IX. BUSINESS TRAVEL

                                Business Customs

Portugal is a country in transition culturally as well as
economically.

In this transitional environment some of the social graces belonging
to a more secure, paternal era linger.  Courtesy, in business and
other spheres, is simply expected and easily extended.  Legal
contracts do not have the strength in business associations that
personal confidence, built over years of experience, offers.
Aggressiveness is not yet keen in marketing because it may be
interpreted as socially offensive.  Pragmatism, of the American
variety, is respected but only when presented as a possible option to
be taken, not as an opportunity that must be breathlessly seized.

In terms of everyday business the Portuguese are correct and civil.
They respect the time of their appointments and expect the same from
others.  They are thorough to a fault, often poring over all the
documents relative to a negotiation, and not too ready "to just hit
the highlights".  This is done partly to be careful (conservative)
but also to demonstrate their grasp of the matter - - - exhibiting
pedantic merit rather than pragmatic merit.

Many Portuguese speak two, often three languages, English being the
preferred second language.  Many have relatives in the U.S. and have
visited North America.

In summary, the Portuguese are a society in transition but with
sufficiently worldly experience to have confidence in dealing with the
future.  And they view Americans as a friendly counter-balance to the
friendly (but overwhelmingly so) Europeans.

                                    VISAS

No visas are required to visit Portugal for stays of 60 days or less,
only a valid U.S. passport.  There are no travel advisories for
Portugal nor have there been for many years.

                           BUSINESS INFRASTRUCTURE

Portugal has direct airline connections from Lisbon with all the major
centers in the European Union, New York and Boston in the United
States,  a number of Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, and with
the major cities in Brazil. Oporto serves less cities directly in the
European Union, none in North America, but does serve the major cities
in Brazil.

English is a widely-spoken second language in Portugal and American
business travelers can expect to conduct their meetings with business
and government contacts in English much as they would in Holland  (and
much more than in Spain, Italy, France or Germany).

Portugal is a  fully "wired" country with regard to communications
making available all the services found anywhere else in Europe: long-
distance calls on Stateside credit cards; cellular telephones with
"roaming" capabilities; video- conferencing in state-of-the-art
facilities; Internet services; e-mail,etc.

Housing in Portugal is at European standards but so are the rents.
Executive location costs in Portugal are now in the same category as
any major commercial center in the European Union.

Health care in Portugal is a constitutional right which means that the
public health facilities are overburdened and therefore not able to
offer the level of service considered normal in the United States.
There are a number of private clinics and small private hospitals that
are adequate for the treatment of most ailments but acute cases would
require evacuation.

Food supplies are plentiful, though there are seasonal variations in
prices for perishable items. Supermarkets are fully stocked and offer
the same variety as any in the United States, although familiar brands
to Americans would have to be substituted for a European equivalent.
Prices are very close to those found in the United States and often
exceeded them for packaged goods.