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The Hayel Saeed Anam (HSA) group, one of the greatest business conglomerates in Yemen, which acts in many sectors, is interested in investing in Brazil.
The information was given February 14 by the director of the industrial division of the company, Abdul Gabbar Hayel Saeed, who is taking part in the joint trade mission of five Arab countries, which is in the city of São Paulo participating in business roundtables organized by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB).
"We are seeking investment opportunities in Brazil, which is a great market," said Gabbar. According to him, the most attractive sector and susceptible of attracting the company's resources is agribusiness. "It is a large and good sector," he added.
However, he is also evaluating the possibility of investing in the real estate segment. The focus of business and the amounts involved will depend on the conversations Gabbar holds with the Brazilian businessmen. "It depends on the opportunities that come up," he said.
The Hayel Saeed Anam group was founded in the 1930s by Gabbar's father and three uncles. In the beginning, according to him, the group worked only with foreign trade, but during the 1970s started to develop industrial activities with a biscuits and sweets factory. "We are the oldest business group in Yemen," he said.
Currently the company works in many industrial, trade and services sectors. They manufacture, for example, foods, packaging, vegetable oils, flours, perfumes, mineral water, and lubricants, among other goods.
The company also acts in agribusiness, in the banking sector, with tourism and hotels, transport, insurance, in the hospital sector, with foreign trade and other activities.
Just to have an idea, according to Gabbar, the biscuits and sweets factory currently has the capacity of manufacturing 110,000 tons annually. The mill controlled by the group produces more than 1 million tons of flour per year.
HSA has offices in 38 countries, and owns industrial units in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Malaysia and Indonesia. In all, according to Gabbar, the company employs 22,000 people and, although he does not reveal their revenues, he says they are in the "billion dollar" level.
As well as investing in Brazil, the company is also interested in attracting Brazilian partners to do business in Yemen, such as contracts in the construction sector, real estate undertakings in fields such as water resources, energy and building hospitals.
"Sometimes the Yemeni government promotes great bids to tender for these sectors and it is important to have good connections to participate," said the executive.
Gabbar also wants to strengthen contacts with suppliers of raw materials used by the company. The group already imports from Brazil products like sugar and tinplates for the manufacture of preserve cans and paper.
"We already are, for example, the greatest importers of sugar in Yemen," asserted the businessman. "But we are expanding our business and looking for other suppliers outside Europe and the Far East," he concluded.
Translated by Silvia Lindsey
ANBA – Brazil-Arab News Agency
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