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. |
Archive for INDO-US In The Community
Tampa Bay India trade gets priority reception
3rd Annual Art of Giving
United Way Women’s Leadership Annual Lunch Gala
Date: April 26th, 2007
Time: 11:30 am -1 pm
Location:
Renaissance Tampa Hotel
International Plaza
Click here for more information
International Business Summit 2007
May 18th and May 19th
To be held at the University of South Florida and the Embassy Suites Tampa-USF (Near Busch Gardens)
Those interested in gaining visibility for their business should please complete and send the sponsorship packet to Samant Sharma. This stands to be a great event with over 4,000 attendees expected! Please act soon as limited amount of booth space remains! To download the International Business Summit Sponsorship Packet, please click here. Summit Packet.
Thank you,
Samant Sharma, CFP(r)
Assistant Vice President
Financial Advisor
Merrill Lynch
26301 US Highway 19 North | Clearwater, FL 33761
Phone: (727) 799-5615 | Fax: (727) 797-8353 Toll Free: (866) 799-5615 samant_sharma@ml.com
http://fa.ml.com/SAMANT
INDIAN AMBASSADOR SEN VISITS TAMPA
By AAKASH M. PATEL
Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen and his wife along with Houston-based Consul General S.M. Gavai made a brief visit to Tampa on April 25-26. It was the ambassador’s first visit to Florida after accepting an invitation from Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. Sen has been Ambassador of India to the United States since August 2004. His office is the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Welcoming the ambassador was the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce. The Board of Directors and Executive Committee members sponsored a reception at the University of Tampa for local community leaders and government officials. Ambassador Sen’s visit also included a meeting with Mayor Iorio and city of Tampa officials.
“It’s all about opportunities and future growth,” said Richard Wainio, director and CEO for the Tampa Port Authority, who gave the opening remarks at the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce’s reception. The ambassador gave remarks on the current situation in India, and his insight into the future possibility of increased trade relations between Tampa and India.
As a token of appreciation, Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Executive Committee members presented Sen and Consul General Gavai with an authentic Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey. Both men proudly wore the jersey. “The Buccaneers have placed Tampa on the national radar of United States and we hope that visits such as these from Ambassador Sen indicate that Tampa will be a more prominent player in the global trade arena as well,” said Rachana Dinkar, vice-president of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee.
The next day, Ambassador Sen met with Mayor Iorio and Mark Huey, city of Tampa Economic Development director, to discuss the current relationship between Tampa and India. “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.”
Aakash M. Patel, secretary of the Indo-US Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, can be reached at (813) 936-5100 or email Apatel@bankonparagon.com
Asian Chamber Annual Forum Targets Wider Business Community
Tampa Bay Business Journal – March 7, 2007
Doing business in China is a hot business topic given recent world market fluctuations – and it’s also part of the focus of an upcoming all-day international business forum in Tampa Bay.
The Asian American Chambers of Commerce of Tampa Bay will host its third annual Business Forum on Saturday, March 17.
The AACC is comprised of Tampa’s Indo-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce, Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay and other business professionals. This year’s forum is titled “How to do Business with India and China.”
As in past years, the forum will feature an entrepreneurial success panel.
Speakers on the panel will include Holland and Knight Partner Jeffrey L. Rubinger, former Dayhoff President Uday Lele, Reliance Consulting Managing Partner Amol Nirgudkar, and Rafael Bona, Bona Financial Group chief executive officer. The forum will also feature several prominent speakers who have successful businesses in India and in China, but reside in Tampa Bay, a release said.
The goal for 2007 was to choose topics that would attract the broader Tampa Bay business community, said AACC President and Indo-U.S. Chairman Santosh Govindaraju in a release.
The AACC Business Forum is open to the public and is scheduled to take place at the Philippine Bayanihan Arts & Events Center located at 14301 Nine Eagles Drive in Tampa. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the activities conclude at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10.
More information is available online.
Show gains momentum by providing maximum exposure for entrepreneurs
Courtesy of WEDU
Jaseline Johnson, right, speaks with Adrien Edwards, left, from Tea2greens.com and Rachel Cantor of RC Associates on the program ‘Small Business Academy.’
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TAMPA — Media consultant and television producer Jaseline Johnson believes she has the newest tool for entrepreneurs.
Using the name Jill Isaac, Johnson hosts the half-hour program “Small Business Academy” on public television station WEDU. Designed to present entrepreneurial strategy straight from those with experience, the show has featured a wide variety of guests from the famous such as “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” winner Dawna Stone to the fascinating such as Kimberly Ibasfalean, who operates Captain Kim’s Boat Rides & Charters.
“There are just some interesting dynamics out there that the public are not exposed to,” Johnson said. “There are not that many shows that focus on small business. Even when you tune in to CNBC, they only recently started to focus on these areas. The media tends to steer the wrong way about covering larger corporations and not small businesses, and that’s a mistake.”
“Small Business Academy” typically airs the fourth Thursday of each month with an encore presentation the following Sunday. The program, one of WEDU’s first local programs produced in high definition, is underwritten by Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF).
WEDU also airs another monthly business show called “Suncoast Business Forum” hosted by Geoff Simon that focuses more on larger corporations, something that complements “Small Business Academy,” said Ellyne Lonergan, WEDU’s VP of programming and production.
Covering home-grown adviceBorn and raised in Toronto, Johnson has built a career in television production, spending a good part of the 1990s in Asia. She moved to the United States a few years ago, settling in New York to complete her master’s in diplomacy and international affairs at the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy before moving to St. Petersburg.
When she isn’t involved in television production, Johnson is an adjunct faculty instructor with the University of Tampa, teaching intercultural communications.
“This is a thriving business community, just as good as any other business city in the United States,” Johnson said. “People don’t realize that we do know what we’re doing here, and there’s a lot of good advice out there for people trying to do this.”
Hillsborough County’s Small Business Information Center also sees the need for advice.
“There is a lack of reality people have sometimes on what it really takes to start a business,” said Beth Calhoun, community services coordinator. “That includes financially, their startup costs, trying to reach customers. Many times they are not fully aware of who their competition is.”
The center provides a number of programs to educate soon-to-be and existing small and minority-owned businesses.
mhinman@bizjournals.com | 813.342.247
