Construction companies in Brazil want to organize a mission to the United Arab Emirates with the objective of attracting investors to real estate and tourist projects in the Brazilian northeastern region. The effort is an initiative of the Adit (Association for the Development of Real Estate and Tourism in Northeast Brazil).
Since late last year Adit has had a commercial promotion agreement with the Apex (Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency).
"Recently, we were visited by investors from Abu Dhabi," said the president at the association, Felipe Cavalcante. "Now we want to improve our ties with them," added the organization's vice-president for the state of Bahia, Roberto Carlos Monteiro Lopes.
The Adit is still studying which is the best moment for setting the trip, but, according to Lopes, the idea is to take the presidents of approximately 20 companies to present their projects to potential investors.
"Some Arab funds have raised large sums of money, and they are seeking business opportunities in resorts and in the real estate market," said Lopes.
"We already have a strong presence of European investors here, but not yet of Arabs, and they have lots of capital for investing," he claimed. The association is also planning to invite businessmen from the region to visit the Northeast and get to know the existing projects.
According to Lopes, the initiatives underway in the Northeast total around 3 billion reais (US$ 1.65 billion), while projects still being developed amount to much more. In the state of Bahia, for instance, there is a project for the construction of 6,000 apartments, valued at 1.4 billion reais (US$ 773 million), he declared.
"Another project, in the state of Ceará, involves eight resorts and three golf courses, and the investment volume for the first phase alone totals US$ 300 million," he said.
Felipe Cavalcante also claimed that, according to the association's estimates, in eight to ten years, approximately 80,000 real estate properties will be sold to foreigners, resulting in revenues of between 16 billion reais (US$ 8.8 billion) and 20 billion reais (US$ 11 billion).
Presently, according to Lopes, foreign capital, mostly European, answers to two thirds of total investments in ongoing projects. The remainder is Brazilian money. "There is always a share of between 30% and 40% of national capital, to minimize the risks created by floating exchange rates," he said.
Cavalcante cited some examples of foreign investments made since the beginning of the Adit-Apex project. According to him, a European company is investing in the construction of 36 apartments in Maceió, capital of the state of Alagoas, and another company is investing in a luxury hotel in the southern coast of the state.
The organization, which currently brings together more than 60 companies of various sizes, participated in several business events this year, in Brazil and abroad.
The enterprises offered within the project combine tourist and residential vocations. In other words, even the residential properties are linked to hotel structures.
The nine northeastern Brazilian states, with a total area of more than 1.5 million square kilometers, have a strong tourist appeal. The region is bathed by a 3,300-kilometer-coastline, and the weather is hot all year long.
Service
Adit-Nordeste
Felipe Cavalcante
Telephone: (+55 82) 3327-3465
E-mail: presidente@aditnordeste.com.br
Roberto Carlos Monteiro Lopes
Telephone: (+55 71) 3273-4100
Website: www.aditnordeste.com.br
Anba – www.anba.com.br
