Sandoval reaches out internationally to woo business for Nevada

Gov. Brian Sandoval cemented the foundation for the international component of Nevada’s economic development plan Friday, hosting the consuls general of 38 countries and a Canadian province with which the state hopes to build long-term business relationships.

“You’re making history today,” Sandoval told the group at a lunch at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

A consul general is an official representative of a country based in the United States. Working with the country’s diplomatic corps, consuls general have relationships with business representatives in their home countries and help facilitate trade, imports and exports.

Most of the representatives attending Friday’s event are based in Los Angeles or San Francisco and came to Las Vegas at their own expense.

Building relationships at the lunch was a strategy outlined by Sandoval in the “Moving Nevada Forward” economic development plan released by the governor’s office in February. The plan has a goal of generating 50,000 new jobs in the state by 2014.

In September, Sandoval will lead his first overseas trade mission to China and South Korea. A conference on exports and manufacturing is planned after he returns from the trip.

International business is one of Nevada’s economic strengths because Las Vegas is a popular tourism destination and the city is one of the few places that can accommodate large international conventions. Established airline routes to international destinations help foster the exportation of Nevada goods.

Minerals from Nevada mines are among the state’s top exports with gold, copper, nickel, lithium, titanium and molybdenum used for aerospace products and computer components.

Exports from Nevada to China are up 3,250 percent over the past decade and the state exports $8 billion worth of products there, with about $1 billion more in trade through tourism.

Steve Hill, director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, told the group that Nevada is the nation’s fastest growing state for exports, and international connections are expected to grow the state as a center for digital data storage and for medical tourism.

Hill said partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic and the University of California-San Diego are helping put Las Vegas on the medical tourism map.

Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, explained how the city’s international tourism strategy is driving economic development, and it’s the LVCVA’s goal to increase the percentage of foreign visitors to Las Vegas from the existing 16 percent to 30 percent in three years.

Al Di Stefano, director of global business development for the state, said small businesses in Nevada are being encouraged to participate in international trade through the Nevada Investment and Trade Revenue Opportunities (NITRO) initiative, funded by a $240,000 Small Business Administration grant.

Qualifying companies can apply for funding to attend trade shows, trade missions and technical seminars or assist in the export of products. Di Stefano said, as an example, a company could apply for funding to package and label products in foreign languages for use overseas.

To qualify, companies have to meet the definition of a small business by the Small Business Administration. Nevada companies must be registered and licensed in the state, in operation for at least a year and profitable, and products must have at least half their content produced in the United States.

Di Stefano said funding is still available through the end of the fiscal year in September and the state is applying for additional grants to fund the program in 2013.