SP agency negotiates coming of companies
Valor Econômico 07/30/10
The Government of São Paulo expects to attract four new important companies to the State this year; among them, two of the car sector, one of the steel sector and other of electronics. Negotiations are underway through the State Agency of Promotion, SP Investe, and according to the President of the institution, Mário Mugnaini, the agreement only depends on the definition of the municipalities where each should get installed. "The companies present us the profile of the location they need and our role is to show them the options we have", says Mugnaini.The definition on the setting up of new car companies should be announced in September. The industries of steel and electronics, the latter intended for information technology, should define their locations until December. The President of the agency explains there is a confidentiality agreement on the identity of the companies and places under consideration. The city of Campinas and the neighborhood of Jaguaré, in the capital of São Paulo, however, are two possible places to receive a state-of-the-art computer industry. "There is a partnership with Politécnica, the Engineering College of USP (University of São Paulo), to attract companies with such state-of-the-art technology", he says.
The advantage of coming to São Paulo, according to him, is mainly the nearness to the consumer market. For Mugnaini, the return of the companies under the operation of Investe SP is positive. "We are the front door and reference to investors interested in the State". So far, there are no new tax incentives. The last one was the measure in force since last year that exempts the purchase of equipment from the collection of ICMS (State Sales and Services Tax). In the steel sector, the company interested in getting installed in São Paulo is a manufacturer of steel structures. Mugnaini highlights civil construction is one of the strong points to attract investments to the State.
Today, among the projects of Investe SP, there are two automakers that have already begun preparing the land to set up their plants; Toyota, in Sorocaba, and Hyundai, in Piracicaba. The investment of each gets to US$ 600 million, and they are expected to generate 2.5 thousand and 1.6 thousand jobs, respectively. In the construction sector, there is an increase in the productive capacity of the Jacareí-based glassmaker Cebrace, in an investment of US$ 210 million, and the arrival of Chinese Sany, manufacturer of machinery and equipment. The company has not announced the site where it should get installed, but the intention is to stay in the region of Vale do Paraíba. One thousand direct jobs will be generated in an investment of US$ 200 million.
Investe SP currently works with a portfolio of 32 investment projects with values estimated at R$ 5.8 billion (US$ 3.2 billion) and possible generation of 22.5 thousand direct jobs. R$ 2.7 billion (US$ 1.5 billion) of such total are guaranteed by the projects that have already been announced. Two other sectors of interest for Investe SP are the aeronautical and oil and gas. According to the President of the agency, the intention is to double the number of suppliers of parts and equipment for Embraer in Vale do Paraíba, currently at nearly 150 companies, to cater to the growth of the aircraft manufacturer. In the area of oil and gas, the focus is the development of the region known as Baixada Santista, where Petrobras is setting up its base for the management of the basin of Santos.