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CanadExport is Canada's official source of news and advice on trade, export and investment opportunities around the world, for entrepreneurs who want to compete, partner and prosper in the global marketplace.						CanadExport Vol. 25, No. 18 (PDF)

Pui-Ling Chan, CEO and managing director of SkyWave Mobile Communications, first expanded his business to Brazil in 2001. A short six years later, Brazil and other Latin American countries account for more than half of his business, selling two-way satellite products and services.

“For us, it has been very good,” he says. “Latin America has been very lucrative for our overall business.”

Besides Brazil, SkyWave Mobile Communications is present in Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Panama and Chile.

Overall, Canadian trade officials say the Americas represent a tremendous business opportunity. Most countries in the region have embraced market-based reforms and trade liberalization. Regional gross domestic product expanded by an estimated 5.3% in 2006, marking a third consecutive year of expansion above 4%.

These conditions are encouraging for Canadian companies and investors.

Moreover, Chan says Canadian companies are well regarded in the region. In fact, it was business people in Brazil who first approached him.

“Clearly, they understand that Canada has the technology,” he says. “The Canadian name in Brazil is actually very good.”

David Verbiwski, a Canadian trade commissioner in Brazil, agrees.

“Brazilians find the Canadian way of doing things akin to their own. They find there are more similarities with us than with other developed countries,” he says.

New focus
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently committed the Government of Canada to a renewed and sustained engagement in the hemisphere. The government is looking to international commerce as a key element to ensure that Canadian companies, investors and innovators can further tap into this important market.

According to Chan, this new emphasis is both welcome and extremely helpful. But he notes that doing business in Latin America has not always been easy.

“There are challenges,” he admits. “There are regulatory issues. They are not the same as what we have here in Canada.”

Fortunately, Chan got some help from Canadian trade officials in São Paulo and across the region.

Thanks to their networks of contacts and resources on the ground, Verbiwski says that trade commissioners can quickly provide Canadian companies with the right contacts and key information.

“Because we deal with a wide range of Canadian companies, we have dealt with a wide range of issues and questions,” he says. This means that the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service has a wealth of experience to address issues quickly and efficiently.”

Chan says that this type of support is crucial, and uncommon.

“Many other countries, including big competitors, don’t get that much support from their trade officials.”

As part of its focus on the Americas, the Government of Canada is also negotiating free trade agreements with Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean community, known as CARICOM. It is also working to conclude negotiations with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

According to Chan, free trade agreements in the region “would make life a lot easier.”

But there is more work to be done at the ground level.

Verbiwski says the biggest challenge is to get the word out, both in Canada and in the region.

“For Canadian companies, there is definitely a lack of knowledge of the opportunities that exist, particularly in Brazil,” he notes. “And although it is growing, there is still a lack of awareness in the region about what Canada has to offer.”

For more information, go to www.infoexport.gc.ca.

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