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Feature: Taking social responsibility key to Chinese state power company's success in Brazil

Xinhua, July 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

On Avenida Presidente Vargas, one of the most prosperous business streets in Rio de Janeiro, China's State Grid Brazil has become a landmark, thanks to its business success, effective localization and active supports towards local development.

State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), the Asian country's state-owned electric utilities company and largest power distributor, first entered the Brazilian market via acquisition. It bought 100-percent stakes in 12 local companies, winning a 30-year electricity transmission concession.

Five years after registering in Brazil, the company is now the fourth largest electricity transmission system operator in the South American country. It launched Brazil's first 800 kV ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission system in May and won its second UHV project earlier this month.

LOCALIZATION

"Localization is the key to our development in Brazil," said Cai Hongxian, general manager of State Grid Brazil, adding that the company has around 400 staff and only 34 of them are Chinese.

"We aimed to mix the different cultures ever since we finished the acquisition of the first seven companies," he said.

The company introduced the management structure, human resources practices and financial systems from the Chinese headquarters but established special communication channels so that all employees understand how the company operates and have a sense of belonging.

"We send Brazilian staff to China for communication and training and help them grow with the company," Cai said.

State Grid Brazil attaches great importance to local staff, Cai said. For example, all the 76 employees in a transformer substation in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo State, are Brazilians who are responsible for the operation and maintenance of transmission lines of over 1000 km in south Brazil.

It is a long process to build a corporate cultural melting pot, but so far, localization has helped the company develop efficiently and quickly.

State Grid Brazil is now operating 500 kV transmission lines of 6,000 km, which power the most developed areas including Brasilia, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. It has partnered with local companies to build 500 kV transmission lines of 4,000 km.

In 2012 and 2014, State Grid Brazil was twice awarded "The Best Company in Brazil's Electric Power Industry" by Brazil's largest financial newspaper Valor Economico.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The success of a company is shown not only by the numbers on the profit chart but by how it benefits society.

State Grid Brazil has been supporting art programs and sports events in the local community, especially those beneficial to cultural exchanges between China and Brazil.

Fifteen-year-old Daniel, who is from the Mare slum area in Rio and didn't give his family name, never thought of becoming a musician before he joined the Mare Orchestra.

The orchestra is a free music training program sponsored by State Grid Brazil for children and teenagers from Mare Slum to help them develop music skills and hone professional music talents.

Three hundred teenagers from the slum have begun their music journey through this program. Daniel has become an experienced flutist and aims to learn music in an academy and become a professional instrumentalist in the future, according to China's state-run People's Daily.

As a sponsor, State Grid Brazil not only offers funds but also performance opportunities which are crucial to the development of an orchestra.

The Chinese company is opening doors to the international stage for the slum kids, the founder of the Orchestra Carlos told People's Daily.

In July 2014, the slum teenagers performed for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the concert marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil. They also performed for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his visit in May 2015.

The Mare Orchestra has become a symbol of music for Rio de Janeiro and has changed young people's lives by giving them access to music and an alternative to crime and drugs, said Carlos. Endi