São Paulo – The CEO of Saudi Germany Company (Sageco) and the first vice president of the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce, Suliman Al-Sayyari, aims to promote the exchange of investment between Brazilian and Saudi companies. On Friday (30) he visited the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and also met with businessmen in the building sector.
"I came to Brazil for the 60th anniversary of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (celebrated in a dinner on the 29th) and decided to make some contacts to know what services I can offer and what deals we can make. There is a building sector boom in Saudi Arabia. Apart from that, there is much synergy that may be obtained in agreements between companies from Brazil and Saudi Arabia. What we see here, we see happening there. There are opportunities,” said Sayyari.
Apart from Jeddah and Riyadh, the largest Saudi cities, Sayyari stated that other cities in the Arab country are growing. "The government is building over 500,000 homes and should invest over US$ 10 billion in housing in coming years, not just in Riyadh, but also in Dammam, Jazan and Abha, as well as throughout the country,” he said.
Opportunities in Saudi Arabia, said the representative of the Arab German Chamber of Commerce, are not restricted to the housing sector. In coming years, the government should invest over US$ 700 billion in construction of airports, petrochemical industries and in the oil sector. He said that the opportunities for Brazilians should not remain restricted to building. “We have opportunities for Brazil to export technology, products and services. In the same way, I believe that the Saudis may export their products and services to Brazil,” he said.
To Sayyari, business between both countries may grow much in coming years, but for that to take place, it is necessary for local businessmen to have more information about Brazil. "Today, business between both countries is basically through the sale of commodities, but it may grow as few people in the Middle East currently have information about Brazil, and the country promotes itself little there. Few people know that Brazil is as large as the United States, so there is potential to increase trade relations,” he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
