Tractus co-founder and Managing Director John Evans testified on 8 December 2011 before the Washington State Senate Committee on Economic Development, Trade, and Innovation. Mr. Evans focused on the role of a state’s overseas representative in advancing trade and foreign direct investment on behalf of the state.

He highlighted three Washington State companies that have benefitted from the Washington’s trade promotion programs; and also described some programs being undertaken by other US States. Mr. Evans’ testimony was part of a larger presentation made by senior Washington Department of Commerce officials to emphasize the value of the State’s international outreach programs. The hearing was chaired Committee Vice Chair Maralyn Chase.

To view a video of the testimoney please click here and foward to 45 minues 40 seconds to watch Mr. Evans speak.

Tractus Asia is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Paul Scrcek to launch its Seattle presence to support both the State and Tractus' private sector clients in Washington and Pacific Northwest. Mr. Scrcek will focus his efforts on client relationship management and business developement efforts, as well as becoming a member of the firm's senior management team.

For a full press release, please visit our Publications and Presentations section.

Tractus Asia delivered a full day workshop entitled "The Developement of Outward FDI" at the 11th World Free Zone Convention in Shanghai on 08 November 2011.

The session was moderated by John Evans, Managing Director; Lucy Dai, Consulting Manager; and, Franklin Fuentes, Senior Business Development Coordinator. In the session, Tractus managers discussed the development of outward FDI from Asia, its impact on the regoin and the globe, as well as practical strategies for attracting this investment to the attendees' zones and countries.

Please see our Publications and Presentations section for a copy of the presentation.

Tractus Executive Director Dennis J. Meseroll spent his Monday morning surveying the flood-impacted industrial estates north of Bangkok.  Hundreds of thousands of workers have been affected by the ravaging floods facing central Thailand since mid-July and millions have been displaced from their homes. Over 14,000 factories have suspended operations due to inundiation.

For additional footage and video interview with Mr. Meseroll please click here.

As Bangkok residents prepare for possible floods to wash through the city, manufacturers operating in industrial estates north of Bangkok are faced with new challenges and decisions. 

“Companies can’t just up and leave, but they will think twice about expanding their capacity in Thailand,” said Dennis Meseroll, Bangkok-based founding partner of Tractus Asia, a management consulting firm that advises manufacturers on where to invest in the region. “Wages are rising anyway in Thailand and there are other lower cost locations. Now is the time to think again about moving, to potentially reduce costs and ameliorate some of these [supply chain] risks.”

“These kinds of disaster are wake-up calls for particular industries or companies. Disasters are very infrequent and humans don’t assess probability very well. Companies are constantly reminded by Wall Street of the efficiency gains from just-in-time supply and using minimal numbers of suppliers. But they are not constantly reminded of the risk of flood, earthquakes and tsunamis, so it gets underplayed as a factor in developing a supply chain.”

For full article please click here.


 

Tractus’ Executive Director Dennis J. Meseroll chaired and moderated a panel entitled “Opportunities and Impacts of FDI Expansion on communities” on Wednesday 21 September 2011 at the International Economic Development Forum’s annual meeting held in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.  Increases in foreign direct investment can create new opportunities as well as obstacles for communities hosting the investment. Such activitiy may bring new investment, or it may mean transition of local ownership to foreign firms. How do these changes affect local economic development practice and what might need to be done differently to attract FDI and promote trade internationally and particularly with China. The panel featured Tony Aggarwal, Founder, KinetiCubed; Tom Bartkoski, Director International Business Development, World Business Chicago, and; Jean Davis, Director of International Trade with the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Tractus’ Executive Director Dennis J. Meseroll was invited to participate in the Site Consultants Forum on Wednesday 21 September 2011 at the International Economic Development Council’s 2011 annual meeting held in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.  The forum was a venue for international site location experts to advise state-, regional- and municipal-level economic developers on the most effective ways to work with site location consultants to best position their states, regions and communities for selection as finalist locations in site location assessments.  The Site Consultants Forum is the highlight of each IEDC annual meeting.   

