El Mercurio, Chile
Saturday, 19 May 2007

Álvaro Noboa,
multimillionaire and former Ecuadorian Presidential candidate,
visits Chile for the first time

“I would love to invest in Chile,” acknowledged the businessman. The leader of the Ecuadorian opposition party participated in the fifth “Business Meeting of Fathers and Sons”, which drew together regional millionaires and their heirs.

Álvaro Noboa is Sebastián Piñera’s friend, but he had no qualms in taking advantage of the little time he had with President Michelle Bachelet to say to her that he, too, had been a “victim of a dictatorship.” Beloved and reviled in his own country, the businessman whose fortune is calculated in the billions and the former forerunner for the presidency of Ecuador, Noboa visited Chile for the first time, together with his wife and three of his four children, in order to take part in the fifth “Business Meeting of Fathers and Sons”, in which he has participated since its conception.

“There is a general exchange of experience in the process of inheritance: transfer of companies, administration of business, and conflicts among heirs,” he detailed.

And if someone knows the importance of maintaining good relations among heirs, it’s him. Not for nothing did he win, in court, the inheritance of his father’s estate, after his father had willed the fortune to Álvaro’s stepmother. But just as in fairy tales, the story had a happy ending for Noboa.

What are the requirements for the continuation of an economic empire?
There has to be capability and interest. Because, without being interested, the heir is unhappy and ends up damaging the business. Inheritance should not be automatic.

And the familial problem regarding the legacy of your father was because your siblings weren’t interested?
My father willed more than half of a very large fortune to his wife. To me, he left 1.5%. Later we came to an agreement and I bought the business.

But the issue was settled in a London court that said you were the legitimate owner of 50.1% of Fruit Shippers.
Yes the court ruled in my favor.

And, so that history does not repeat itself, are your children interested in business?
I am blessed in that my son Daniel (19) is interested. He is studying Business and has done work experience with me.

How does Chile seem to you for business?
I would like to pay tribute to Chile. During my presidential campaigns, I always said that Chile was an example to Latin America. You have a very advanced level of development compared to the rest of the region.

Your business and political experience is similar to that of Sebastián Piñera…
That’s right. Sebastián did me the honor of being with me for the campaign.

You are friends?
I met him in Brazil before becoming a candidate and I immediately had a liking, a respect and an admiration for him.

At the inaugural dinner, you had the opportunity to get to know President Bachelet.
We only had a moment to talk. It impressed me that she knew the name of my party and that she had seen the campaign debate via CNN. I told her that in 1973 I also suffered the brunt of a dictatorship. I was “disappeared” for two months and was tortured. Those were critical moments in Ecuador that are returning today.

How do you view the Chilean-Ecuadorian panorama with Correa’s arrival to power?
I hope that he will make a Free Trade Agreement between Chile and Ecuador. Chile is a model of this as well.

Taking advantage of your trip to the summit, have you thought of investing in Chile?
I would love to!

Do you have something in mind?
No, not yet, but I would love to.

In your opinion, what are the things that make Chile an attractive country for investment?
They know the rules of the game perfectly. President Lagos, being a socialist, said that, as regards production, Chile believes in free commerce.

Businessmen said that they loved Lagos.
(Laughing) Economically, he was liberal, but socially, he believed in socialist principles.

How is the topic of inequity raised in a summit of “millionaires”?
A rich consumer is best for a businessman. Not in terms of social sensibilities, but for good relations. When the consumer is wealthy, he has more buying capacity. Therefore, we believe that poverty is bad for everyone. For both the poor man who suffers from it and for the businessman.

“In the campaign, terrible things were said about me.”

One of your farms was accused of child exploitation. Even the New York Times published a report about it. What is true about those accusations?
Europe is our principal market and in order to enter it, we need to have Eurep gap certification. We wouldn’t have that if things were as they have been reported. In politics, there are lies and scandals. They wanted to bring false statements against me. In the campaign, terrible things were said about me.

Another of your businesses was accused of tax evasion.
Five years ago, obligatory invoicing by agriculturalists was established in Ecuador. I have a social responsibility to the small producers who also are my suppliers. And the perishable goods farmer is not well educated. Therefore our accounts department helped them generate invoices. We paid them by check, we retained the taxes and sent them to the Internal Revenue Service. But they decided to cancel all the costs.

You were also accused of spending more on your campaigns than the agreed amount for electoral spending.
They made that law for me. On the streets, they call it the “Álvaro Noboa Law”. If this interview were to be emitted on Ecuadorian television in a video paid for by my party, they would consider it as electoral spending for the 2010 campaign. Electoral spending begins with the convocation of election, not before!