2006 Stats
Population: 187 million
GDP: $673 billion (+5.2% from 2005)
GDP (per sector): Agriculture: 10.1%, Industry, 38.6%, Services: 51.3%
Inflation rate: 7.6%
Unemployment rate: 11.5%
Exports: $100 billion
Imports $61 billion

Guidelines

1 Smile: When meeting someone for the first time for a presentation, or talking to secretaries on the telephone to arrange appointments, Brazilians will engage with you much more easily if you appear happy and enthusiastic. Too much seriousness will not usually help your progress.

2 Patience: In Brazil things generally take longer to get accomplished. Even though many Brazilians have international experience in Europe and the US, very often they do not have the same sense of urgency you will be used to. When setting time frames and deadlines for decisions, be sure to build in lots of additional flexibility.

3 Meet people: sure, Brazilian businessmen love their Blackberries and Palm-pilot PDAs as much as anyone else, however face-to-face communication is 100 times more effective here. Brazilians are big on building trust through personal contacts.

4 Don’t assume all Brazilians have the same work ethic. Brazil is larger than Europe and each of the 27 states will demand a slightly different approach. As a general rule, the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Santa Caterina and Sao Paulo operate on similar standards to the USA and Europe. The Carioca businessperson from Rio de Janeiro is an entirely different negotiator. A positive assessment would say he is a very friendly, warm, creative, witty entrepreneur with a large imagination, almost theatrical ability in verbal communication with a highly developed intuitive vision for making money. A negative assessment would state that punctuality and calling you back is not their strength. Given these two assessments, the main piece of advice is BE PATIENT!

5 Never, ever, try to bullshit a Brazilian when doing business, particularly the Carioca. First of all, it will not work. Any attempt to pull one over on your potential partner/customer will not only backfire but will also prevent any future dealings with this person and likely anyone he knows.

6 Bureaucracy: One of the most frustrating aspects of doing business in Brazil. Be prepared to wait in line for long periods of time at government and administrative offices, banks and other services. Bring a book to read.

7 Mobile phones: do not bother trying to get a post-paid subscription if you are not based permanently in Brazil. Simply buy a pre-paid chip at one of the many mobile operators: TIM, OI and Claro are the most popular.You can rent one (check next page)

8 Bank accounts: you will not be able to open a bank account unless you have a valid passport, a CPF and a 12-month residence permit. The CPF and residence permit must be applied for at the Policia Federal and can take months to be processed.

9 Learn some basic Portuguese: it may seem obvious, but even if you make a lot of mistakes, your efforts will be greatly appreciated and progress will be quicker. Look for our language CD “Portuguese For Tourists”, available at
www.portuguese-crash-course.com

10 Trust is extremely important when closing a deal; be prepared to conduct several meetings before a final decision is made. Also, always go for the top decision-makers: Brazil is big on the hierarchical structures and if the top guy wants something he will override all others.

Websites

For general information:
www.brazilinfocenter.org
For a more detailed look on how to conduct yourself during business meetings:
www.executiveplanet.com/business-etiquette/Brazil.html
For general information on investment issues:
www.latinfocus.com/latinfocus/factsheets/brazil/brafact_econ_investment.htm
For a list of vendors and business opportunities:
www.brazilbiz.com.br/english/
Online News sites:
www.investnews.net (Eng + Pt)
www.brazzil.com (Eng)
www.infobrazil.com (Eng)
Other useful links
Government of Brazil
www.brazil.gov.br

Business Travel

Brazil’s number one leisure tourism destination, Rio is also the most popular business tourism location in Latin America. Riocentro is considered the best and largest convention center in the continent. If you are looking to organize any incentive trips to motivate employees, Rio is the place. For more information on organizing such trips, check out this link:
www.rioconventionbureau.com.br

For a more detailed look at doing business in Rio and the rest of Brazil, it is a good idea to check out the relevant chamber of commerce sites:
www.britcham.com.br (UK)
www.amchamrio.com.br (US)
www.ahkbrasil.com (Germany)
www.italcam.com.br (Italy)

Other sites to consult include:
www.brazilchamber.org/resources/doing_br.htm (Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce)
www.bndes.gov.br (Brazilian Social and Economic Development Bank)
www.desenvolvimento.gov.br (Ministry of Industry and Commerce)
www.mre.gov.br (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

If you are thinking of quitting your job, selling everything and investing in Brazil, check out this site:
www.braziltradenet.gov.br
And for some of the pitfalls and difficulties of doing business in brazil:
www.brazilbrazil.com

