Dubai – A group of 42 representatives of 32 São Paulo-based companies across different industries is pursuing investments and business internationalization in the emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah together with São Paulo’s Investment Promotion Agency (Investe SP), which is also seeking for investments and public-private partnerships (PPPs) for the state in sectors such as infrastructure, tourism and culture.
On Sunday (24), the first day of the mission, an opening seminar for São Paulo Expo Week was held, bringing together over 100 people, including officials, businesspeople and investors from both the United Arab Emirates and Brazil in The St. Regis Downtown hotel. Investe SP is an agency affiliated with the Secretariat of Economic Development of the State of São Paulo.
Investe SP president Gustavo Junqueira (pictured above) told ANBA that having an office in Dubai has come a long way in fostering relations with the Arabs during the pandemic. “We managed to maintain and further expand relations and prepare to turn this into the largest business mission Brazil has ever held, as in addition to businesspeople, we’re bringing over 150 artists based in the state of São Paulo to exhibit in Expo. This will show yet another aspect of the state’s potential – creative economy business,” he said.
Junqueira said that the visit to the UAE is two-pronged – fundraising and business internationalization. “There’re major funds here. I always say there’re plenty of money in the world, what’s lacking are good projects, and we managed to pack the opportunities and bring them here within the format that investors seek and the necessary legal security. We’re talking PPPs in São Paulo to build and manage airports, road concessions, the Pinheiros River cleanup – just to get an idea, the Pinheiros River cleanup includes a billion-dollar real estate project, which is a major vision we have,” Investe SP’s president said, mentioning other sectors like technology, healthcare and tourism.
“Expectations for the mission are very high,” Junqueira said, without giving numbers or forecasts. “It’s a very diverse group in different stages of development, and the businesspeople is always put first here. The government does its best to make businesspeople successful, and this is a long-term relationship, so we must be resilient, persistent and focused to see the major gains in breaking into and conquering these foreign markets,” he said.
Investe SP opened an office in Dubai in February 2020 headed by Silvia Person. Some companies that were in the 2020 business mission participated again this year, including children’s footwear firm Kidy Calçados, represented by director Ricardo Gracia, and digital bank InoveBanco, with CEO Patrick Burnett. “Many companies came again to conquer even more markets, it’s an ongoing relationship – they saw good results and are now making recurrent visits,” Junqueira said.
Other participating companies are Agrimpex, Ambev, Arko Advice, Atmosfera, BRF, BYD, Cesnik, Colormaq, Dasa, DP World Santos, Fazenda Bahia, Grupo Natos, It Mídia, Loft, Natural One, Paper Excellence, R Capital Asset Management, R&S Blumos, Raízen, RV Ímola, RV Logística, Sabesp, Sebrae-SP, Semp Tcl/Semp Amazonas, Senpar Terras De São José, Stocche Forbes, Stussi Neves, Wet’n Wild, White, and Zanchetta.
Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) president Osmar Chohfi said in the seminar that besides exports of agriculture goods such as animal protein, maize, grains and sugars, the state of São Paulo is more than qualified to export higher value-added products, and he mentioned the example of machines, equipment, and hospital supplies. “It’s particularly important in this mission to attract investments to the state of São Paulo in infrastructure, renewable energy, agribusiness, tourism. There are many opportunities and much interest from UAE-based investors in São Paulo,” he said.
The ABCC supported the event and has a memorandum of understanding signed with Investe SP. “The cooperation agreement signed between ABCC and Investe SP has streamlined business because there’s confidence, and this has made a difference,” Gustavo Junqueira said.
Besides Junqueira and Chohfi, speakers included secretaries of the government of São Paulo; Fernando Igreja, ambassador of Brazil to Abu Dhabi; and Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai Investment Development Agency (FDI).
Al Gergawi said that the economic development allows for citizens to dream higher and make their dreams come true. “Dubai is open for new investments,” he said.
For Fernando Igreja, ambassador of Brazil to Abu Dhabi, the pandemic has proven that the partnership between the two countries have come to stay. He said that the visitation schedule of Brazilian officials to the UAE is full in December, thanks to Expo 2020, and he mentioned that upcoming missions include delegations from the states of Ceará, Bahia and Rondônia, as well as ministers and president Jair Bolsonaro on Brazil day at Expo on November 15. “I’m exceedingly happy. With the presence of Brazil in Expo we can show that our country has come to be a great strategic partner for the public and private sector alike,” he said.
Julio Serson, secretary of Foreign Affairs of the state of São Paulo, said that Expo Dubai is the perfect place to be right now, particularly as the pandemic comes to an end. “This networking give us the dimension of cooperation and business possibilities,” he said.
Sérgio Sá Leitão, secretary of Culture of the state of São Paulo, also spoke in the seminar. He said the state is the largest arts, media and entertainment market in Latin America. “The economy of São Paulo is open and eager for business,” he said.
For Itamar Borges, secretary of Agriculture of the State of São Paulo, Brazil has the capacity to produce a wide range of high-quality products to export across the world. “Agribusiness in São Paulo makes a difference in both production and logistics,” he finished, stressing the concern with sustainability in the agricultural production of the state.
Vinicius Lummertz, secretary of Tourism of the state of São Paulo, said the state is changing in tourism and real estate industries, with major investment opportunities for Arabs, like concessions of airports, the new Ibirapuera complex, and tourist districs.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
