The "Italian Company Business Development Unit" has been set up in Sao Paolo.
Supporting internationalisation, consultancy, services and products in order to simplify the work of Italian companies operating in the large South American country or those wanting to invest there
UniCredit is supporting the internationalisation of Italian companies in Brazil. In fact, the "Italian Company Business Development Unit" has just been established at the Representative Office in Sao Paolo.
The aim of the new Unit - the most important initiative of its kind in Brazil for an Italian banking institution - is to support Italian companies who are active, through subsidiaries or by a direct presence, in the South American nation, but also to assist entrepreneurs wanting to invest in this rapidly developing country.
Brazil enjoys a high rate of economic growth (the IMF estimates a growth of 7.1% for 2010), a market of around 200 million inhabitants and a plan for upgrading and modernising its infrastructures of more than $160 billion. The balance of payments between Italy and Brazil is in favour of Italy, with exports of more than $3.7 billion against imports of $3 billion.
There are already more than 350 Italian companies operating in Brazil today of which more than 230 are already UniCredit customers. With the new Unit, UniCredit will therefore be able to offer its customers an improved, timelier and more efficient service. The establishment will be the co-ordinating point between CBBM - Cross Border Business Management, the UniCredit body dedicated to supporting its Italian clientele operating in international markets - the national Corporate network and the network which deals with SMEs in Italy, so as to be able to offer a "complete support platform" to the financial activities, which are already active or have yet to be activated, of Italian companies, both large enterprises and small and medium sized enterprises, in Brazil.
The new Unit, managed by Renzo Regini, an Italian resident for over 20 years in Brazil with a huge amount of banking experience, will be able to offer its clients a wide range of products including:
• Funding products in local currency, both short-term and medium/long-term, made available by Brazilian banks against UniCredit collateral (through, for example, agreements with the BNDES, the Brazilian bank for Economic Development);
• Funding products in hard currency through the New York branch of UniCredit (stand alone or again with UniCredit collateral);
• General banking services through the recent Co-operation Agreement signed at a Group level with Banco Bradesco.
UniCredit is a major international financial institution with strong roots in 22 European countries and an overall international network present in approximately 50 markets, with 9,600 branches, and more than 161,000 employees as of 30 September 2010.
In the CEE region, UniCredit operates the largest international banking network with nearly 3,900 branches.
The Group operates in the following countries: Austria Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.
CMMB Cross Border Business Management aims to support the Italian Corporate Network and F&EMS, which finds itself interfacing daily with the needs of its clientele operating within the international markets, an activity that will be conducted in close contact with UniCredit's overseas Banks and Branches.
The structure provides to its clients a high number of services, including:
• Constant and effective support to all Italian clientele operating in the international markets in close co-operation with the Branches/Representatives/Officers and Overseas Banks of UniCredit.
• Assistance and advice to customers for researching, in foreign countries, commercial partners, feasibility studies, joint ventures, M&A transactions, information on invitations to national and international public tenders, sector studies, advice on accessing forms of funding and insurance cover.
• Promoting the activities of UniCredit internationalisation at the competent Italian institutions and government bodies responsible for international economic policy (competent Ministries, ICE, SACE, SIMEST, FINEST, INFORMEST, CCIAA)
Milan, December 28, 2010
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