São Paulo – The World Trade Centre (WTC) Business Club in São Paulo is going to promote seminar "Business Opportunities in the United Arab Emirates" on Tuesday (30). The event is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am at the Sheraton in São Paulo, and should bring together between 80 and 100 businessmen and executives who operate in the area of foreign trade.
The objective of the seminar, according to the organisation, is to prepare a trade mission in Dubai to participate in the General Assembly of the WTCs Association, to take place between November 7th and 10th.
This year the meeting, which brings together WTCs from all around the world, will focus on "Women as leaders in international business". The São Paulo WTC plans to take between 30 and 40 Brazilian executives from several sectors to the Emirates.
The seminar should include the chairman of the Advisory Board of the WTC-SP, Ozires Silva, former president of Varig, Embraer and Petrobras and minister of infrastructure in the early 1990s, during the term in office of former president Fernando Collor de Mello; the secretary general at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Michel Alaby; the director of Emirates Airline in Brazil, Ralf Aasmann; Gilberto Lima, from the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil); Bruno Bomeny, president of the WTC Business Club; and the president of the National Federation of Brazilian Sales and Marketing Directors Associations, Agostinho Turbian.
Alaby is going to speak about the political, fiscal and legal scenery of the Emirates. "The idea is to grant a more economic point of view, not just commercial," he said. "I am going to explain how the tax system works, how the investment environment is, whether or not it is necessary to have a local partner and I will also talk about the Free Zones. I should also discuss what is lacking for them to invest in Brazil," he added. The organisation hopes that after the seminar businessmen may know what is necessary to enter the Arab country.
Trade
According to a study by the Market Development Department at the Arab Brazilian Chamber, the main products imported by the Emirates are electronic household appliances, machinery, precious gems and metals and vehicles and auto parts, which together represent 45% of foreign purchases of the country.
Exports from Brazil to the Emirates generated US$ 816 million between January and August this year, growth of 7.15% over the same period in 2007. The main items shipped were chicken, rebar, aircraft, lorries, beef, machinery and equipment, sugar, aluminium wire and plates, auto parts and eggs.
The Chamber report also shows that Brazil produces several of the products imported by the Arab country, but bilateral trade is still below its potential, as the Emirates, apart from buying for its own consumption, also acts as a reexport hub to other nations in the region and outside it.
Brazilian imports from the Emirates, in turn, totalled US$ 374 million in the first eight months of the year, growth of 83.41% over the same period in 2007. The most sold products were aviation fuel (US$ 324.5 million), agglomerated ore, garments and other products made out of fabrics, polyethylene products and aluminium residues.
According to the study, the country imports everything, and the main business opportunities for Brazilian companies are in sectors like food, building material, fashion and capital goods. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Emirates reached US$ 227.5 billion last year, according to estimates by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), with real growth of 7.4% over 2006. The per capita GDP reached US$ 41,400.
Further information about the seminar
WTC Business Club
Tel: (+55 11) 3043-7118, with Rafael or Natália
E-mail: eventos@wtcclub.com.br
Site: www.wtcclub.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
