Sao Paulo, May 10, 2004.—Today, China
is Brazil’s third-largest trading partner, and Brazil has become China’s
third-largest trading partner in the Americas. And the potential for further
trade and investment between these two vibrant countries is enormous.
The conference “Investment Opportunities Brazil-China” opens tomorrow
and is sponsored by the International Finance Corporation, the Brazilian
government, and the General Consulate
of China
in Sao Paulo.
It will explore the challenges and opportunities for investment between
Brazil and China. Taking place at the headquarters of the Bolsa de Mercadorias
and Futuros in Sao Paulo, this two-day event will address the regulatory,
legal, and financial challenges facing governments and the private sector
in the two countries.
Sponsors also include the host of the event BM&F, as well as Brazil
Trade Net, CNI, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, Latin Finance magazine,
and Noronha Advogados.
The conference precedes President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva’s groundbreaking
visit to China, which signals the growing importance of the relationship
between the two countries. The surge in China’s demand for many basic
goods and the broadening range of products traded are encouraging Brazilian
and Chinese companies to establish new production facilities in both countries,
in sectors as varied as petroleum, telecommunications, and aeronautics.
Many of these investments are being made jointly by Chinese and
Brazilian firms. And the number of Chinese and Brazilian companies seeking
business opportunities continues to increase.
Luiz Fernando Furlan, Brazil’s Minister of Development, Industry and International
Trade, will open the event. Other participants in the conference will include
Assaad Jabre, IFC’s Vice President of Operations; Jiang Yuande, China’s
Ambassador to Brazil; Manoel Felix da Cintra Neto, President of BM&F;
Governor Blairo Maggi of the state of Matto Grosso; Mario Vilalva, Director
of Commercial Promotion at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Consul
General of China in Sao Paulo, Shen Qing; and many other key players from
companies and organizations that are active in developing trade and investment
between the two countries.
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World
Bank Group, supports the development of a sustainable private sector in
emerging markets. Brazil accounts for IFC’s largest investment portfolio,
and China is at the center of the Corporation’s strategy for East Asia.
IFC looks forward to fostering the growing synergy between the two countries,
by helping Brazilian and Chinese firms internationalize their business
and promoting direct investment between the two countries.
Facts about trade and investment between China and Brazil:
·Brazil has grown to become China’s third-largest commercial partner in
the Americas. Brazil’s imports from China totaled $2.2 billion in 2003.
·Brazil’s trade with China, about $7 billion per year, marks a tremendous
increase from $1 million in annual trade just nine years ago.
·A proposed trade agreement between China and the Mercosur countries, currently
being debated, could also intensify the trend toward commercial partnerships.
·Brazil’s recognition of China as an opportunity not only shows the entrepreneurial
spirit of Brazilian companies, but also sets an encouraging precedent for
other countries in Latin America that are concerned about competitiveness
and the economic expansion of China.
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