GOVERNOR O'MALLEY TO LEAD TRADE MISSION TO INDIA

First Maryland Trade Mission includes Meetings in Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad

ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 30, 2011) – To build on Maryland’s strong relationship and boost trade and investment with one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Governor Martin O’Malley today announced that he will lead a delegation of business leaders and elected officials on a six-day economic development mission to India in late November. This is the first economic development mission to India led by a Maryland governor, and will include Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker.

The Maryland trade mission will visit Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad, the country’s key centers of business and industry. Maryland has maintained a strong presence in India, and, under Governor O’Malley, reopened an office in Delhi in 2009 to build on shared strengths in biotechnology, IT and aerospace and defense.

The trade mission will be organized and executed by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), with strong support from the Office of the Secretary of State, Maryland-India Working Group, and U.S. Department of Commerce’s Baltimore Export Assistance Center.

“India’s economy is undergoing a rapid transformation and is expected to surpass all other countries to be the world’s largest economy by 2050,” said Governor O’Malley. “With their industries modernizing and a young and career-oriented middle class, it is an ideal time to promote Maryland as a U.S. headquarters for Indian companies, particularly those in biotech and cyber security, and also open new doors for trade for our small and mid-sized businesses.”

Earlier this year, Governor O’Malley led a 68-member delegation on a successful economic development mission to China, South Korea and Vietnam, which has so far resulted in $85 million in direct foreign investments in Maryland and trade deals for Maryland companies.

“I’m honored to join Governor O’Malley and Maryland’s business leaders on this economic development and trade mission to India,” said House Majority Leader Kumar Barve. “I want to commend the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and the Maryland-India Working Group over the last few months to ensure that this trade mission brings new opportunity and new investments back to Maryland.”

“A strategic economic development partnership with India is good business for the State of Maryland and Prince George’s County,” said Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III. “I am honored to join Governor O’Malley and County Executive Leggett on this economic development mission to India. Having a number of companies based in Prince George’s County already doing business with India, we look forward to strengthening established relationships and discovering new opportunities.”

“It is an honor to join Governor O’Malley on this business development mission to India and my goal is to promote Montgomery County’s competitive strengths in the life sciences, biotechnology, IT and defense sectors,” said Montgomery County Isiah Leggett. “These sectors align well with similar, fast emerging industries in India. Now is the time to aggressively target foreign direct investment from India, and other fast-developing economies like China and Korea, into the County.”

As part of the mission, the Governor and his delegation will meet with potential investment and trade partners and government leaders in each of the cities. While the itinerary is still being developed, Governor O’Malley is scheduled to give the keynote speech at the Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients India, one of the largest events in the pharmaceutical industry. The Maryland India Working Group, co-chaired by Bob Walker, Assistant Secretary for Business and Enterprise Development at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and Reza Jafari of the Governor’s International Advisory Council, are advising on the mission.

Between 2004 and 2009, Indian companies made eight acquisitions in Maryland, totaling $564 million, which is in addition to more than $100 million that Indian companies invested in Greenfield projects in Maryland. In 2010, India was Maryland’s 12^th largest export market with $233 million in goods and services, and was the State’s 13th largest import market, with more than $465 million. There are four major Indian companies in Maryland, including Sri-Sai Pharmaceuticals in Frederick; Bioserve Technologies in Beltsville; Lupin Pharmaceuticals in Baltimore; and Gene Logic in Gaithersburg. In addition, Maryland’s India office also has a U.S. location in the International Incubator at the University of Maryland, College Park to assist local companies open offices in India.

The O’Malley-Brown Administration has taken significant steps to ramp up the State’s international outreach, including opening a number of number of foreign offices in targeted countries, convening the Governor’s International Advisory Council to provide strategic direction and develop a plan to enhance Maryland’s global profile, expanding the capacity of the Port of Baltimore with a new 50-foot berth, and opening the State’s first International Incubator in 2009 at the University of Maryland, College Park to help foreign-owned companies launch U.S. operations.

In addition to India, the State has also recently opened foreign offices in Russia and Colombia to attract foreign-owned companies to Maryland and encourage trade opportunities. The offices, which are opened on a contingency basis with no up-front cost to taxpayers, are part of the State’s network of foreign offices which also include China (Shanghai), France (Paris), Israel (Haifa), South Korea (Seoul), Taiwan (Taipei), Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) and the Western Balkans (Montenegro).

Maryland is well-positioned for growth in the global market, with more than 300 foreign-owned companies from 30 countries currently calling Maryland home. Roughly 105,000 Marylanders, or 3.5 percent of the workforce, are employed by foreign-owned firms, with companies headquartered in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Germany as the top three foreign employers in Maryland.