Chauffeur Service

Marcelo Esteves (UK,ES)
9984-7654 or marafes@terra.com.br

Translation Services

Steve Yolen
yolen@amcham.com.br
9612-4938

Portuguese Lessons

Dynamic Portuguese School
Contact: Jose Hordones tel: 9961-6847
dynamic.rlk@terra.com.br

Moving to Brazil

Many foreigners have moved to Rio: half to work, half to retire. The attraction is, as Dan Babush puts it, “As soon as you arrive you are instantly 3 times richer, 3 inches taller and 3 times more relaxed than back home”.
Rio is ideal for those who can web-commute: its time zone is 1 to 4 hours ahead of the US, allowing you to wake up late. Those who come looking for work end up teaching English, as the job market is tight and underpaid.
What many foreigners end up doing is spending 6 months at home, getting paid and saving, then coming to Rio, and living it up for 6 months.
To get an idea: rent in Ipanema/Leblon goes for at least R$3000 (2bdr), groceries, cellular phone, transport (taxi) and maid another R$1200. Then nightlife, getaways, shopping and flights back home are up to you.
If you are considering moving to Rio and want to learn more, or need help with finding a place, the paperwork or legal assistance, contact:
Standard Imóveis Ltda
Rua Visconde de Pirajá 414 / 1214
Quartier Ipanema
22410-002 or 2267-5016 or 2247-9511
standard@standardimoveis.com.br
www.standardimoveis.com.br

READY FOR EXPORT BRAZILIAN IDEAS

SAIDEIRA
The leaving beer. The beer the group orders once they have decided to leave the bar. Sort of like the “one for the road”, yet drank at the premises.

EXPULSADEIRA
The expelling beer. If the bar owner wants to close, and you don’t want to leave (normal), then he should give you the expulsadeira, to compensate for kicking you out.

COMIDA-A-KILO
Food by the pound. You add it to your plate, and you pay on weight. Extremely fair. Why hasn’t it gone international yet?

CONSUMPTION CARD
You drink all night, bar tenders jot it down on your consumption card. Before leaving the bar, you have to settle your bill. If you claim you lost it, you pay a costly fine.

BUTT-SPLITTING JEANS
They ride up women’s butt. Women look sexier, men give them all the attention. What could be fairer?

11PM COMMON-SENSE TRAFFIC LIGHTS.
It’s midnight, no other cars at the intersection. Why wait for the light to go green? Duh!

FRESCOBOL
A racket & ball sport with no winners, yet everyone wins by having fun. Just don’t let the ball fall.

RODA DE SAMBA
Samba circle. An interactive method of enjoying music, where instead of listening to a band play, you sing a-long with them, in the most informal setting, which allows for group participation and beer drinking by all involved.

ETHANOL FUELED CARS
Cheaper, cleaner, powerful, sustainable, recyclable, regrowable, and can enrich 3rd world countries. Sounds like the solution to this centuries problems, doesn’t it?

TRIO ELETRICO
A semi-truck packed with speakers, enough to rock 10 thousand parties found in small towns, where they don’t have a venue structured to hold such a crowd. The artists sing from the roof of the truck.

GRITO DE CARNAVAL
Carnival shout. A pre-party 2 weeks before the big event of the season, used to ride on the anticipation everyone is having regarding it.

RESSACA DE CARNAVAL
Carnival hang-over. The same as above, but after carnival.

CESTA BASICA
A big bag with a mix of basic foods that’ll last a family of 4 for a month. Usually given out to impoverished areas, to low income employees or used to buy votes.

IMPEACHMENT
Has your president been distributing Cesta Basicas to buy votes? Impeach him/her! Not a Brazilian concept (french really), but Brazilians put it into practice for the first and only time. Can you think of a country that should impeach the president?

Export
Here is a partial list of things you can buy in bulk and resell on Ebay or any auction site at a relatively fair margin, which will help you cover your trip costs:

BIKINI
Just make sure they are European sizes and cuts, so they don´t look to raunchy for 1st world countries. Check page 83

CACHAÇA
You may not be able to sell them, but you can get them for US$7 here while they are worth US$23+ back home... so it may make a great gift.

HAVAIANAS
Havaiana flip-flops sell like crazy in both Europe and US markets, usually at 5 times the price in Brazil. To buy straight from a distributor, check page 83

BRAZILIAN SOCCER SHIRT
Get either the cheap version, or the legit.