S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The 53 African countries grow at an annual rate higher than the world average, and will require foreign investment and technology in the coming years. The continent will need investment in the banking sector, telecommunications, infrastructure, services, agriculture and energy. These are some of the opportunities for Brazil that were presented during the \u201cMeeting with Brazilian businessmen on investment in Africa\u201d promoted by the Lula Institute, the Brazilian Federation of Bank Associations (Febraban) and the Federation of Industries of the State of S\u00e3o Paulo (Fiesp) this Wednesday (16th) in S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), Luciano Coutinho, said the institution lends money to five African banks and stressed that the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, has spoken for the funding of Brazilian projects targeting African countries. Coutinho stated, however, that Brazil is yet to tap into opportunities in different sectors of the continent’s economy than those in which it already participates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are sectors yet untapped by Brazilian companies such as banking, telecommunications, retail and wholesale, tourism, cosmetics, medication, and pharmachemicals,\u201d said Coutinho. <\/p>\n
According to him, the continent\u2019s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of 6.8% up until 2008, when the international crisis erupted. The rate dropped to 2.7% in 2009, reached 5.4% in 2010, is expected to be 5.2% this year, and then reach 5.8% in 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome African countries grow at rates of up to 15% a year. The continent\u2019s GDP is US$ 1.7 trillion and should be US$ 2.7 trillion within ten years,\u201d said Coutinho upon discussing investment opportunities in Africa. <\/p>\n
The Fiesp president, Paulo Skaf, claimed that African countries also offer opportunities to businessmen interested in investing in manufacturing industries. The Fiesp Foreign Trade director, Roberto Giannetti da Fonseca, however, said Brazil needs to negotiate old debts of the African countries before the BNDES can finance new projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are minor unpaid debts from loans taken in the 1980s, 1990s. These are debts amounting to US$ 10 million, US$ 15 million, which prevent Brazil from lending hundreds [of millions of dollars] to some countries. In addition to those, we also need good guarantees that the [new] loans will be paid off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Bilateral trade between Brazil and African countries reached US$ 20.5 billion in 2010. Brazil imported the equivalent of US$ 11.2 billion and exported the equivalent of US$ 9.2 billion. Skaf forecasts that the trade volume between Brazilians and Africans should double within three years and reach US$ 60 billion in seven years. \u201cThe expected annual growth for Africa in 2012 is 5.8%, whereas Europe and Japan are in trouble. Whenever a country\u2019s GDP grows, its trade multiplies. By 2018, the flow of trade [between Brazil and Africa] may reach US$ 60 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Jay Naidoo, stated that Brazil is regarded as a role model because it developed advanced agricultural technology. He said the continent needs partnerships, and wants to attract Brazilian businessmen. \u201cRight now we have lands being occupied by foreigners, people from other countries. That\u2019s alright. However, we want to be helped to attain self-sufficiency [in farming] and we want our people to be respected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Sudanese ambassador to Bras\u00edlia, Abd Elghani Elnaim Awad Elkarim, who attended the meeting, mentioned success cases of Brazilian companies such as Dedini, which supplied machinery and equipment to the first Sudanese ethanol plant, and the Pinesso group, which produces agricultural commodities in the country. \u201cThis is proof of the trust the Sudanese have in Brazilian enterprises,\u201d the diplomat told ANBA during a visit to the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce <\/b> following the meeting at Fiesp.<\/p>\n
Elkarim highlighted the \u201cleadership\u201d of former president Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, founder of the namesake institute, in promoting relations between Brazil and Africa. \u201cAnd we are glad that president Dilma has continued along the same path,\u201d he said. \u201cBrazil seems determined to go on maintaining strong ties with Africa,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The vice president for infrastructure at the African Development Bank, Bobby Pittman, stated that businessmen willing to profit in Africa must structure themselves to reap the fruits of the continent\u2019s growth, develop corporate governance actions, and realize the opportunities that the crisis brings. \u201cThose who invested in China, the United States and Brazil thought they had diversified portfolios, but in 2009 the Nairobi Stock Exchange, in Kenya, did well during the crisis,\u201d he said, comparing the performances of these countries’ stock markets.<\/p>\n
*With the collaboration of Alexandre Rocha. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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