San Diego Prepares For Next Mission to
Guadalajara, Mexico
The importance that San Diego officials place on trade relations with China was underscored last month when Mayor Susan Golding led a group of 18 people on a two-week trade mission to Hong Kong, Beijing and several other Chinese cities.
Accompanying Golding were Port Commissioner Susan Lew and Julie Meier Wright, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.
The highlight of the mission was Tech World 2000 International Conference, a technology trade show that is one of the biggest in the world, Wright said.
Because top government officials made the trip, the meetings that took place with high-level Chinese officials may yield greater results for some of the businesses represented on the trip, Wright said.
Among the local companies and organizations that had representatives on the mission were Cubic Corp., Sanyo Electric Co., Globelink LLC, San Diego Dialogue, UCSD Connect, R.J. Watkins & Co., and Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP.
Wright said it’s important top officials from San Diego continue making trade missions to China as a way of boosting the region’s profile and to help foster trade links.
“The awareness of San Diego isn’t that high in China, so regular trade missions like this one are critical,” she said.
Wright said Golding and the delegation signed a cooperative agreement with the Hong Kong Industrial Technology Center “to increase business interaction between the two regions.”
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Mexico Mission Planned: The San Diego World Trade Center is readying for its first trade mission to Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city, May 22-26.
Once known as the “Pearl of the West,” Guadalajara is transforming itself into the Silicon Valley of Latin America, a site where a growing number of high-tech plants are opening.
“We selected Guadalajara because it’s a growing high-tech center and (a group from the city) did a fantastic presentation to us in terms of the type of business investment they are looking for over the next 20 years,” said Kathy Ward, president of WTC.
Part of the mission’s itinerary will be Rep Com 2000 is aimed at new businesses and organizations to the Mexican market that are seeking distributors, licensees, or joint ventures. The event is being organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The mission, with a total cost of $2,750 per person, has already signed up 10 participants and has room for at least five more. The WTC has tentatively scheduled a trade mission to Mexico City in early 2001, and will also have one later in the year to Monterrey.
Mexico Conference: In conjunction with the WTC’s yearlong focus on Mexico trade, it scheduled a one-day seminar May 17 called Trade Visions 2000, to be held at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines.
The event is divided into three panels: strategic decisions, financing opportunities, and tactical approaches.
The first panel includes a prerecorded speech by Department of Commerce Secretary William Daley; and presentations by Alfonso Alva, general manager of IBM’s Guadalajara plant where computer laptops are made; Werner Held, president of Proxima Corp.; and Edwardo Medina Mora, chairman of the DESC Group.
The second panel includes John Hanson, president of FICA Management; Gary Mendela, Meridian Finance Group; and Enrique Mier y Teran, Parque International Tecnomex.
The third panel includes Kenn Morris, Crossborder Business Associates; Ed Richard, Orbis Industries; and Mauricio Monroy, Deloitte & Touche LLP.
The seminar is intended to give companies an overview of the business opportunities in Mexico and provide a chance for those companies interested in establishing business ties there to have personal meetings with some of the panelists, said Kathy Ward, SDWTC president.
“Trade Visions 2000 will equip a San Diego company with the knowledge to enter or better manage their current market strategies with Mexican business development,” Ward said.
The cost for the seminar is $75 for WTC members, and $95 for non-members.
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AMS Buys Aussie Distributor: Advanced Marketing Systems Inc., a San Diego-based warehouse distributor, purchased privately held Bookwise International, a distributor in Australia and New Zealand. For the year ended June 30, Bookwise had sales of $4.1 million in U.S. dollars.
Ducheny Visits Peru: Assemblywoman Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego) made a weeklong trip to Peru from April 17 to 22, leading a delegation of eight state and local officials. According to a press release, Ducheny met with Peruvian government officials to discuss the environmental and economic challenges facing the country.
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Trade Winds: Mexport, the 11th annual trade show geared to the maquiladora industry and sponsored by the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 15 at the Las Americas Business Park, 9605 Airway Road.
