Hawaii firms can ride
a fast track to Singapore

Hawaii companies that want to expand their reach into Singapore, especially in the technology and research and development fields, can get there faster by using a new business incubator in the Asian city-state.

Representatives from USgTEC, a newly created Singapore/U.S. business incubator designed to serve as a gateway between the two countries, met with members of Hawaii's high-tech and business community on Friday to offer start-up services to companies anxious to join the wave of capital investment into Asia.

"We want to be a catalyst for enterprise creation for your companies in Asia," said USgTEC Executive Director David Chng. "If you are located with us, we want to make sure your business succeeds, because if you are not successful, we'll go down the drain with you."

A recently signed free trade agreement has made Singapore more attractive to U.S. companies that want to use it as a hub to expand into other parts of Asia, said Ray Jefferson, former deputy director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. He traveled to Singapore to encourage USgTEC to come to Hawaii.

"I believe that as more companies learn the benefits of doing business in Singapore that there will be sustained interest in this market," Jefferson said.

The business incubator, which is the result of more than eight months worth of work and partnership between Hawaii's economic development boards, the Hawaii Technology Trade Association and companies, seeks to establish a critical mass of Hawaii companies located in Singapore, Jefferson said.

USgTEC can help companies open bank accounts, find office space and secretarial services, develop contacts and do market research. It also can help companies organize trade shows, conferences and workshops, Jefferson said.

Fees for USgTEC's services range from $1,100 to $3,000 a month for a six-month contract, Chng said. The company will offer discounts to the first four Hawaii-based companies that sign up within the next 60 days, he said.

Tom Moore, president of Tropical Telecom, said he's long had a presence in Asia, but an incubator would have eased his global expansion efforts.

"I spent a heck of a lot of time standing in line only to find that I was at the wrong office or had the wrong paperwork," Moore said. "The business incubator's services are invaluable, if you don't want to waste an awful lot of time."

The program is already garnering support in some sectors, said Don Omura, executive vice president of Pacific Operations for Total Resource Management Inc., a consulting company.

"We are interested in the services. It's about as real a kind of help as I've seen in a long time," Omura said, adding he will likely decide by next month whether or not to sign a contract with USgTEC.

"We have projects in Singapore now, but we don't have a nexus there," he said.