Singapore dignitaries visit Hoke ethanol plant

DUNDARRACH - The largest ethanol plant on the East Coast, and North Carolina's first, played host Monday to international guests.

Singapore's Ambassador to the United States, Chan Heng Chee, began a three-day visit to the state's 8th Congressional District as she looked for possible investment opportunities for her country.

Chan accepted an invitation to tour businesses and industry across the region from U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, a Biscoe Democrat who represents the district and is up for re-election this fall against Republican challenger Harold Johnson of Charlotte.

Kissell called Chan's visit a reverse trade mission, meaning he wants other nations to see what kind of investment opportunities there are in the United States.

"We need people to buy American to help get our manufacturing segment growing again," Kissell said.

Chan visited a group of soldiers from Singapore who are training alongside U.S. soldiers at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center on Fort Bragg before she headed to Hoke County to visit the ethanol plant.

Chan said the economy in Singapore and in Southeast Asia in general has started to grow again as consumer confidence has returned.

Singapore is a small island nation of about 5 million people that is tucked under Malaysia.

Ties between the U.S. and Singapore have strengthened since 1996, when Chan was appointed ambassador to the U.S.

In May 2003, Singapore and the U.S. signed the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement that the U.S. has entered into with an East Asian country.

"We are the gateway to Southeast Asia," Chan said. "And with our limited amount of space we're very interested in clean and other renewable forms of energy."

The ethanol plant, operated by Clean Burn Fuels, LLC, started operating Aug. 13 and is capable of producing 60 million gallons of ethanol per year, according to general manager Doug Archer.

North Carolina is already home to six companies based in Singapore, Chan said. She plans to visit Charlotte this week, as the Queen City and Singapore are major financial centers.

"We're very interested to see what kind of wealth management opportunities there are," Chan said, highlighting her nation's growing middle class population.

When Congress returns for its fall session, Kissell said he wants the Senate to pass a small business bill the House has already passed and the president supports.

If passed, the bill would help small businesses create jobs through tax cuts and a $30 billion lending initiative.

"We are not going to get this economy going again until we get the needed capital to those small businesses," Kissell said.

Chan put it in more simple terms of why her government wants the U.S. economy to bounce back.

"We want to see what the U.S. can sell to us," she said.

source: fayobserver