Vietnamese delegates coming to Charleston
Delegates from the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington will visit Charleston next week to speak at the S.C. World Trade Center's "goGLOBAL!" luncheon meeting about business opportunities with Vietnam.
U.S. Department of Commerce data shows that imports from Vietnam into the Palmetto State have risen nearly $28 million to a total of almost $92 million over the last two years. Exports from South Carolina to Vietnam increased $8 million to a total of $15 million dollars over that period. Top imports include footwear, furniture and bedding. Top exports include, wood, machinery, cotton and yarn fabric.
Vietnam-U.S. relations have seen significant developments in recent years, including establishing diplomatic relations in 1995, the conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement in 2000 and signing of the bilateral agreement on Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2006, among other initiatives.
The Vietnamese delegation will include Nguyen Tien Minh, deputy chief of mission; Ngo Van Thoan, head of trade; and Bui Liem, counselor for investment affairs.
The meeting will begin at 11:45 a.m. Jan. 23 at the Charleston Area Convention Center on International Boulevard in North Charleston. Cost is $35 for trade center members and $45 for nonmembers, and includes lunch. Payment and registration deadline is Jan. 18. For more information or to register, e-mail programs@scwtc.org or call 852-9880 ext. 28.
The silver screen
Days after news broke that Kevin Costner will be in town for his next film, a crew of movie professionals publicly launched a nonprofit to market the Palmetto State to Hollywood.
Dubbed FilmSC, the group is focused on luring more high-paying film jobs, building the state's infrastructure of sound stages and other production venues, and training people who aspire to jobs in the industry.
Martin Bluford, president of the fledging organization and manager of High Output, a movie lighting company in Charleston, said film production in South Carolina has plummeted since July when lawmakers scaled back incentives for out-of-state crews.
The state cut wage rebates for nonresidents working on feature films from 20 percent to 10 percent. Residents still qualify for 20 percent rebates.
At least one director cited the change in his decision to go elsewhere. "The Last Full Measure," a production billing big names including Laurence Fishburne, John Cusack, Andy Garcia, Robert Duvall and Morgan Freeman, pulled out of Mount Pleasant in October.
"Since early summer the pace of film production in South Carolina has plummeted," Bluford said. "FilmSC is working hard to turn that around."
FilmSC registered with the state in late November.
And the winner is...
A West Coast-based trade magazine has named the Port of Charleston the most productive port in the country, as voted by shippers, truckers and other maritime industry folks outside the ports authority.
Cargo Business News surveyed shipper and service provider executives and others in the supply chain as part of its "Star Ports and Terminals" survey.
They were asked to name the marine container terminal they consider the most productive. Port operators were omitted from the survey.
Readers of the magazine singled out the State Ports Authority's Wando Welch terminal in Mount Pleasant as the model of efficiency.
SPA chief Bernard S. Groseclose Jr. said the accolade is a feather in Charleston's cap, given the competition the agency faced from larger West Coast ports and some of its key East Coast rivals.
He said the success the port enjoys is a testament to the cooporation of the region's maritime community. A port's customers have choices, Groseclose said, and the vote of confidence is much appreciated.
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