Tractus Asia Executive Director Dennis J. Meseroll provided an overview of the incentives landscape in Asia at the Industrial Asset Management Council’s Fall 2011 Forum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 12 September 2011.

In his remarks, Mr. Meseroll profiled the incentives available to investors locating manufacturing and service investments in China, India and Southeast Asia and discussed the implication of the various investment incentives schemes on manufacturing site location decision-making.

Tractus Consultant Joshua Johnson uncovers the quiet shifts in Japan's manufacturing sector post the tragic March 2011 tsunami. 

In his article "Japan's Seismic Shift", published in Business Report Thailand, Mr. Johnson provides an insight on the changing manufacturing landscape and its impacts on the growing Thai industrial sector. 

Please see our Publications and Presentations section for a copy of the article.

Tractus Consulting Manager Antonio Sequeros delivers a keynote presentation entitled "An Approach to Investing in Vietnam's Industrial Minerals Sector" at the inaugural Vietnamese Industrial Minerals Conference in Hanoi.

In his remarks, Mr. Sequeros examines the Vietnamese market for non-metallic minerals from the perspective of a foreign direct investor, touching upon local demand, current regulations and effective market entry strategy.

Please see our Publications and Presentations section for a copy of the presentation.

Excellent opportunity for buyers interested in acquiring a large first rate industrial facility in Thailand. The plant, which is located in the Northeastern Province of Chaiyaphum, houses a garment assembly operation which employs 210 staff. The plant is 3-years old, high-quality, in excellent condition and includes the factory, a maintenance building, a second floor office and lavatories.The facility is also suitable for a range of industries including electronics, plastics, logistics, etc., and should be particularly attractive for firms looking to quickly establish production. The business is available either as an ongoing operation or asset purchase.

For more information, please click here to download the brochure.

Tractus Asia Managing Director John Evans addressed South Wind, The Rotary Club of South Bangkok, with remarks on Thailands ever-changing FDI position within Asia. 

In his remarks, Mr. Evans profiled the major FDI players in the region: India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Indonesia and China to better understand how Thailand fits into the investment equation. 
 
Please see our Publications and Presentations section for a summary of his remarks. 

As the official representatives of the Washington State Department of Commerce in Asia, Tractus spearheads the state's export promotion and investment attraction activities in China, India, Thailand and Vietnam.

As small-to-medium enterprises (SME) remain a cornerstone of the American economy, Tractus is on the frontlines of assisting Washington SMEs export abroad. In 2010, Washington state export assistance resulted in export sales of US$ 154 million. One such success story was profiled by the Seattle Business magazine and can be accessed via the web here.

Seattle Business magazine is Washington’s leading business magazine. It provides monthly insight into the key people, enterprises and trends that drive business in the Pacific Northwest.

Tractus Asia Ltd. announced today that it has appointed Mr. Richard J. Smith to head its Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Finance practice.

“This is a natural progression for us,” said John Evans, co-founder and Managing Director of Tractus. “Our early work was primarily in site selection and green-field establishment. However, over the years as our clients’ needs have grown we have evolved our scope of services moving both upstream into market research and strategy development and downstream into project implementation and management. As our clients’ presence in the Asian markets has matured, we have been increasingly called upon to assist with identifying and vetting potential joint venture partners and acquisition targets as well as identifying potential Asian-based investors looking to participate with our clients in their home markets. Bringing Richard on-board will allow us to heighten the profile and sharpen the focus of our M&A and corporate finance practice.”

Prior to joining Tractus, Mr. Smith was most recently CFO for a multinational architecture and interior design firm with over 400 employees in 9 countries across Asia and the Middle East. He has extensive experience in M&A, fundraising, pre-IPO preparation and planning, project development, corporate governance, and debt restructuring projects; having worked previously for Citibank, a Thai-based boutique investment bank, as well as leading his own corporate financial advisory services firm, Innovant Capital. Mr. Smith holds a BA in Economics from the College of Wooster, and an MBA and an MA in Asian Studies from the University of Michigan. He has been a regular guest lecturer at the Masters in Marketing Program at Thammasat University in Thailand as well as served as an advisor and judge in the Asia Venture Challenge business plan competition for MBA students throughout the region. Richard resides in Bangkok with his wife and two children.

