The Italian delegation which will be on mission in Argentina as of Monday aims to create new business opportunities and to follow up on the renewed momentum given to the two countries’ bilateral relations during Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s visit in February.
The Mission, which will be led by Ivan Scalfarotto, the Undersecretary of State for Economic Development, and was organised by Confindustria, Agenzia ICE and ABI in association with the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, aims to explore Argentina’s investment opportunities and industrial partnership options for Italian companies in the light of the recent economic policy reforms and guidelines adopted by the Government of the newly elected President of the Republic, Mauricio Macri.
The mission comprises more than 130 members: representatives of banks, associations and Universities and of companies mostly based in the Regions of Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Piedmont.
Mr Vincenzo De Luca, the Director General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation, will represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
SECTORS FOCUSED
The agro-food, automotive, energy-green technologies and infrastructures are the sectors targeted during the 2-day mission’s activities and meetings to promote Italian companies abroad.
The agro-food industry: contributing more than 10% to GNP, agriculture and livestock breeding represents one of the most important sectors of Argentina’s economy as it also employs over 6 million workers (36% of the active population). The tax cuts on some exported agricultural goods – which have been passed by the new Government – already promote short-term investment and boost the sector’s competitiveness. Agricultural commodities are also the core of the trade relations between Italy and Argentina: during the past year, more than 88% of Italian imports was represented by agricultural and food products.
The automotive industry: the automotive sector’s supply chain is one of the points of reference in Argentina’s manufacturing system; it comprises 9% of the Country’s industrial production and represents 8% of total exports, in addition to employing over 65,000 workers. In Argentina all major international car manufacturers (Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, FCA, PSA, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen) operate their own plants. In 2015, Argentina ranked 24th among car manufacturing countries and 3rd in Latin America after Mexico and Brazil.
Energy and Green Technologies: with an annual production of almost 120 million KWh and an installed capacity of 35,000 MW, Argentina is Latin America’s second largest electricity producer and consumer. These values however cannot yet meet all the needs of industry and of local consumers, which have been growing at an average annual rate of 6% during the last few years. The policies passed by the Government aim to boost the sector primarily by improving the business climate and by raising tariffs, with a view to favouring investments by private companies both in conventional power production and also through the use of renewable energy sources.
Infrastructures: developing a more modern and inclusive system of infrastructures is one of the priorities declared by the Government which, right after its installation, passed the so-called “Plan Belgrano”, an important 16 billion dollar investment plan aimed at making North Argentina more economically competitive and socially developed (also thanks to specific projects to develop infrastructural networks connecting the Country’s northern and southern regions).
THE AGENDA
The mission to promote Italian companies will begin on Tuesday, 17 May, with a seminar on Argentina’s economy and on how do to business there. This will be followed by 4 technical workshops especially focused on the sectors targeted in the mission, presenting the most important investment plans that Argentina envisages over the next few years. The day’s agenda will also include a workshop on scientific and technological cooperation based on high-level training in engineering and space research.
Wednesday, 18 May: the day will be dedicated to B2B meetings and to the Italy-Argentina Business Forum, which will be moderated by Mr Vincenzo De Luca, the Director General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation, with the participation of Undersecretary of State Scalfarotto, of the Argentinian Deputy Minister of Trade and of numerous representatives of the Government and of major local economic agencies.