| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : OCTOBER 25, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- LATIN AMERICAN COVER STORY
Brazil: UOL: The AOL of Latin America? (int'l edition) In his downtown Sao Paulo office, Claus Vieira, head of Universo Online International, maps out a war plan that would make any turf-hungry executive proud. UOL is already the biggest Internet service provider and portal in Brazil, Latin America's largest market. Now it is moving into neighboring Argentina, where it launched a portal on Sept. 30. And in November, UOL will march into Chile and Venezuela. But that's nothing more than what Vieira calls ''Phase I.'' By January, UOL plans to be in Mexico and Colombia and in the U.S. with a site for Spanish-speakers. Future targets include Spain and Portugal. Of all the major Latin Internet companies, UOL (www.uol.com.br) has the most ambitious expansion plans. Even though the region's major economies, except for Mexico, are in a slump, Vieira is confident. ''Once people are plugged into the Internet, they don't get out,'' he says. UOL, which began operations in 1996, boasts a growing war chest. It is majority owned by the Folha group, Brazil's biggest newspaper company, and No. 1 magazine publisher Abril. In September, it received a $100 million infusion from investors led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in exchange for a 12.5% stake. And the company is soon expected to make a splash with an IPO in the U.S. UOL is also the best positioned of the Latin players to defend against a wave of foreign invaders such as America Online, Yahoo!, and Microsoft. It recently launched an instant messaging service akin to AOL's and Yahoo!'s and signed a deal to use programming from Brazil's TV network, TV Rede. UOL's subscriber base, now more than 500,000, is growing by 12% a month. But even though sales are expected to double to $100 million in 1999, the company will likely end the year slightly in the red. Chief Executive Luis Frias says his strategy is to use content-rich portals to ''grab the eyeballs'' of Latin Web surfers. Later, UOL will develop ISPs. It will take a few years to see whether UOL can make itself a Latin powerhouse, but the Brazilian company seems rich enough to give it a shot. By Ian Katz in Sao Paulo _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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 RELATED ITEMS Battle for the Net (int'l edition) LATIN AMERICAN COVER IMAGE: Latin America Logs On CHART: Spotlight on the Latin Internet CHART: Where the Cybernauts Are United States: La Vida Loca of a Latin Web Star (int'l edition) Brazil: UOL: The AOL of Latin America? (int'l edition) Argentina: The Rise and Rise of Patagon.com (int'l edition) Mexico: Discovering the Web's Flower Power (int'l edition) Peru: Putting the Net in the Corner Store (int'l edition) INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
