€9.1m Total Contracts Signed During Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Latin America
Friday 30th May 2008: The Minister for Trade and Commerce John McGuinness T.D. has announced €3.6m in new contracts for Irish firms in Mexico during the latter half of this week’s Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to Latin America. It follows on from the €5.5m in contracts secured in Brazil at the beginning of the week.
The contracts signed in Mexico include:
Galway Group Fintrax opened a new office in Mexico and announced its selection by the Mexican Tax Authorities (SAT) to implement a nationwide Value Added Tax (VAT) refund program for tourists;
OpenJaw Technologies signed a significant contract in Mexico with globoGo.com, Latin America’s leading travel company, to supply them with a new core technology platform which will enable their customers to search for flights, hotel accommodation, car hire, events and destination attractions and dynamically build travel packages that meet their individual requirements;
Waterford Institute of Technology signed co-operation agreements with two Mexican third level scholarship agencies. WIT has previously signed a co-operation agreement with a Brazilian Scholarship Agency and Ahembi Morumbi – one of Brazil’s leading universities.
Dublin City University (DCU) announced new scholarship agreements with two third level education foundations in Mexico, which will provide financial support for Master’s degrees at DCU to outstanding Mexican students.
Protege International, a marketing and distribution services company, launched its premium Irish whiskey “Wild Geese” brand in Mexico
Limerick company Tango Telecom launched its SMS advertising platform in Brazil.
Speaking from Mexico City, Minister McGuinness said:
“Irish exports to South America are growing steadily accounting for over €1bn annually. Brazil and Mexico, as the two largest markets in the South American Region represent significant opportunities for Irish exporting companies. Already, over 85 Irish companies are engaged in export activities with Brazil while 13 Enterprise Ireland clients have a physical presence in Mexico, employing up to 4,000 people there.
“This highly successful trade mission has given a new impetus to increasing direct trade with South America and as Enterprise Ireland continues to drive its Latin American strategy we expect to see more Irish success stories in the region in a divers range of sectors including construction, education, IT, telecommunications and financial services”
Tom Cusack, Director of the Americas for Enterprise Ireland added:
“Over 10pc of sales of Irish-owned companies to the Americas are destined for Latin America. Having recently established offices in Brazil and Mexico, Enterprise Ireland is committed to assisting its clients to develop stronger links in this region and to driving Irish exports in these rapidly growing economies.”
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