HIGHLIGHTS OF GOVERNOR'S ASIA MISSION

I have just returned from a truly incredible business mission to Asia with Governor Deal. We covered a lot of ground in a very short amount of time, geographically speaking and also business-wise. The Governor met with Kia's Chairman Chung in Seoul at the company's global headquarters and expressed his appreciation for Kia's investment in Georgia, which has meant more than 10,000 jobs so far in Georgia and is projected to have an economic impact of almost $520 million over 10 years. It was an honor to meet with the Chairman, who has visited us in Georgia several times.  A similar highlight of the mission was a meeting hosted by SANY Heavy Industries in its Changsha, China headquarters, in Hunan Province. SANY has built its first North American manufacturing plant in Peachtree City, and while we were there, took the occasion to announce that it would add a research and development center, for a total of 600 jobs. That announcement topped off a full day of activities in which we toured the company's plant, the largest manufacturing plant in Asia. Governor Deal signed an economic development with Hunan Province's Governor, and Mrs. Deal toured a local elementary school supported by SANY.   We had many other rewarding stops along the way, including visits with existing Georgia companies like SKC in Korea and Hisense Group in China. All our visits, of course, involve calling on companies who might be interested in expanding to Georgia, and these companies were very interested in hearing about the business assets we bring to the table: a skilled workforce, unbeatable logistics system and aggressive incentives. We are optimistic that we will continue seeing investment in Georgia from this part of the world!   Chris Cummiskey Commissioner Georgia Department of Economic Development