The new center will serve as a permanent exhibition of products from Brazil and Latin America, and tap developing investment and marketing opportunities between the regions.

It will also enhance Arab-Brazilian relations through the presence of future Gulf investments in Brazil, Ahmed Yassine, president of the Trade Exterior Chamber of Brazilian-Arabian Gulf and North Africa, told the Emirates News Agency. Yassine led a delegation of Brazilian businessmen on a tour of the region.

“An estimated 20 million people of Arab origin live in Latin America and 7 million of them are in Brazil,” Yassine said.

In 2007, Gulf countries imported $4.6 billion in goods from Brazil, an increase of 4.8% from 2006.

Trade between Brazil and the Arab countries reached $9.4 billion in the first half of 2008 – 60.1% more than in the same period in 2007, Gazeta Mercantil reported. June’s figures were also the highest ever for that month, with Brazilian exports totaling $966.15 million.

Profiting From Brazil’s Growth Spurt

With low valuations scaring off the fair-weather investors there are plenty of Brazilian stocks to profit from the country’s strong growth prospects. There are more than 30 Brazilian companies with full American Depository Receipt (ADR) listings on the New York Stock Exchange, plus 40 to 50 more that are traded in the over-the-counter market. Here are a few attractive examples to consider:

• Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA, referred to usually as Banco Itau (ADR: ITU), has a forward P/E ratio of 12.94 and dividend yield of 0.45%. Brazilian banks earn very high returns, primarily from domestic market lending in reals. Including Banco Itau, there are three large ones listed on the Big Board in New York; the other two are Banco Bradesco SA (ADR: BBD) and Uniao Bancos Brasile SA (Unibanco) (ADR: UBB). However, Itau is the cheapest of the three, though only slightly.

• Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, now referred to only as Vale (ADR: RIO), is one of the true global blue chips, with a market capitalization of almost $200 billion. An iron-ore company with ancillary operations in gold, nickel, copper and other metals, its shares trade at a reasonably valued at about 12 times forward earnings, though its dividend yield is only 0.74%.

• Petrobras (ADR: PBR) is one of the few emerging market oil companies with access to modern technology – and the willingness to work with the oil majors. Its shares are up 90% in the past year, but the stock’s forward P/E still is only 9.20. It has a 0.5% yield. The possible upside: It finds another gigantic offshore oilfield. The possible downside: Oil drops back to $50 a barrel. If the world’s monetary authorities get serious about imposing higher interest rates to fight inflation, PBR and RIO would probably suffer as commodities prices fall back to earth.

• Companhia de Saneamento Basico (Sabesp) (ADR: SBS) is the water and sewage system provider for Sao Paulo. Now that’s a growth business, and not dependent on commodity prices. With a P/E of only 8.67 this is one stock I have to say I love.

• TNE (ADR: TNE) There are a bunch of Brazilian cell phone companies, but TNE appears to be the cheapest. It’s concentrated in the populous southeast and northeast regions of Brazil, with a forward P/E ratio of only 9.43 and yield of 2.17%.

Source: Two Big Reasons to Remain Bullish on Brazilian Stocks

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