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Posts Tagged ‘Turkey trade mission’

NH Turkey Trade Mission: Extraordinary Experience

Friday, June 27th, 2014

(Commissioner Jeffrey Rose returns today from Turkey, following a week-long trade mission to that country, led by Gov. Hassan. Also accompanying the governor were representatives of seven New Hampshire businesses – Comptus of Thornton; Conductive Compounds of Hudson; Demers & Blaisdell of Concord; Hinkley Allen of Concord; Mae Consulting of Deerfield; Rokon of Rochester and Ulysses Advisory Group of East Kingston.)

Turkey-6-24-007

Gov. Hassan delivered the keynote speech to the Kaza Women and Business Association.

Our trade mission to Turkey has been an extraordinary experience. Our companies had over 100 business-to-business meetings and are returning home with dozens of high quality leads. Gov. Hassan went non-stop over the past week, meeting with many of the most senior business people in the country and receiving high praise from the more than 200 businesses she directly connected with during the mission. Some of the most gratifying moments of the trade mission came in her meetings with women business leaders and how inspired they were by her.

Financing being a key factor in international trade and economic development, we met with Garanti Bank, the leading private bank in Turkey.  The U.S., through the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC), has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Turkey, with a particular emphasis on women-owned businesses.

Garanti Bank’s contributions have made a positive impact here and since nearly 20 percent of OPIC’s investments have been projects in Turkey (our long-standing NATO partner), this underscores its importance to the U.S.

During the trade mission, I met with numerous senior level executives representing companies eyeing expansion into the U.S. market – a receptive audience for outlining the benefits of expanding to New Hampshire and to map out potential options for their consideration.

Of note is a fast growing international company seeking a potential warehouse/distribution center here in the Northeast.  Its overseas investment director was very interested in our lower cost of doing business, compared to rest of the region.  Another company that stood out is a leading forest-products company in Turkey, interested in our timber and mill capacity.  The company is very successful in Turkey and looking to grow in markets around the globe.

Thursday was another busy day for Gov. Hassan, the seven New Hampshire businesses taking part in this trade mission, and our team from DRED. Starting with breakfast, joined by a diverse group of Parliament members, it was followed by a robust discussion about government processes in Turkey and U.S, as well as how important international trade is in providing opportunities and benefits for both countries.

The opportunity to talk about New Hampshire’s growing aerospace and defense sectors came in a meeting I, and members of the New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium, had with leaders of the OSTIM Defense and Aviation Custer of Turkey.  We had a spirited discussion about the important role the sector plays in both our economies and the collective efforts to organize and promote emerging clusters in both countries.  It was an opportunity to highlight two New Hampshire companies on the trade mission – Rokon of Rochester and Conductive Compounds of Hudson – and develop networking opportunities for them to engage with the Turkish industry.  We also discussed best practices and picked up some dynamic ideas to bring back to our growing NHADEC organization.

To talk more about the opportunities for New Hampshire businesses to make strategic investments into Turkey, I met with Ahmet Erdem, head of Investor Services Department with the Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT).  We discussed the emerging sectors within the rapidly growing Turkish economy and incentive programs there to help spur international investment.  The country’s investment system targets geographic locations, strategic sectors, R&D, and duty/tax reductions.  With its growing purchasing power and its location at the cross roads of Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe, Turkey is attracting lots of foreign investment.

I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with Metin Deger, head of the Ministry of Economy for the Republic of Turkey, and speak about the benefits of Turkish companies investing in New Hampshire.  He is responsible for counseling Turkish companies on overseas investments and helps identify markets for companies.  He was impressed with what the Granite State offers foreign investors, particularly our strategic geographic location, skilled workforce and low tax structure.  It was a great discussion and once we provide some more information, he will promote New Hampshire to a variety of industries, associations and business groups.

I need to again thank our hosts – the Turkish Cultural Center and TUSKON – for their efforts in making our trade mission with Turkey so successful. Those efforts, which included months of planning and highly coordinated logistics, were extraordinary.

I am confident this is just the beginning of a long term relationship that will continue to yield fruits for both countries as we seeking opportunities to grow trade between New Hampshire and Turkey.

 

Jeffrey Rose

Commissioner

New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development

Commissioner Rose: The Value of Trade Missions to New Hampshire

Monday, June 2nd, 2014

Later this month, Gov. Hassan and I will accompany representatives of seven New Hampshire companies on a trade mission to Turkey, the first in several years. We are excited about the prospect of making connections in a country whose economy is vibrant and eager to do business with us.

International trade plays a vital role in our state’s economy and the legislature recognized this when it passed the bipartisan budget, which included funding for the state to resume trade missions. The International Trade Resource Center has organized trade missions over the past 15 years, to countries including Brazil, Chile, England, France, India, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. The cumulative result of these trips was tens of millions in contracts to businesses and manufacturers right here at home and relationships that helped to keep our state strong in challenging times.

A key to growth and prosperity for any company is the ability to find new customers. Securing global markets diversifies their bottom line. Trade missions offer connections and opportunities for our companies, which typically don’t have the means to hire export specialists. With a trade mission, we can offer resources to open many doors in a short time, such as partnering with the U.S. Department of Commerce and local business organizations in the host country to find potential partners.

Having the governor lead the mission elevates our companies as they meet with business and government organizations. This would not happen for a business going it alone.

When New Hampshire, and the nation, suffered through the recession a few years ago, we weathered it far better than some of our neighbors. This was, in large part, because our businesses sought out overseas markets to diversify their customer base, gain more orders and, most importantly, keep their employees working. That’s why in 2010, we set a record for exporting, sending $4.4 billion worth of goods around the world.

In 2013, New Hampshire led the nation in export growth, increasing its merchandise exports by more than 22 percent, to $4.3 billion. This demonstrates that our businesses and manufacturers can design, create and make products and components that are in demand around the world.

The momentum continues into 2014. Planning began months ago for the state’s first overseas trade mission since 2011 and included months of research, discussion about the needs of our businesses and where the demand is for their products and services.

Turkey quickly emerged as an important market for several reasons: It’s our 12th largest trading partner – last year, we sent $79 million in goods and services there. Its geographical location, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, makes it an attractive hub and there are increasing opportunities for our businesses, especially in areas such as aerospace and defense, health and medical technologies, education and construction machinery.

With the assistance of the Turkish Cultural Center in Manchester and the partnership with TUSKON (representing seven business federations, 202 business associations and over 50,000 entrepreneurs), we have arranged five full days of introductions, meetings and networking for our businesses in Istanbul and Ankara, as well as a news conference providing even wider exposure for the state.

In March, the state was running $25 million ahead of its revenue plan for the year, a solid fiscal position. April revenues fell significantly short of the previous year, although the state continues to run $3.9 million over its projections.

As a precaution in case revenues continue to fall, Gov. Hassan issued an executive order that includes a freeze on out-of-state travel. At that time, the governor and I, our businesses and our partners had discussions about whether to cancel the trade mission.

But the state, the participating companies and our partners in Turkey had already made significant financial investments into this trade mission, months before revenues dropped and the freeze was enacted.

I cannot overstate the value of international trade to New Hampshire’s economy and how eager our businesses are to explore exporting and to send their goods to global markets. The legislature agreed.

To cancel this trade mission would result in significant losses not only to our businesses, but in potential economic growth for New Hampshire.

 

Jeffrey Rose is the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.