Mission Description:

Export Promotion Services’ Matchmaker Program is organizing a Services Matchmaker Trade Delegation to Mexico City, Mexico and Santiago, Chile, with an optional spin-off stop to Caracas, Venezuela, April 8-16, 2002. The Matchmaker will target service industries including environmental technologies, healthcare technologies, information technologies, and telecommunications. The focus of the delegation will be to match U.S. companies with qualified agents, distributors, representatives, licensees, and joint venture partners in service related markets.

Commercial Setting:

Mexico

Mexico’s strong economic growth continued throughout 2000, averaging 3.8 percent for the year, with GDP growth at 5.2 percent in the last quarter of 2000 and 7.9 percent in the first quarter of 2001. The Mexican economy has weathered the recent shocks of the international economy remarkably well. The services needed in Mexico include telecommunications to environmental technologies.

The Mexican telecommunications market has grown very rapidly in the past eight years, and the size of the combined market for equipment and services is estimated to exceed US$3.5 billion yearly over the next three years. In the past year the Mexican market experienced a tremendous growth in certain areas. In less than one year since the start of the "Calling Party Pays" program, the number of cellular users grew from 3.6 to 9.2 million users. This caused the saturation of the networks with resulting consumer dissatisfaction. As a result, the Mexican telecommunications authority has required the concessionaires to upgrade the capacity of their networks. The main cellular operators recently announced huge investments reaching more than US$600 million.

Growth and development of the internet in Mexico is fueling demand in hardware devices, software and services. IT professional services account for 32.6 percent of the total market and offers an excellent market opportunity for U.S. firms. The professional services in highest demand are maintenance, network integration, outsourcing, training and customized software, and system integration in vertical markets.

In the environmental services sector, the demand for water resources equipment and services from U.S. firms is expected to increase 14 percent in the short term. In 2000, this represented a US$1.4 billion market.

Chile

Chile is one of the region’s most dynamic and promising markets. Chile's telecommunications sector is the most advanced in Latin America due to an effective regulatory regime that has led the market to full competitiveness after privatization and market liberalization. As a result, huge investments have been made by the private sector in telecommunications infrastructure and services. Demand for Internet services in Chile has grown rapidly in the past year due to lower tariff rates. Internet users are estimated at 1.2 million, which represents seven to eight percent of the population. Estimates are that by the end of 2000, Internet users will reach two million, which would represent almost 15 percent of the total population. Chile seeks new and innovative products and services from abroad to further develop the Internet infrastructure in Chile. The goal is for Chile to be the preferred country for Internet investments in Latin America.

It is estimated that about $7 billion will be invested in the next five years in Chile on pollution control equipment and services. This represents a substantial opportunity for US environmental technologies services firms. Likewise, opportunities are excellent in Chile for healthcare technologies products and services. Chile currently spends approximately 7 percent of its GDP on healthcare, making it one of the largest government expenditures areas. The Chilean government guarantees healthcare coverage as a constitutional right and is committed to improving the national public-health system that provides healthcare services to the population of nearly 15 million Chileans.

Venezuela

The government in Venezuela is dedicating funding for a number of service related projects. From an environmental standpoint, the demand for environmental consulting and engineering services, such as feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments, has increased due mostly to expansion of state oil facilities and US Trade and Development Agency-sponsored projects. Excellent business opportunities exist in the interior where local governments are experiencing difficulty in developing their own systems, for example in trash collection and handling. In the telecommunications/IT sector, Venezuela is considered one of the fastest growing markets in Latin America. Much of the growth of cellular telephone use can be attributed to the phenomenal success of prepaid calling cards. Opportunities exist within the basic telephony sectors and cellular services. Venezuela provides some excellent opportunities for US services companies as their expertise is well sought after in the country.

Mission Goals:

The Matchmaker's goal is to gain first-hand market information and provide access to potential business partners and key government officials for new-to-market, and/or new-to-export U.S. services firms desiring to enter these promising markets.

Participants will spend two days in Mexico, two days in Chile and an optional two days in Venezuela. At each stop, the Commercial Service will provide an extensive market briefing, schedule one-on-one appointments with potential business partners for each participant, and arrange a reception to introduce the participants to key business and government officials in the service industry.

Timetable:

Mission participants will arrive in Mexico City, Mexico, Sunday, April 7th. The participants will have two days of business appointments in Mexico City (April 8-9), travel to Santiago (April 10), and receive two days of appointments in Santiago (April 11-12). For participants opting to go on the spin-off to Venezuela, they will travel to Caracas (April 13-14) and have two days of appointments in Caracas (April 15-16). The Matchmaker will conclude in Caracas the evening of Tuesday, April 16^th.

Criteria for Participation:

• Relevance of the company's business line to mission goals
• Potential for business in the selected markets
• Timely submission of the company's completed application, participation agreement and payment of the mission participation fees
• Provision of adequate information on the company's products and/or services and communication of the company's primary objectives to facilitate appropriate matching with potential business partners
• Certification that the company's products and/or services are manufactured or produced in the United States or if manufactured/produced outside of the United States, the product/service must be marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. content representing at least 51 percent of the value of the finished good or service.

Any partisan political activities of an applicant, including political contributions, will be entirely irrelevant to the selection process.

The Matchmaker will target 15 companies. The fee to participate will be between $3,000-$3,500, for two stops. Recruitment will begin immediately and will close March 1, 2002, approximately six weeks prior to the start of the mission. Applications received after that date will be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.