São Paulo – A delegation from the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ), in the United Arab Emirates, will be in Brazil in the last week of October to present business opportunities to Brazilian enterprises. The group will keep appointments in Rio de Janeiro on the 27th and in São Paulo on the 28th and 29th.
“They want to attract Brazilian companies into their free zone,” said the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce CEO Michel Alaby. On the 29th, the delegation is delivering a seminar to executives at the organization’s headquarters in São Paulo.
The free zone is an industry and services hub that provides exporting companies with fiscal incentives, similar to the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), in Dubai, also in the Emirates. “The lecture will explain the advantages of operating there and compare costs with Jafza’s,” said Alaby.
The RAK FTZ executives intend to show, for instance, that the free zone can be an opportunity for Brazilian businesses looking to increase their sales to Asia, operating as an export platform.
The free zone is interested in luring in companies in food and beverages, cosmetics and perfumery, machinery and metal works, vehicles and their parts, building material, chemical engineering and polymers, and services like marketing, information technologies and consulting.
The building material industry is particularly strong in the Ras Al Khaimah emirate, which is home to steel, glass, cement and especially ceramics manufacturing plants. Energy-intensive activities benefit from the vast availability and the low cost of natural gas.
RAK FTZ offers 100% tax exemption and allows wholly foreign-owned companies. In Gulf countries, outside these types of facilities, foreign-owned companies are usually required to find a local partner before operating. According to the RAK FTZ website, the free zone currently hosts 7,500 businesses from over 100 countries.
In addition to the seminar at the Arab Chamber, the delegation should attend meetings at the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), the City Hall and the Emirati Consulate General. In Rio, they have scheduled meetings at the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan) and the City Hall. After Brazil, the group will travel to Argentina.
Bilateral trade
This year, the Emirates are on the top of Brazil’s Arab export targets. Sales to the country have grossed in excess of US$ 2 billion from January through September, up 14% from the comparable period in 2013, according to figures from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
The main items shipped were sugar, poultry, aluminium oxide, iron ore, steel and iron pipes, trucks and semi-manufactured gold.
Conversely, the Emirates rank seventh among the leading Arab exporters to Brazil, at US$ 337 million from January through September, down 8% from the comparable period of last year. The main products shipped were oil and oil products, urea, aluminium, polyethylene and glass.
Service:
Seminar – Ras Al Khaimah Free Zone
October 29th, 9 am to 11:30 pm
Where: Arab Chamber Space, Paulista Ave., 326, 11th floor, Bela Vista, São Paulo, São Paulo
Free parking on Teixeira da Silva Street, 204
Registration is free and openings are limited
For additional information and registration call (+55 11) 3283-4066 or send an email to members@ccab.org.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
