Governor Heading to Asia This Week
Inside Indiana Business;
August 31, 2009
Governor Mitch Daniels and a delegation of Hoosier business and community leaders will travel to China and Japan next week on an economic development mission to bring jobs and investment to Indiana.
"We'll go anywhere to bring back more jobs for Hoosiers," said Daniels. "And we believe in redoubling our efforts in hard times, to gain ground on other states while they're raising taxes and making themselves less attractive to business."
This will be the fifth trade mission that Daniels has led as governor. The cost of the state delegation is being covered entirely through private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation and utilizes no tax dollars.
Below is the governor’s daily itinerary for the trip:
Monday, September 7 (China)
Governor Daniels will speak at an event in Shanghai hosted by Cummins Inc. for manufacturing suppliers. Cummins is headquartered in Columbus. In the afternoon, the governor will meet with local officials and representatives from the Shanghai Foreign Commerce Commission, the organization which oversees all inbound and outbound investment for the Shanghai province. The governor will host a reception for the Hoosier Club of Shanghai, a local network of business leaders and alumni from Indiana colleges and universities.
Tuesday, September 8 (China)
Governor Daniels will meet with representatives from several companies in Shanghai before giving a speech on Indiana’s clean energy initiatives at the American Chamber of Commerce’s Greentech: A Call to Action conference. The governor also will meet with officials from Eli Lilly & Company at Lilly’s facility at the Pudong Science Park and will host a Friends of Indiana reception for representatives of Chinese companies that conduct business in Indiana or are interested in locating in the state.
Wednesday, September 9 (China)
The governor will travel by train to Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province, where he will be joined by Purdue University Vice Provost Dr. Victor Lechtenberg for meetings with representatives of the Zhejiang Agricultural Bureau, the organization which oversees agriculture policy, including the import of products from the U.S. Daniels also will meet with Zhao Hongzhu, the Party Secretary of Zhejiang province, who is hosting a banquet in the evening to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the sister-state agreement between Indiana and Zhejiang. Former Governor Robert Orr signed a sister state agreement with Zhejiang Governor Shen Zulun in Indianapolis on July 23, 1987.
Thursday, September 10 (China)
Governor Daniels will conduct business meetings and visit the Spirit of Humanity Sculpture in Zhejiang. The sculpture is a gift given to the Province by then-Governor Frank O’Bannon in honor of the 10th anniversary of the sister-state relationship. Daniels also will meet with Zhejiang Governor Lu Zushan. Both governors will conduct a joint availability with members of the local and international media in the afternoon.
In the evening, Daniels will attend a banquet hosted by Governor Lu Zushan.
Friday, September 11 (China/Japan)
The Indiana delegation will travel from Hangzhou to Tokyo, Japan to continue its economic development mission.
Saturday, September 12 (Japan)
Governor Daniels will travel by train to Tochigi Prefecture, Indiana’s sister-state in Japan, where he will meet with Tochigi Governor Tomikazu Fukuda. The governors will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the sister-state agreement by planting a tulip tree, the official state tree of Indiana, in the central park of Tochigi. Daniels also will speak at the 10th Anniversary Commemorative Symposium at Tobu Hotel before attending a reception for the Indiana delegation hosted by Governor Fukuda.
Sunday, September 13 (Japan)
The governor will attend the Midwest U.S.–Japan Association Conference Executive Meeting and Gala Reception in Tokyo. Daniels is one of three Midwest governors currently scheduled to attend the conference. Lieutenant governors from others states also will attend.
Monday, September 14 (Japan)
Governor Daniels will address attendees at the opening ceremony of the Midwest U.S.–Japan Association Conference and will meet with Honda President Takanobu Ito and representatives from Mitsubishi Corporation and Sony Corporation.
Tuesday, September 15 (Japan)
The governor and IEDC officials will conduct business meetings with prospective companies as well as companies that currently have operations in Indiana including Toyota Motor Corporation and Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru). In the evening, Daniels will host a Friends of Indiana reception.
Wednesday, September 16 (Japan)
The governor and members of the Indiana delegation will return to Indianapolis from Tokyo.
