Louisiana Economic Development Department to Visit Taipei and Kaohsiung, March 18-21
Officials representing the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Department will visit Taipei and Kaohsiung, March 18-21, led by Assistant Secretary Don Pierson. The main objective of the visit is to promote investment 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.
On Monday, March 19, and Tuesday, March 20, the Louisiana group will be in Taipei to meet with companies and associations that are interested in learning more about the attractive investment incentives in the GO Zone.
On Wednesday, March 21, the Commercial Section of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Kaohsiung Branch Office, will organize a seminar for potential investors in the GO Zone from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in downtown Kaohsiung. Larry Collins, LED's Director of International Services, will be a VIP speaker at this investment seminar, which is co-sponsored by the State of Louisiana, TAITRA, Kaohsiung Chamber of Industry, and Kaohsiung City Government Economic Affairs Bureau, 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.
Potential investors who wish to register for the seminar should use the following website to register: http://www.buyusa.gov/taiwan/zh/gozonekaohsiung.html For further questions, potential investors in southern Taiwan may contact Ms. Daphne Fan, AIT-Kaohsiung's Commercial Section - Tel: 07-238-7744 ext. 620; fax: (07) 238-5237; e-mail: Daphne.Fan@mail.doc.gov. Potential investors in northern Taiwan may contact Frances Li, AIT-Taipei's Commercial Section - Tel: (02)2720-1550 ext. 329; fax: (02) 2757-7162; email: frances.li@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. Journalists who would like additional opportunities to interview Larry Collins during the visit in Kaohsiung should please contact Ms. Daphne Fan, at Tel: (07) 238 7744 ext. 620 or e-mail: Daphne.Fan@mail.doc.gov.
Delegation List
Don Pierson, Assistant Secretary, LED
Larry Collins, Director International Programs, LED
Pat McRae, Commercial Officer, U.S. Department of Commerce, Export Assistance Center in New Orleans
Fact Sheet
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."