BankBoston's Meirelles Says Global Business Opportunities Abound for Informed New England Companies; Remarks Before Rhode Island World Trade Day Highlight Local Knowledge.

SMITHFIELD, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 1999--

BankBoston President and Chief Operating Officer Henrique de Campos Meirelles today told the Rhode Island World Trade Day assembly that New England companies should look beyond traditional markets in Western Europe and Canada to uncover opportunities in emerging markets such as Latin America. The opportunities, Meirelles said, are available for capture now because of widespread Latin demand for and loyalty to U.S. brands, the proliferation of cable and satellite television bringing U.S. life into South American living rooms, and the need for advanced technology such as that offered by the Internet.

The opportunity, Meirelles suggested, is especially great because of regional demographics. He said that more than half of the Latin American region's

population is under the age of 21, and entering the age of peak spending, compared with a youth concentration in the U.S. which is one-third the population.

Through his remarks, which were presented at Bryant College -- home of the Rhode Island Export Assistance Center, Meirelles offered the crowd a "survey course" to get beyond historical characterizations of emerging markets and to move toward success.

"Key to tapping the ripe Latin America marketplace is a well-advised and informed understanding of emerging markets and a knowledge of how long-term capital and human investment in local relationships can produce lasting successful business ventures," Meirelles said. "Success in Latin America begins much as it does here," Meirelles added. "Be a local player with a local partner and develop a keen understanding of your partner's culture. Avoid the assumption that what works well in one market will suit the trends and tastes of another."

"There's been a dramatic increase in the number of company CEOs seeking contacts in Latin America through our bank and coming to see the region firsthand," Meirelles said. "Those who can carve out a particular niche where they have a competitive advantage are likely to retain that advantage over time."

Meirelles highlighted Mercosur - the South American regional trade pact which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - as a gateway to the region's 200 million people.

Meirelles joined BankBoston Rhode Island Regional Chairman Frederick Lohrum, who offered welcoming remarks from BankBoston and introduced Meirelles. Lohrum, acknowledging an upcoming October trade mission to England and Ireland, told the audience that the two previous trade missions to Brazil and Argentina and the Pacific Rim, and sponsored by BankBoston and the Rhode Island Department of Economic Development, have generated more than $15 million in sales for Rhode Island companies. "World Trade Day is a critical forum to provide relevant and accurate information on how our region's businesses can succeed in the global arena," Lohrum said.

BankBoston Corporation operates one of the largest private-sector foreign-bank franchises in Latin America, offering retail and wholesale banking services to individuals and indigenous and multinational institutions through more than 200 offices in Argentina and Brazil, as well as Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.