Posts

The deadline is closing soon, but if you’re an Oklahoma-based company in search of a stable market with solid partnership opportunities, look north to our largest trade partner.

StitchCrew is working with the government of Canada to identify 10 U.S. companies interested in exploring investment, trade or R&D opportunities with Canadian firms.

No sectors are ruled out, but there is a particular focus on firms interested in energy, aerospace or Native American Tribal-owned firms.

The deadline for applying is Wednesday, Mar. 27, 2019. Application link is here.

Reach out to Erika Lucas at StitchCrew for more information.

 

If you missed the October 2016 version of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s monthly publication, The New Pioneer, you may have missed the good news for Oklahoma’s aerospace and defense industry, whose products and parts account for $4.1 million in Oklahoman exports to the Republic of South Korea, an astounding 350 percent increase from the previous year.

From ODOC,

“Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with officials from the South Korean province of South Gyeongsang. The signing took place in Changwon, South Korea with a small delegation, including a representative from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce joining Secretary Benge.

The agreement is the result of months of work by both parties and fosters collaboration and trade through the exchange of industry expertise and reciprocal visits by senior officials.

Both regions have a large presence in the aerospace sector. Oklahoma is home to the American Airlines facility in Tulsa, the largest commercial aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) depot in the world and the largest U.S. Department of Defense depot at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City. Gyeongsang is the largest province in South Korea for manufacturing and the South Korean economy is the world’s 11th largest.

“Both Oklahoma and South Gyeongsang are internationally recognized as hubs for the aerospace industry, and leaders in manufacturing and innovation,” said Benge. “This reciprocal agreement is a win-win for both parties and brings with it many potential opportunities for Oklahoma companies to expand sales of products made here to the growing South Korean market.”

The MOU and recent dialog among government leaders serve as a framework for South Korean companies to invest in Oklahoma and create new jobs in the state.”

Read the full article here, or check out the October 2016 edition of the The New Pioneer for more information about business in Oklahoma.

(Top photo: Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge signed an MOU with officials from the South Korean province of South Gyeongsang in September 2016. Courtesy of Oklahoma Department of Commerce.)

 

Governor Fallin and a delegation of state officials from her cabinet, including OKGIT member and Secretary of Commerce and Tourism Deby Snodgrass, went wheels up on Friday for a visit to the 2015 Paris Air Show.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase Oklahoma as a top destination for the global aerospace industry,” Fallin told the Tulsa World. “We believe Oklahoma’s business climate, strong economy, educated workforce and high quality of life make it an obvious choice for both commercial and military aerospace companies considering expansion into North America.”

Also attending will be cabinet member Stephen McKeever, the secretary of Science and Technology.

Oklahoma’s aerospace industry is known worldwide, and Governor Fallin has become a regular at events like the Paris Air Show as a spokeswoman selling potential investors on the Sooner State.

According to an article on www.newsok.com, Choctaw Defense (McAlester)Frankfurt Short Bruza (Oklahoma City)Janeway Machine (Sapulpa)M&M Manufacturing (Tulsa) and Rise Manufacturing (Broken Arrow) also will be part of the delegation.

Despite criticism in the past about the need and costs associated with the governor’s personal attendance at such international events, the delegation’s cost will be paid for by the Oklahoma Business Roundtable.

Yet the trips by high-ranking officials like the governor indicate that the state is serious in attracting investment. Governor Fallin cited the results of her previous attendance at similar air shows overseas in a statement to the Associated Press, touting the investments by Belgium-based ASCO Aerospace, Ferra Engineering of Australia and Swiss-based Oerlikon Balzers.

Once finished in Paris, the governor will continue on to a business recruiting mission in Italy and Germany.

Though the energy industry receives much of the coverage for its impact on Oklahoma, the state boasts a wide range of sectors and products that appeal to foreign markets.

Subrina Chow - Courtesy of www.norcalwtc.org

Subrina Chow – Courtesy of www.norcalwtc.org

The Journal Record’s Brian Brus chronicled the visit of a delegation from one such market who visited Oklahoma City this week. Subrina Chow, a representative at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Fransisco met with a number of government and commercial representatives in a stop at the state capitol, including Governor Mary Fallin.

According to the article, Chow’s visit was to learn more about suppliers for Hong Kong’s growing need for food products, manufactured goods and computer equipment. The state’s aerospace and biotech sectors were also areas of interest for the former British colony, which since 1997 has been a part of the People’s Republic of China under the “One country, two systems” governing strategy.

Of $40 billion in U.S. exports to China in 2014, Oklahoma exports only accounted for $41 million, a drop  from the $43.7 million the state sent to the People’s Republic in 2002 when then-Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating visited the island as a member of a trade delegation.  However, Oklahoma’s solid agricultural base provides opportunities for the steady, if slowing, Chinese economy.

By Daniel Mayer - via Wikipedia Commons GDFL.

By Daniel Mayer – via Wikipedia Commons GDFL.

Though the American beef industry’s exports have been hard hit due to a rising U.S. dollar and overhang from last year’s West Coast port strikes,  there was growth in the U.S.’s 2014 beef exports to Hong Kong, which is now the third highest beef importer globally behind Japan and Mexico according to an article at Oklahoma Farm Report by Oklahoma State University’s Derrell S. Peel. While Peel notes that January beef exports to Hong Kong were down by 33 percent, the end of the port strikes and demand in Hong Kong will likely return exports to a positive output.

If you would like to read the full report from The Journal Record about Ms. Chow’s visit, please click here. If you or your business would like to learn more about doing business in Hong Kong, please visit the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office’s website here.