Trade Mission Connects Utah Companies to Opportunities in Vietnam and Singapore
Salt Lake City – Gov. Gary R. Herbert led a delegation of 20 Utah companies on a trade mission to Singapore and Vietnam this week. Singapore and Vietnam are key gateway regions for companies interested in doing business in Asia.
“Trade missions facilitate opportunities for companies to build connections with potential clients and partners,” said Derek B. Miller, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah. “Singapore and Vietnam are prime markets for doing business in Asia due to their growing middle classes and ease of doing business. There is a lot of overlap in targeted industries in Utah and these countries, so the opportunities for collaboration are plentiful.”
Ten of the private companies that attended the trade mission participated in Gold Key business matchmaking services facilitated by the U.S. Commercial Service. This connected Utah companies with potential clients and partners in Singapore and Vietnam. The contacts made during the trade mission will help these Utah companies to grow in the Asian market.
“We’ve had great success establishing strong trade relationships with both Vietnam and Singapore,” said Val Hale, executive director of GOED. “This trade mission was an important step to discuss specific strategies for mutual collaboration in economic and political initiatives between Utah and these two countries.”
Many Utah companies already do business in Singapore and Vietnam. During the trade mission, the Utah delegation had the opportunity to visit with Rio Tinto representatives in Singapore and stop by Nu Skin’s Vietnam office.
The delegation learned about how Rio Tinto is partnering with Accenture Innovation Hub in Singapore to create technology driven solutions to improve efficiency and safety in their operations around the world. Singapore is a major distribution and logistics hub, and a gateway to the Asian market. It is ranked second in the world for ease of doing business by World Bank.
Nu Skin, headquartered in Provo, Utah, has seen tremendous growth in Vietnam. Nu Skin’s legal team spoke to the Utah delegation about what it means to do business in Vietnam and what it might take to establish a business there from a legal and tax perspective. Vietnam is an attractive location for Utah companies to do business because of its strong GDP growth, large population, fast-growing middle class and political stability.
An important component of the trade mission was foreign direct investment. During the first day of the trade mission Utah leaders presented to the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and potential investors on why Utah is a great place to invest. Several Singaporean businesses interested in locating their companies in the U.S. attended the event and expressed interest in Utah.
The trade mission, supported by WTC Utah, GOED, Zions Bank, U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Small Business Administration, was comprised of private and public organizations from various sectors.
Businesses that participated in the Utah Trade Mission to Singapore and Vietnam:
ApolloDx
Applied Biosensors
BEST Police Training
BiologiQ, Inc.
BNA Consulting
CBC Advisors
CoreBrace
Innosys Tech
Jacobson Law
M-Vac Systems
Maxtec
Navitus
nView Medical
Optisys
Pacific Rim Consulting
Rhodes Ward Agro
Rio Tinto
Sage Government Solutions
USTAR
Zions Bank
About World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah)
The mission of World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) is to help Utah companies think, act and succeed globally. WTC Utah accomplishes this mission through three key objectives. First is to motivate and educate Utah businesses to expand their global presence through training seminars, regional forums and newsletters focused on international business development, trade issues and export opportunities. Second is to build capacity of Utah businesses for international trade through B2B consultations to identify expansion goals, assess current capabilities, determine overseas opportunities and connect companies with market experts and potential partners. Third is to expand global network of Utah businesses through trade missions and networking with foreign trade officials.
About the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED)
business.utah.gov
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) charter is based on Gov. Gary R. Herbert’s commitment to statewide economic development. The state’s economic vision is that Utah will lead the nation as the best performing economy and be recognized as a premier global business environment and tourist destination. GOED provides extensive resources and support for business creation, growth and recruitment statewide, as well as programs to increase tourism and film production for the benefit of Utah residents. All administered programs are based upon strategic industry clusters to develop a diverse, sustainable economy. GOED accomplishes its mission through unprecedented partnerships. For more information please contact: Aimee Edwards, (801) 538-8811 or edwards@utah.gov.
