Member Article

Brazil has a very small Muslim community. In any event, this is a country which, despite economic and/or political crises, foreign investors are always looking at. At this moment, one can see foreign investors acquiring assets in Brazil because of their low prices.

I have also presented in the past some topics for assessment by possible investors related to opportunities of investment or trade in Brazil, which could be made under Islamic finance structures like Mushamkah or Murabahah.

We all know that Guyana in South America has a minor Muslim population of approximately 7% and it is member of the OIC. Moreover, Guyana gained membership to the IDB in March 2016. Although Brazil does not even have such a percentage of the Muslim population, it is part of efforts by the IDB.

It has been announced that the IDB has approved US$790 million-worth of financing for development projects related to segments such as food security, education, health and infrastructure, as well as professional training for Muslim communities in non-member countries. Indonesia will receive money for roads and six Islamic higher education institutions (approximately US$488 million). The IBD will also allocate US$96 million for a Sahel progam and US$206 million for various projects in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Togo, Belgium, Brazil and the US.

Due to the importance of this piece of news related to the IDB allocating Money for project(s) in Brazil, we will definitely try to follow up on this matter. lt is a sign that Brazil indeed can attract investments and the inflow of money even from Islamic organizations.

A final note this month relates to the Halal food industry in Brazil where Brazil faced some issues related to a few plants that possibly can produce Halal food. Some countries in the GCC region and Egypt paid a lot of attention to the issue, but it seems that today this matter is over and exports are back to normal. In this regard, one should note that the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein event held in April in Teheran (lran) and Cairo (Egypt) is a marketing effort related to Halal meat and poultry produced in Brazil.