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VITA's mission is to promote the Greater San
Fernando Valley as a leader in international trade
by providing our members with valuable resources,
informational programs, and referral assistance
and networking
opportunities. |
VITA Global Networking Breakfast
"Doing Business in
Brazil"
Date: Wednesday
- January 20, 2010
Time:
7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Location: The
Valley Economic Alliance
5121 Van Nuys Blvd., 2nd
Floor
BFG Board
Room
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
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One of our confirmed speakers is
Mr. Rogelio Douglas-CEO and Founder, GBD
Consulting. Register and find out more at our
website www.vitainternational.org. For
additional information, please call Darcy Winters
at 818-379-7000 x109.
Non-Member Price:
$25.00 |
VITA Welcomes
New Member
Monique
Bryher, broker-associate, Keller Williams
Realty
The
Valley International Trade Association would
like to introduce our newest member - Monique
Bryher. Ms. Bryher is a
broker-associate with Keller Williams Realty.
She is a full-service Realtor who sells both
residential and commercial properties, including
bank-owned, probate and properties held in
trusts by lending institutions. She is currently
interested in purchasing pools of local
distressed properties for investors to
rehabilitate and resell.
Monique is
also the founder and publisher for the
California Real Estate Fraud Report
www.CaliforniaRealEstateFraudReport.com, a free
subscription e-journal that reports on mortgage,
real estate and related fraud prosecutions and
civil litigation in California. She can be
reached by phone at 818-430-6705 or by email at
monique.bryher@gmail.com. | |
India Beckons in 2010
In 2010 where will you
look for new opportunities for
international trade
In 2010 where will you look for new
opportunities for international trade? The
so-called BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India
and China seem to be the first place. However some
experts are starting to use the acronym, BIC,
since Russia's interest and alignments seem
uncertain.
India's economy showed unexpected
strength in Q3 2009, growing at 7.9 percent. The
slowdown following the crash of Lehman brothers in
2008, did not affect India much since its banks
were secure and exports form a smaller portion of
its overall trade than other BRIC countries. In
2010, India's government and private sector will
have continued confidence to import American
products and services. The Indian consumer loves
American brands and is intrigued by American
culture and this has created a latent demand for
all things American, if (and this is a BIG if) the
U.S. company knows how to adapt to India
We see
interest in American consumer products, ranging
from California pistachios to electronics;
franchises of any American services from training,
to restaurants, to media properties (magazines,
licenses of brands, anything Hollywood) to apparel
and shoes, to education and training, to medical
products.
On the business-to-business side,
energy infrastructure is a big push in India:
clean energy, coal-based plants, nuclear power,
solar technology, natural gas, even oil to some
extent. I write this as I am on a nuclear-industry
trade mission to India, since the country plans to
spend over $60 billion on new plants in years to
come. Defense related initiatives are also huge in
India today. Boeing and Lockheed have recently won
over $3 billion in contracts and are both serious
bidders for almost $20 billion of current and
upcoming RFPs ranging from helicopter, to fighter
planes, to network-centric warfare support.
Living in California, with a huge
agriculture-related industry, we should be
cognizant that India is an active market for
California produce (almonds, pistachios, raisins
are already shipped but many more products can be
sold) and for agriculture-related technology
(machinery, processes, fertilizers,
training). Improving living standards in
India will continue to create new demand in
India.
India's Prime Minister, Oxford economist
Dr. Manmohan Singh spent three days in DC just
prior to Thanksgiving; this was the first time
that President Obama hosted an official "state
dinner" (the one that attracted the famous
gatecrashing Salehi couple). Beyond national
security alignment, the primary discussion topics
all revolved around business opportunity. The
money is there friends. Are you ready to put in
the effort to claim it?
Gunjan Bagla, author of
"Doing Business in 21st Century India (Hachette
2008), is Managing Director of Amritt, Inc,
Cerritos CA (www.amritt.com).
