Brazilian Companies Eye Chinese Market
Brazilian Companies Eye Chinese Market
Guest panelists Ambassador Sergio Amaral and Consultant Claudio Frishtak analyze the experience of Brazilian companies in China at AS/COA’s panel discussion on Oct 15.
Both countries hope to strengthen economic ties despite challenges
As China becomes the largest export market for Brazil and Chinese investment in the South American nation expands from resources to the manufacturing and service sectors, Brazilian companies are also looking for ways to step up their presence in the Asian nation.
At present, China accounts for only 0.06 percent of the total Brazilian outbound investment in the last decade. The amount also makes up 0.04 percent of the total investment entering China in the decade.
According to the latest survey by the China-Brazil Business Council, only 57 Brazilian companies are operating in China. About half of them, or 51 percent, are service providers, such as Bank of Brazil and the law firm Felsberg; about a third, or 28 percent, are in manufacturing sector, such as aircraft maker Embraer; and a fifth, or 21 percent, are related to natural resources sectors, such as Vale and Petrobras.
Claudio Frischtak, a consultant to the council, said the asymmetrical situation of Chinese investment in Brazil and Brazilian investment in China is due to some historic reasons.
"In the 1980s, the Chinese looked to improving efficiency in manufacturing, and in those days, there were real opportunities for Brazilian companies to transfer their manufacturing knowledge and become a partner in Chinese development," Frischtak told a conference held on Monday at the Council of the Americas in New York, analyzing the China-Brazil council survey on Brazilian companies' experience in China.
"Brazilian companies did not do that because they were preoccupied with hyperinflation and other problems. They were struggling to survive. It was a lost decade," said Frischtak, also president of the consultancy known as Inter.B....