Members of the delegation who will travel to China and Japan:
Governor Mitch Daniels
Mitch Roob, Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)
Steve Akard, IEDC
Kai Chuck, IEDC
Jon Costas, Mayor, Valparaiso
John Ditslear, Mayor, Noblesville
Bruce Hosier, Mayor, Portland
Sharon McShurley, Mayor, Muncie
Wayne Seybold, Mayor, Marion
Michael McRobbie, Indiana University
Victor Lechtenberg, Purdue University
Eugene "Roy" Budd, Energize ECI
Ron Gifford, Indy Partnership
Kevin Kelly, City of Noblesville
Theresa Kulczak, Japan America Society of Indiana
John Sampson, Northeast Regional Marketing Partnership
Donald Babcock, NIPSCO
Richard Hall, Barnes & Thornburg
Jeffrey Knight, Old National Bank
Marie-Christine Pence, Duke Energy
Richard Pfeil, Pfeil, Inc.
Melissa Reese, Ice Miller LLP
John Talley, ProLiance Energy
Doug Huntsinger, Governor's staff
Brad Rateike, Governor's staff
Tom Dusing, Carefree World Travel
Two members of the governor’s security detail also will travel.
Members of the delegation who will travel to China only:
Courtney Carr, Columbus Economic Development Board
Dan Brindle, Eli Lilly & Company
David Bramlage, Cole Hardwood, Inc.
Steve Chapman, Cummins Inc.
Martin George, Language Training Center
Ryan Hou, LHP Technologies
Dennis McKinney, McKinney Group
Jacqueline Simmons, Baker & Daniels
Members of the delegation who will travel to Japan only:
Michael Fincher, Mayor, Logansport
Ayako Girt, City of Anderson
Todd Donati, Delaware County Commissioner
Larry Ingraham, City of Muncie
Nolan “Skip” Kuker, Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation
Terry Murphy, Muncie-Delaware County, Indiana Economic Development Alliance
Jim Plump, Jackson County Industrial Development Corporation
Michael Rozow, Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative
Greg Wathen, Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana
Charles Gassenheimer, Ener1, Inc.
Hideyuki Kawashima, MJ Insurance, Inc.
Michael Kern, Gaylor Inc.
Brian McGrath, Ivy Tech Community College
Colin MacNab, MJ Insurance, Inc.
Cynthia Madrick, Cornerstone Environmental
Mark Miller, Cornerstone Environmental
Updates from the governor's trade mission, including video clips and photos, will be posted throughout the trip here: http://www.in.gov/gov/asia09.htm.
Source: Office of the Governor
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Governor Mitch Daniels has announced he will lead a delegation of Hoosier business leaders and elected officials on a trade and investment mission to Asia September 5-16. The trip includes the first economic development mission to China by an Indiana governor in more than a decade. The governor also will make economic development stops in Japan and attend the Japan-U.S. Midwest Conference during his fourth visit to the country since 2005.
The governor will travel in China September 6-11 in Shanghai and Zhejiang, Indiana’s Chinese sister-state. He will travel to Japan September 11-16 where he is scheduled to visit Tochigi Prefecture, Indiana’s Japanese sister-state, and attend the Japan-U.S. Midwest Conference in Tokyo. Daniels will meet with government and business leaders in both countries and will host three business receptions for potential investors.
More than 42,000 Hoosiers are employed by the more than 200 Japanese companies in the state with investments of more than $9.8 billion. Daniels hopes to see modest Chinese investment in the state parallel the growth of Japanese investment in the future.
The cost of the state delegation is being covered entirely through private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation and utilizes no tax dollars.
This will be the fifth trade mission that Daniels has led as governor. In 2005, Governor Daniels led the largest delegation in Indiana history on his first jobs hunting mission to Japan and Taiwan. The following year, the governor returned to Japan and also made economic development stops in South Korea. Daniels led two trade missions in 2007, one to Germany and the United Kingdom, and another to Japan. The governor was unable to join the state delegation that traveled to Japan last year because he stayed to coordinate the state's disaster recovery efforts following severe weather and flooding across much of the state.