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Small Business Power to Capture Global
Consumers
Written by
Ayse Oge, President Ultimate
Trade
Since World War II, trade growth has
contributed an average of about $1 trillion a year
to America's income(in 2003), according to
economists at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for
International Economics. Strong exports have
always been able to invigorate the American
economy, and the tremendous innovative and
creative power of small U.S. businesses can fuel
global sales and help create jobs in the domestic
market. Power Curbers Inc., a small firm based in
Salisbury N.C. specializing in construction
equipment, would have gone bankrupt during the
present slow-down of the U.S. economy if it had
not gone global. Dyke Messinger, the company's
CEO, attributes its success in overseas sales to
heavy infrastructure development in other
countries. International sales were comprised of
75% of the company's overall business at the
present time (LA Times, October 4, 2009).
As American consumers cut back on
their consumption in response to the economic
recession, a large number of small and mid-sized
U.S. firms look to the huge potential of emerging
markets such as India, China, Brazil and Eastern
European countries. These countries have a
combined population of 2.6 billion people, and
many of them are affluent and young in contrast to
the aging population of Western Europe, Japan and
the United States.
Small businesses
have the following advantages when going global:
-
With no bureaucratic
layers, they can respond to market needs and
requests
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With
closer ties to customers, they can dscern market
trends without formal research
- They can
build a strong global brand
- They can
create a lucrative international niche through
specialization
- They can
take calculated and educated risks in
international trade to expand their businesses
- They can
gain competitive know-how and knowledge to
innovate new products and
services.
Power Curber's bold move toward
exports is exemplary in encouraging other small
businesses to integrate into the world markets.
Small firms need to focus on locating
international distributors through trade fairs,
Internet marketing and designing a global
consumer-friendly website to attract prospective
foreign buyers.
The U.S. has a
tremendous competitive advantage in terms of its
risk-taking culture, capital formation and
economic vibrancy that works for global
entrepreneurs. A strong teamwork between the
government and businesses is required to tap into
small business power in delivering jobs and higher
living standards in the U.S.
economy.
Ayse Oge is President of
Ultimate Trade and can be reached at:
www.goglobaltowin.com
or by e-mail at oge@earthlink.net
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| U.S. Commercial Service |
Founded in 1980, the U.S. Commercial Service
is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
which assists U.S. companies, particularly small
and medium-sized businesses with sales in
international markets. Our network includes
107 U.S. Export Assistance Centers throughout the
United States and more than 150 offices overseas
in 87 countries. Visit the U.S. government's
export portal at http://www.export.gov. |
| Buy USA E-Newsletter |
The U.S. Department of Commerce Commercial
Service has an excellent E-newsletter Asia Now
eNews. Please refer to the following website
to subscribe www.buyusa.gov/asianow/enews.html.
Each month there is a detailed article on a
featured country as well as reports on needs in
various Asian countries for US products and
services, and information about trade shows and
events throughout the
region. |
| GlobalCalifornia.com |
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On-line resource directory of public and
private sector global trade related
organizations. GlobalCalifornia.com is
currently a simple online directory for
California's dynamic trade promotion and
investment community based on industry sectors,
such as, legal, trade finance, marketing,
educational, logistics and other sectors in global
trade. Eventually, the website will employ a
sophisticated searching mechanism through a
natural language query interface to identify
qualified online sources of information and
solutions in California, combined with the ability
for the user to summon on-demand online support in
real time or offline through the California Trade
Partners network.
VITA and MBITA are currently offering
exclusive sponsorship opportunities for
GlobalCalifornia.com. Please contact Tony
Livoti at 831-335-4780 or by e-mail: tlivoti@mbita.org to get on
the ground floor of California's premiere gateway
to global
trade. |
| TradePort
California's Gateway to
Global Trade |
TradePort is a cooperating partner of VITA
and a repository of free information and resources
for businesses that seek to conduct international
trade to and from California. Created in
1996, TradePort is backed by an alliance of
regional trade associations that assist California
export and import businesses. Includes
information on California Trade Statistics,
TradePort Network, Export & Import Tutorials,
Online Trade Services, Market Research, and a
Trade Library. Go to www.tradeport.org. |
| CalTrade Report |
The CalTrade Report is the only dedicated
source, online or in print, for international
business news/information in and about the world's
fifth largest economy, California. This
edition is brought to you free-of-charge courtesy
of Valley International Trade Association.
Click Here for the most recent edition of
the CalTrade Report with the latest
news. |
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Darcy
Winters
VITA Newsletter
Editor
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