The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Thandi Tobias-Pokolo, will lead a business delegation comprising of 45 South African companies on an Investment and Trade Initiative (ITI) to Brazil from 12 to 16 March 2012.
This is the third ITI to Brazil organised by The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its focus is on South Africa's World Cup legacy. The ITI will span three host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, namely, Sao Paulo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre.
The ITI will afford emerging exporters with an opportunity to learn about the export process and related logistics, get insight into the Brazilian market, and to leverage from 2014 Soccer World Cup projects.
The ITI programme will include trade and investment seminars, targeted business-to-business meetings and site visits. The companies participating in the ITI are from the following sectors: built environment, construction, aerospace, rail and marine, manufacturing, agro-processing, services and electro-technical.
"ITIs create an excellent platform to showcase South Africa's manufacturing and export capabilities as well as investment prospects in the markets in which the ITIs are held, which are targeted high growth markets. This forthcoming ITI will increase exports through the profiling of South Africa's competencies and expertise for the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa. The ITI will also explore potential that may exist in having South African companies partner with Brazilian companies in tendering for projects to realise the 2014 FIFA Soccer World Cup," said Deputy Minister Tobias-Pokolo.
She added that the ITI would also build and strengthen relations that were established during previous ITI's held in Brazil in 2009 and 2010, which yielded significant results in terms of exposing South African companies to the Brazilian market. One of the success stories of South African companies penetrating the Brazilian market is that of the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), which is part of a consortium that recently won a bid for the expansion, maintenance and operation of Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paulo.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe (Departmental Spokesperson)
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
