Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro visited three GCC countries in October — Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

In Saudi Arabia, it was announced that the Saudi Public Investment Fund would be willing to invest up to US$10 billion in Brazil. Brazil would be the sixth country to receive investments from this fund, which has a portfolio of US$320 billion. Although the sectors to receive the investments are not yet defined, it is said that the investments would be made within three years.

Moreover, Brazil and Saudi Arabia should soon be signing an accord that would facilitate the granting of visas. The validity of the visas would no longer be one year, but rather five years and with multiple entries. It is also intended that the fee related to the issuance of the visas would decrease.

The Brazilian president mentioned via social media that the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, Mubadala, which already has a relevant presence in Brazil, intends to make more investments in Brazil in sectors like ports, highways, mining, real estate and entertainment.

BRF, a Brazilian company that has been exporting Halal food for decades, is constructing a plant in Saudi Arabia to produce Halal chicken. The investment would reach the amount of US$120 million and the intention is to have the plant operating in 2021.

A company located in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul which holds the trademark for the Cordeiro da Estancia brand has started to produce Halal sheep meat. Cordeiro da Estancia is also planning to produce Halal beef together with Frigorifi co 3K, which is also located in Rio Grande do Sul.

Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (Agencia Nacional do Petroleo, Gas e Biocombustíveis – ANP) has conducted an auction regarding the concession of certain blocs for the exploration of oil and gas in early October 2019.

Two major companies that had an important participation in the auction, and being responsible for 43% of the amount to be paid to the Brazilian government, come from Muslim-majority countries — Malaysia (PETRONAS) and Qatar (QPI).

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