A DP World is one of those UAE state-owned companies you’ve probably never heard of, but should. With a billion-dollar operation financed by Dubai oil revenues, the multinational plays an important role – which helps to better understand the dynamics of global trade.
Forced to dispose of assets in the United States at the beginning of this century (more on this later), DP World turned its investments to other countries on the American continent, with emphasis on Brazil, the second economy in the Americas.
She has also worked on port facilities in Canada and, more recently, engaged in conversations with Mexican authorities to begin operations in the country chaired by Claudia Sheinbaum.
For DP, Brazil’s known deficiency in logistics infrastructure is a business opportunity. The CEO of DP Brasil, Fabio Siccherino, says that the strengthening of Brazilian exports in recent years has made the need for investment in the area clear – the country needs to reduce the time it takes to transport cargo to ports, and also the costs of these operations.
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“When we look at Brazil’s competitiveness in global trade, we realize that there is a gap very large between the infrastructure we have and the infrastructure we would need to have”, he told InvestNews the executive.
Here, the company’s history began in 2013, when it opened its container terminal in the Port of Santos. It’s not a concession, it’s a private terminal.
The entry into Brazil is part of an international expansion of the Dubai company, whose history is intertwined with the emirate’s development process as a global trade and logistics center, driven by the ports of Rashid and Jebel – the “Dyam Ports” which form the “DP” of his name.
The company is controlled by Dubai World, a state-owned investment company that manages a broad portfolio of businesses for the Dubai government. It is possible to draw a parallel with the actions of the Exchangesovereign wealth fund of another emirate, Abu Dhabi, whose tentacles are also global and reach businesses ranging from highways to Burger King in Brazil.
DP World… Brazil
Like Mubadala, DP had to learn how to do business in Brazil in the midst of a major crisis of national capitalism. DP World had the Odebrecht as a partner in the terminal at the Port of Santos and only became the full owner of the asset in 2017, when it purchased the Brazilian company’s share. From then on, the terminal started to operate under the DP World Brasil banner.
In March 2024, DP Brasil and Direction – logistics arm of the group Cosan – announced an agreement for the construction of a new terminal in the Port of Santos which will be used to export grains and import fertilizers.
The new structure will require R$2.5 billion in investments that will come from Rumo’s pockets, while DP Brasil will be the exclusive operator of the complex under a contract that is valid for 30 years. The complex is expected to handle nine million tons of grain and 3.5 million tons of fertilizers per year.
The agreement with Rumo was not DP’s first with a large Brazilian company. In 2017, Suzano signed a 25-year contract to export cellulose from the DP Brasil structure in Santos. The agreement required billion-dollar investments and marked the transformation of the complex, which until then specialized in the movement of finished cargo, transported in containers, instead of raw materials, which require a different range of equipment.
Today, DP Brasil moves five million tons of pulp from Suzano in Santos and has made new investments to expand the terminal’s container transport capacity – at a cost of R$450 million.
The diversification of services is part of DP’s global transformation in recent years. The company bought logistics companies around the world that operate in other stages of the transport of goods, some with regional operations, others with global operations. The American company Syncreon was purchased in 2021 for US$1.2 billion, reinforcing the presence of the Dubai state-owned company in the complex supply chain market.
Now, DP Brasil is preparing for new projects and is keeping an eye on the auction for the Port of Itajaí (SC), which should take place next year. DP already has an office in the city and CEO Fabio Siccherino said that the company is even interested in becoming the port’s operator. The final decision, however, will depend on the contract model offered by the government. The auction should take place in 2025.
DP’s vision is to create an integrated logistics network that incorporates internal transport services, freight forwarding, customs clearance and delivery to the final destination.
“If we have this connectivity in our terminals, why not integrate everything and offer something more competitive? It is along these lines that we have grown and invested here in Brazil”
Fabio Siccherino, CEO of DP World Brazil
The American dream
18 years ago, DP World suffered a major setback in its global operations plans. It was early 2016 and she had purchased the British Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation. With the deal, it became the controller of five port terminals on the East Coast of the United States.
But we still had to deal with the Russians. In this case, the American congressmen. The terrorist attacks of September 11th had provoked an anti-Arab wave, which lasted. A House committee did not want a UAE state company to own critical infrastructure in the country. Political pressure forced the company to divest its assets in American territory.
Dubai Ports then focused on the US’s upstairs neighbor. In the same 2006, it purchased the management of a terminal in Vancouver, Canada. Since then, it has expanded its presence in the country, focusing mainly on port infrastructure.
In recent months, DP has looked up to the Americans’ downstairs neighbor. The Dubai company has intensified its engagement with Mexican authorities and is negotiating with them the installation of a large industrial complex along the lines of the Jebel Ali Free Zone, which helped consolidate Dubai’s position as a global maritime trade center.
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The plan now is to increase the share of trade destined for the USA by “surrounding” the country – to the north, from the structures in Canada, and to the south, from the complex in Mexico. Once inside American territory, the goods pass through several logistics centers that DP controls in the country. The restriction only applies in the port area.
At least for now. To the The Wall Street JournalDP World CEO Ahmed bin Sulayem said the company did not give up on American ports and that he believes the mood in Washington is different than it was two decades ago.
But here’s an important highlight: Sulayem’s statement to the American newspaper occurred a few months before Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections. The Republican will return to the White House in January 2025 and, with him, a nationalist and protectionist rhetoric that could derail – or at least postpone – the dream of its own American port that DP World has cherished for decades.
(Colaborou Rikardy Toge)
