On the morning of Monday, April 27, 2026, the Municipal Theatre of São Paulo was the setting for one of the most representative gatherings in the city’s diplomatic and business calendar. The São Paulo City Hall, through the Municipal Secretariat of International Relations (SMRI), with the support of SP Negócios, organized the strategic event “Connecting Markets, Creating Opportunities,” bringing together bilateral chambers of commerce, commercial offices, and diplomatic representatives from dozens of countries. The Brazil Vietnam Chamber (BVC) attended with a delegation composed of Victor Key (President), Maria Helena Afonso, and Augusto Buffulin.
São Paulo at the Center of the Business World
The event was designed to strengthen institutional relationships, foster international partnerships, and consolidate the role of the city as the leading business hub in Latin America. The venue chosen to welcome delegations from countries such as the United States, Spain, South Korea, and the Netherlands could not have been more symbolic: the Municipal Theatre, inaugurated in 1911, is one of the most iconic landmarks of a city that today holds a prominent position among the world’s largest economies.
The numbers confirm this stature. São Paulo is by far the wealthiest city in Brazil and Latin America, with a GDP exceeding R$ 828 billion, and is also home to the largest stock exchange in Latin America, the B3. On the international stage, São Paulo was ranked the 18th best city in the world in the 2026 World’s Best Cities Report, which evaluated 270 global destinations, leading all of Latin America ahead of Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, and Lima.
With an estimated population of 11.9 million inhabitants in 2025 and a population density of 7,528 residents per km², São Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil, South America, the Americas, and the entire Western and Southern Hemispheres. A metropolis that, by its scale and diversity, has naturally become the primary convergence point for international investment and trade in the region.
A City Built to Connect
São Paulo currently hosts the largest network of bilateral and multilateral chambers of commerce on the continent, functioning as a strategic channel for attracting investment and generating global opportunities. This asset was precisely what Monday’s gathering sought to leverage. The agenda included networking sessions, a panel on the Mercosur-European Union agreement and its impact on the business environment, and a presentation of São Paulo’s soft landing program, aimed at attracting companies and supporting their internationalization.
Beyond its institutional infrastructure, the city offers a business ecosystem without parallel in the hemisphere. The University of São Paulo is frequently considered the best in Brazil and Latin America, and the city is regularly ranked among the world’s best destinations for university students in the QS World University Rankings. São Paulo also holds UNESCO’s title of “World Capital of Gastronomy” and is part of the same organization’s Creative Cities network as a “City of Film,” reflecting a cultural dimension that complements its economic strength. The city ranks first among the Americas’ host cities for international events and 12th in the world, according to the International Congress and Convention Association.
The BVC at the Event
The Brazil Vietnam Chamber’s participation in this event is no coincidence. The BVC is headquartered in Bela Vista, in the heart of São Paulo, and operates offices in Bac Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Being present at this gathering reinforces the Chamber’s positioning as an active institution within São Paulo’s diplomatic and business ecosystem, connecting two countries with a growing bilateral relationship and broadly untapped potential.
Vietnam, for its part, now represents one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, with GDP expanding above 7% per year and a total foreign trade volume that exceeded US$ 249 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone. The convergence between São Paulo, as South America’s business hub, and Vietnam, as Southeast Asia’s manufacturing and export powerhouse, is one of BVC’s core strategic bets for the years ahead.
Events like “Connecting Markets, Creating Opportunities” are precisely the spaces where these bets take shape. When bilateral chambers, diplomatic corps, and municipal governments come together with purpose, the result is connections that turn into real business.
The Brazil Vietnam Chamber will continue to be present in these spaces, representing the interests of Brazilian and Vietnamese companies that see in this bilateral relationship a concrete opportunity for growth.
