For U.S. companies, Brazil can be one of the most complex countries to do business with because of all of the requirements that are enforced, Larry Harding, vice chairman and executive director for Corporate Development for Radius, recently told Latin Business Daily.
Radius provides help to companies expanding into any country in the world by leading them through legal matters, tax filings, accounting practices, personnel regulations and other challenges. It recently consolidated its presence in Brazil with the acquisition of the Sao Paulo-based accounting and services firm B&B Gestao.
“As an example, many transactions need to be processed through the government," Harding said. "In the United States, when you send an invoice, you just send it to a company. But in Brazil, you have to send it through the government, through the equivalent of their Internal Revenue Service office."
While these complexities can be good for a company such as Radius as it helps attract more business, the situation may not be helpful for Brazilian efforts to recover economic growth patterns.
“The harder it is for a company to operate in Brazil, the more they need us,” he said. "[On the other hand], I think anytime a country makes it easy for a company to do business, like Hong Kong or Singapore, they can get more business. The higher the barriers and the hurdles, the more it could inhibit growth.”
Despite the economic slowdown in Brazil and current economic weakness, it is still a good time for a company such as Radius to invest in the country and expand, particularly because of the situation.
“You could see it is a crazy time to be expanding in Brazil, but when the economy is contracting, it is also a good time to have access to get good people, get office space," Harding said.
In fact, the slowdown can be an opportunity for a business to position itself so that when the economy inevitably grows again it is ready to benefit. While Brazil can indeed be complex, it is the world’s seventh-largest economy with more than $2.4 trillion in gross domestic product.
“Radius sees Latin America as a huge, broad market," he said. "We hope and expect to be doing more."
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