Tampa Bay India trade gets priority reception
Tampa Bay Business Journal - May 4, 2007 by Danielle Randall Staff WriterThe closest Indian consulate to Tampa is Houston, and that’s too far for Bay area port and elected officials given India’s growing positioning as a global business force.A just concluded visit to Tampa by Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen and his wife along with Houston-based Consul General S.M. Gavai didn’t land a local consulate in Tampa, but it did make progress in laying a groundwork for increased international business with Asia.”It’s all about opportunities and future growth,” said Richard Wainio, director and CEO for the Tampa Port Authority. Last week, Sen made a round of visits to high-profile government officials such as Mayor Pam Iorio and renown philanthropist Dr. Kiran C. Patel. Sen and Gavai were guests of honor at an Indo-US Chamber of Commerce event held at the University of Tampa April 25. “We’re trying to get in on the ground floor and cultivate those opportunities, and we’re hoping to grow existing fertilizer [and steel] export trade to develop and further diversify trade relations,” Wainio said. Mayor invited abroad Real business connections between the Bay area and India’s business community begin with government officials having a better understanding of each other’s needs, elected officials said. Sen’s visit with Iorio and Mark Huey, Tampa’s economic development administrator, resulted in preliminary talks about working together. “It was a mutual commitment to try to broaden ties,” Huey said. “This is another example of Tampa’s growing prominence in the international market.” At the end of his visit with the mayor, Sen invited her to make a trip to India. For at least 25 years, India has had a trading relationship with the Port of Tampa. India receives nearly 100,000 tons of Tampa-originated cargo a year, the Port said. The port’s Asia Gulf Express Service began last August and utilizes two shipping lines, Emirates Shipping Line and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. Combined, the lines provide 10 vessels with the capacity of 3,000-TEU each (20-foot equivalent units, or 20-foot container) direct from China, stopping in Korea, Panama and Kingston en route to Tampa weekly, the port said. But there’s a lot of room for growth. The port is hoping to further grow its container trading service connections to India in the next few years, Wainio said, pointing out that India could be among the top three largest global economies in the world based on projected gross domestic product in 20 years. Positioned for growth Connections with India are likely to impact every community in the country in coming years, said Santosh Govindaraju, chairman of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce. That makes communication between government officials key in making sure Tampa businesses don’t miss out on profitable business opportunities, he said. Tampa is also well positioned because it is home to some of the most prominent Indian American business people and philanthropists in the United States including Kiran C. Patel, who recently made a $18 million contribution to the University of South Florida. The community also includes Dr. Akshay Desai, president and CEO of Universal Health Care, a member of the Florida Board of Governors. Others include Shilen K. Patel, a director for Tampa-based Central Bank, and Raxit Shah, a hotelier who has served on the board for the InterContinental Hotels Group in Atlanta. drandall@bizjournals.com | 813.342.2463 |
From left to right: consul general from Houston Shri S.M.Gavai; Richard Wainio, director of Tampa Port Authority; Braham Aggarwal, president of the Indian American Chamber of Commerce in Orlando; Samant Sharma, president of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce in Tampa; Ambassador Ronen Sen; Santosh Govindaraju, chairman of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce in Tampa; and Aakash M. Patel, secretary of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce in Tampa. |