Tractus Managing Director John Evans is featured on CNBC’s Squawk Box. Mr. Evans assesses the effectiveness of subsidies used by governments across Asia.

With prices of essential goods rising sharply, several Asian governments have opened up their coffers to ease the costs of living on their populations. These subsidies can be politically motivated and may create long-term inefficiencies; however, Mr. Evans argues that they also help to spur domestic demand.

Squawk Box, which airs daily on the CNBC network, provides early-morning analysis and breaking news from global financial markets. Mr. Evans’ interview can be accessed here through the CNBC website.

Tractus Consultant Joshua Johnson published “The Investor Paradox” in Business Report Thailand’s February 2011 issue. Mr. Johnson examines the resilience of foreign direct investment in light of the Kingdom’s recent political instability and violence.

During 2010, the ‘Red-Shirt” protests and subsequent government crackdown received heavy media attention. However, foreign direct investment approved by the Board of Investment quietly soared 65 percent year-over-year. Mr. Johnson finds that Thailand’s political turmoil has generally resulted in a stable regulatory environment with little interference on operations. While a speedy resolution is unlikely, the Kingdom remains regionally and globally competitive for foreign business.

Please see the Publications and Presentations section for a soft copy of the article.

Tractus Research Analyst Alex Czarnecki published “Mongolia Rocks!” in Industrial Minerals Magazine’s January 2011 issue. Mr. Czarnecki discusses the link between domestic demand-led growth in China and the rise of the Mongolian mining sector.

While China remains a global leader in both production and export of industrial minerals, demand is beginning to outpace supply. Neighboring Mongolia has proven high-quality reserves of several key industrial minerals, including coking coal and rare earths, and is beginning to attract foreign direct investment in the extraction and processing of these resources. With its strategic location and favorable investment environment, Mongolia has the opportunity to become a key mineral supplier for Northeast Asia.

Industrial Minerals Magazine provides global intelligence on non-metallic minerals from mine to market. Please see the Publications and Presentations section for a soft copy of the article.

Tractus’ U.S. based Business Development Manager Nick Carmichael, SIOR, published "The Rebirth of China’s Industrial Real Estate Market" in the 4th quarter 2010 edition of SIOR Professional Report. Mr. Carmichael discusses the changing landscape for industrial real estate in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The Chinese economy may have weathered the global downturn relatively well, but the efficient development and allocation of industrial land has never been more important. Local governments are beginning to work with professional third-party developers to build new Economic Development Zones, creating industry clusters with upgraded logistics capabilities. Meanwhile, crowded EDZs in coastal areas are looking attract the right investments as many private companies relocate to second- and third-tier cities.

The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors’ Professional Report is a quarterly magazine that addresses the concerns of industrial and commercial real estate practitioners. Please see the Publications and Presentations section for a soft copy of the article.

Tractus Asia Managing Director John Evans spoke to National Public Radio regarding China's growing Aerospace sector. Chief among the topics discussed was one of China's major jet-liners, the C-919.

As the official representatives for the State of Washington Department of Commerce in China, India, Thailand and Vietnam Tractus has helped several Washington-based aerospace companies tap this burgeoning market. Story with audio can be accessed here.

If you would like to learn more about what Tractus can do for your business in China's Aerosapce market, please send your contact details to info@tractus-asia.com

Tractus Business Development Coordinator, Franklin Fuentes, delivered a keynote presentation entitled "Chinese Overseas Foreign Direct Investment: A Spotlight on ASEAN" at the 10th World Free Zone Convention in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

In his remarks, Mr. Fuentes touched on the chief drivers of Chinese outbound foreign direct investment, profiles of Chinese investors, regulatory approvals and what investment promotion agencies need to know to capture their share of China's growing OFDI market.

Please see our Publications and Presentations section for a copy of the presentation.