have developed in a scenario that did not have much structure in the past."
Schelini explains that one of the factors that helped attract interest is the fact that Cuiabá has been selected as one of the host cities to the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches. Regarding the architects who are taking part on the trip to the Emirates, he explains that the professionals are interested in selling their projects to local companies. "We are not just talking about products. We are also talking about people."
Pedro Nadal, the secretary of Industry, Trade, Mines and Energy of the State of Mato Grosso is going to travel with the group, and according to Schelini, he will seek opportunities to expand the export basket of the state, especially with regard to foodstuffs.
The analyst explains that the mission should include technical visits to real estate developers and construction companies, and that he wants to learn how the Arabs attract investment into their building industry.
Negotiation with the Arabs
In the preparatory lecture for the meeting, given by Arab Brazilian Chamber professionals, the main focus was on preparing the Brazilian negotiators to deal with the Arab businessmen.
Francisca Barros, the Foreign Trade manager of the organization, underscores the interest of participants in having partnerships with building companies and architectural firms in the Arab countries. She explains that they are going to seek ways of breaking into the market. "They want to enter through partnerships. It is very difficult to break into the Arab market alone. If you are not entering through the free zone, then you need a partner," she says.
According to Francisca, there is an ongoing trend of internationalization of building companies and architectural firms in order to enter the Arab market.
Rodrigo Solano, the Market Development manager of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, called attention to the importance of Brazilian professionals being trained in foreign languages, especially English, in order for them to be successful when doing business with the Arabs.
To Solano, one of the advantages of Mato Grosso is the excellence of its services sector, which, according to him, can be internationalized. "Cuiabá is an example that may be followed by other cities that either are or want to be export hubs to the Arab countries ."
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
