Azernews.Az

Italian businessmen are interested in the Azerbaijani market, said Luciano Di Sante, head of the Italian Trade Commission in Azerbaijan, as representatives of Italian majors held talks in Baku on the opportunities of doing business in the fast-growing South Caucasus republic.
In a meeting with reporters of AssA-Irada and Trend news agencies and AzerNEWS newspaper, Di Sante said Italian entrepreneurs were holding meetings with their Azerbaijani counterparts and voiced confidence that they would be able to forge successful cooperation in the country.
Franco Conzato, Director of Padova Promex, which is facilitating access to overseas markets by 94 companies based in the town of Padova, said the Italian companies intend to find partners in Azerbaijan. These companies operate in a variety of fields, including furniture, stoneware, construction engineering, hydro-sanitary engineering, bread-baking, communications, mechanical engineering equipment, and advertising.
Conzato said establishing Italian-Azerbaijani joint ventures in the future is possible.
The Padova Promex CEO plans to open representations of Italian companies in Azerbaijan. He also does not rule out Azerbaijani companies’ opening their offices in Italy and other European countries.
According to the Italian commission official, two Italian companies are expected to begin operating in Azerbaijan soon. First, the Marazzi Group, a leading international ceramic tiles company, will open a factory in the country. The other enterprise will be engaged in glassware production.
Di Sante noted that small Italian companies seeking to invest in Azerbaijan are unable to place funds in the country. He said these companies cannot withstand competition due to high costs in the domestic market.*

Bilateral trade
Azerbaijan exported goods worth $3.788 billion to Italy in 2009, with crude oil accounting for most of the marketed commodities, Di Sante said.
According to him, Italy’s exports to the country were almost 30-fold less than this figure - $127.725 million. Italy mostly sold vehicles and mechanical engineering equipment as well as sanitaryware.
Di Sante added that Italy intended to increase its exports to Azerbaijan and expand its operations in the country.*