Ukrainian Trade Group May Open O.C. Chapter
The Ukrainian American Chamber of Commerce, a trade group created by the Ukrainian government to foster business ties with the United States, plans to establish a Southern California chapter next month--most likely in Orange County.
A delegation representing the Ukraine’s public and private sectors visited Orange County this week on a trip to finalize details of the new chapter, to be located either here or in Los Angeles County.
But Thomas J. Bois II, a partner at the Irvine law firm of Meserve, Mumper & Hughes, which is working with the chamber, said he believes that the office will be in Orange County, where the Ukrainian delegation already is negotiating with several companies for joint business ventures.
“The bulk of their initial business will be derived from Orange County companies. As a result of this, the chapter will likely be based in this county,” Bois said in an interview Friday.
The trip has already resulted in a plan for the new chamber group to lead three Southern California trade missions to Kiev in the next two months, he said. The first delegation of Southland executives is scheduled to leave in late June.
Meserve, Mumper is assisting the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian American Chamber in locating and negotiating with potential Southern California joint venture partners. The chamber’s U.S. headquarters is in Norwalk, Conn.
The Ukraine is seeking U.S. companies to help convert its large military industry to commercial and consumer goods production. Ukrainian officials are also searching for partners in the areas of processing, preserving and packaging agricultural products and for firms to help the government clean up toxic waste.
Michael N. Bayraka, a chamber delegate and member of the Ukrainian Parliament, said his government has passed new laws to privatize state enterprises since the republic established its independence from the former Soviet Union last December.
Laws protecting foreign investors--including one allowing foreign joint ventures to remain tax exempt for five years after becoming profitable--were enacted earlier this month, he said. One company that has initiated discussions of a possible joint venture is Bridgford Foods Corp. in Anaheim..
The Ukraine was the breadbasket of the former Soviet Union. Its agricultural products--mainly wheat, potatoes and livestock--accounted for at least 25% of the Soviet Union’s agricultural supply.
It also produces gold, silver and titanium, all important to the high-tech industry.
Ukrainian officials believe they can attract U.S. joint venture partners because of the diversity of their country’s economy and because, with a literacy rate among the highest in the region, the Ukraine can provide a high-quality, readily trainable work force.
