São Paulo – Nordeste Invest, an event geared towards investment in tourism and real estate in the Brazilian Northeast due May 10th to 12th in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, is expecting to receive representatives of large Arab real estate developers, such as Emaar Properties and Nakheel, both based in the United Arab Emirates. “We already maintain contact with those companies and are inviting their representatives to attend the event,” said the president of the Association for the Real Estate and Tourism Development of the Brazilian Northeast (ADIT) Luiz Felipe Cavalcante de Melo Lima.
Last year, the event was attended by executive director Robert Lee, of Nakheel Investment Projects, who gave a lecture on Dubai’s experience as a global tourist destination. “It was a success,” disse Lima. According to him, Brazil needs to establish closer ties with the Gulf countries. In 2009, Lima had a visit scheduled to the region, but it was postponed due to the crisis. “I want to return [to Dubai] in 2010. We want to take more aggressive action,” said he, who went to Dubai in 2008.
Lima believes that the chances of Arab companies investing in Brazil are highest in the hotel and tourist industries. “When it comes to real estate, Arab companies work in a more leveraged fashion than in Brazil. Our standards are too high, as are the interest rates,” he stated. “In the Arab world, we are going to focus mainly on the hotel and tourist industry, which is more mature now,” he added.
The last edition of the event was attended by 105 international investors, from countries such as United States, Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Italy, Angola, France, among others. Most were from investment funds and large hotel chains, such as Marriott, the Emirates-based Jumeirah Group, and Four Seasons.
Conference
The matters to be approached during Nordeste Invest’s International Conference will be divided into four segments: real estate, investment and economics, tourism, and real estate/tourism. International lecturers whose presence has been confirmed include Rebelo de Almeida, chairman of the board of managers of the Portuguese group Vila Galé, and the chairman of the Global Real Estate Institute (GRI), Henri Alster.
In addition to the lectures, participants will be able to enrol in business roundtables between buyers and suppliers. Last year, the meetings generated 457 million Brazilian reals (US$ 244 million) in business deals.
Northeast
The Brazilian Northeast has been proving to be one of the best destinations for the development of tourism and real estate enterprises, according to the ADIT. Comprising the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe, the region has 3,300 kilometres of beaches.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
