American Institute in Taiwan

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco will lead a ten-member trade delegation to Taiwan November 7-9.

Governor Blanco's visit to Taiwan is the last stop of a two-week economic development mission to Asia, during which she has visited business and government representatives in Japan, China and Hong Kong.

On Thursday, November 9, the Commercial Section of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) will organize a seminar for potential investors in the Gulf Opportunity Zone ("GO Zone"), the area that was hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and is now the target of a major rebuilding effort.  Governor Blanco will be a VIP speaker at this investor seminar, which is co-sponsored by the State of Louisiana, TAITRA, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Direct Overseas Investment Section.  The AIT Commercial Section will also present a Chinese language overview of the GO Zone investment environment.

Among the speakers will be Jason Lin, Executive Vice President of Formosa Plastics Corp., who will talk about his company's experience in Louisiana.

The GO Zone includes large portions of the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, including the port of New Orleans.  Investors in the GO Zone stand to benefit from:

--an enormous port and river system that includes New Orleans on the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River, which stretches far into the heartland of the United States;

--major tax incentives offered by the U.S. Federal Government;

--state and local governments willing to do whatever it takes to get new businesses established;

--relatively low labor and operating costs; and

--preferential investor visas for entrepreneurs who set up businesses in the Zone and hire local workers.  (Because of the natural disaster, the normal US$1,000,000 investment requirement is reduced to US$500,000.) 

Anyone who has even thought about setting up operations in the United States should take a close look at the unprecedented opportunities that the GO Zone offers.  As Larry Collins, Lousiana's Director of International Services puts it, "This area has everything an investor needs: infrastructure, low costs, easy access to North and South American markets, and quality of life."

Priority sectors for the GO Zone include oil, gas and petrochemicals; port upgrades and port operation; real estate development; construction and building materials; forestry and wood products; shipbuilding; heavy construction, especially oil rigs; seafood processing; agriculture; warehousing and distribution; automobile manufacturing and automobile parts and supplies; steel fabrication; and transportation.

The GO Zone welcomes small businesses as well as large ones.  As Larry Collins says, "Taiwan has shown the world how small business can drive economic development.  We particularly welcome small and medium-sized firms from Taiwan that seek to grow their business in the U.S."

The investment seminar on the GO Zone will take place on Thursday, November 9, 2006 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in downtown Taipei.

Potential investors who wish to register for the seminar should use the following website to register:

https://www.buyusa.gov/taiwan/zh/gulfopportunityzoneact.html

For further questions, potential investors may contact Jackie Hong 洪小姐at AIT's Commercial Section:  tel: 02-2720-1550 x334; fax: 02-2757-7162; e-mail: Jackie.Hong@mail.doc.gov.  Please also see the following website:  http://www.gozoneguide.com/

Members of the media are welcome to attend the seminar with pre-registration.  Please see AIT's separate Media Notice on how to register.  Journalists who would like additional opportunities to interview Governor Blanco or members of her delegation during her November 7-9 visit, please contact the Taiwan representative of the State of Louisiana, Mr. Steve Lee, at tel. (02) 2723 1921, mobile telephone number 0939236050, or E-mail: s7231921@ms2.hinet.net.