Beshear to make economic development trip to Taiwan and Japan

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FRANKFORT – Gov. Steve Beshear leaves Sunday for a seven-day economic development trip to Taiwan and Japan. The visit will showcase Kentucky’s bourbon industry, celebrate Kentucky’s 30-year sister-state relationship with Taiwan, and further cultivate the economic development potential with Taiwan and Japan.

Encouraging trade with Taiwan is a primary goal of the visit. Beshear plans to promote one of Kentucky’s signature industries, bourbon, as a product for the Taiwanese market. Representatives of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association will accompany Beshear on the visit to Taiwan.

Kentucky produces 95 percent of the world's bourbon, which is the largest export category of all U.S. spirits. More than 9,000 jobs in Kentucky are connected to distillery-related businesses generating more than $400 million in payroll.

Beshear will also meet with Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, and present a proclamation celebrating the 30-year sister-state relationship between Taiwan and Kentucky.

In the spirit of sister statehood, Taiwan has reached out to Kentucky after recent natural disasters. In March, Taiwan made a $30,000 donation to help Kentucky recover from devastating severe weather which killed 24 Kentuckians and destroyed hundreds of homes. In 2011, Taiwanese officials also donated $20,000 to the American Red Cross Chapter in Louisville after storms caused widespread damage and flooding in more than half the state’s counties.

Following Taiwan, Beshear will visit Japan to further strengthen existing economic ties and work to build relationships with businesses considering new investments in Kentucky.

Japanese-owned manufacturing and supportive service companies already operate more than 150 facilities in Kentucky and provide more than 34,000 full-time jobs. On a per capita basis, Kentucky has the second-highest Japanese foreign direct investment in the United States.

Several companies have announced major investments in Kentucky after Gov. Beshear’s previous international economic development trips. Most recently, UFLEX, Ltd. announced plans to build its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Elizabethtown, creating 250 new jobs and a $180 million investment. Hitachi has made multiple job-creation announcements in both Harrodsburg and Berea that will result in a total of 335 new jobs and $154.5 million in total new investment for Kentucky.

Additionally, Beshear recently participated in the grand opening of Fuel Total Systems in Lebanon. The company announced its $38 million, 100-job location project shortly after Beshear met with company officials in Japan during his first trip to the country as governor in 2008.