Claudio Costa
K
posted yesterday
Singapore Players Eye Brazil on Engineering Sticking with the move of major shipbuilders, like Jurong and Kepel Fels, players of Singapore are now turning up their plans to vest in the technology sector in Brazil, driven by the panoramas of the pre-salt oil discoveries. Valenrina Soo, the director for South America at International Enterprise (IE), the government agency who seeks to drive Singapore into international ventures, told the mainstream newspaper O Globo that further to enhancing the country麓s footprint in the Brazilian shipbuilding market, as well as providing labor and equipment to the oil and gas sector, Singapore players now seek to gain a foothold in the Brazilian engineering sector, with an eye on serving the pre-salt development. "Singapore is a strong player in the Brazilian shipbuilding and chartering sectors, however our primary focal point is now on engineering", Ms. Soo told O Globo.
A crane barge in the city of Vit贸ria, where the Jurong Aracruz shipyard construction works are in progress. Credit: O Globo.
Ms. Soo remarked that Singapore oil and gas players will attend the upcoming Rio Oil & Gas trade fair, slated to kick-off on next September 15, in Rio de Janeiro, in order to look for investment opportunities. At least three participants have prepared plans to lay foot in Brazil. Global Tech Systems Engineering, a subsidiary of KS Energy Services, ranked as an engineering consulting leader, PH Hydraulics and Engineering and KTL Offshore are them. "We are unable to delineate how much we will invest, however, our stake in Brazil is for real. A total of US$ 1.2 billion was invested last year by companies of Singapore in the oil and gas sector", Ms. Soo remarked. LONG TERM VISION Despite the current financial woes, Singapore is confident in the potential of the Brazilian market. "We are not in possession of too many natural resources, on the other hand, we experience a great deal of expertise and technology to offer, and we see good opportunities in Brazil. The country is through a downturn nowadays, however the potential of its oil and gas market cannot be ignored", Ms. Soo remarked.