Here is some news about a recent trade mission to Latin America that Mr. Gilmartin, the CEO of Merck, went on with the US Secretary of Commerce. Thought you might be also interested in this little startup called ProNetLink.com that was along on the trip....
Wednesday March 8, 9:53 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
ProNetLink.com Recap of Latin America Trade Mission
Company Travels to Brazil, Argentina and Chile with US Department of Commerce Secretary William Daley for High Level Business Development Meetings
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2000-- ProNetLink.com (OTC Bulletin Board: PNLK - news), the Global Trade Internetwork(TM), recently completed a Latin American Trade Mission lead by US Secretary of Commerce Mr. William Daley. The purpose of this trade mission was to develop and increase international trade for U.S. Companies in foreign markets. ProNetLink.com has the distinction of being the first ``Dot Com' company ever invited on a Presidential Trade Mission. The following is a report from ProNetLink.com Chairman Mr. Glenn Zagoren, who was invited to participate in the mission.
Barriers to the free flow of goods and services in the international market place are being rapidly dismantled and ProNetLink.com's mission is to simplify the international trade process for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) through e-commerce and Internet programming. The company brings B2B trade solutions to SME's through its Global Trade Internetwork (TM), which includes services such as procurement, cargo and credit insurance, trade financing, logistics, shipping, compliance, regulations and export-import trade documentation. ProNetLink.com has been building its network through high-level government meetings and alliances that are critical to the processing of timely trade information.
During the last 18 months, ProNetLink.com has participated in trade missions and/or US Commercial Service programs that have introduced the company to government trade representatives and business contacts in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, UAE, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil and China. In addition, ProNetLink.com, along with the U.S Department of Commerce, made a successful presentation to the delegates of the United Nations in New York on the effect of the Internet on Global Trade.
Latin America Trade Mission Report:
The trade mission visited Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Santiago from February 13-18, 2000. The overall focus of the trip was to develop commercial opportunities for U.S. companies, including joint ventures, presented by the continuing market liberalization and privatizations occurring within Mercosur, the world's third largest trade bloc.
The business delegation represented several sectors of the U.S. business community, including telecommunications and information technology, energy, environmental technologies, e-commerce, and pharmaceuticals. In addition to the U.S. Department of Commerce there were representatives from the U.S. Government trade community, including the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), EXIM Bank, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA).
The DOC staff included William Daley, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Ellen Bloom, Dep. Chief of Staff; Edward Prewitt, Dep. Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs; Regina Vargo, Dep. Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere; Lucie Naphin, Director of the Office of Business Liasons.
Interagency staff included Al Angulo, TDA; Dorian Vanessa Weaver, Board of Directors, EXIM Bank; Vasilios Giannopoulos, EXIM Bank.
Business delegates invited on the mission included: Mr. Charles Herington, Chief Executive Officer, AOL Latin America (NYSE:AOL - news); Ambassador Cresencio S. Arcos, Jr., Regional Vice President, International Public Affairs, AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news); Mr. Earle Mauldin, Vice Chairman, BellSouth Corporation (NYSE:BLS - news); Mr. Ian K. Miller, President, Energy Industries Group, EDS Corporation, Inc. (NYSE:EDS - news); Mr. Terence H. Thorn, Executive Vice President, Enron Corp. (NYSE:ENE - news); Mr. Ronald T. Covais, Regional President, The Americas, Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT - news); Mr. Raymond V. Gilmartin, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Merck & Co., Inc.(NYSE:MRK - news); Mr. Glenn Zagoren, Chairman, ProNetLink.com (OTC:PNLK - news; partial list, for full list see www.doc.gov)
The following is an excerpt from Secretary Daley's speech in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
``I brought along 19 companies that would like to see even more trade between our nations. Large companies like AT&T that does $2.7 billion in business in Latin America. CMS Energy that built a 600- mile natural gas pipeline from northern Argentina to Chile. EDS, that manages the information technology needs of several companies in Buenos Aires. Lockheed-Martin that took over a state-owned aviation facility a few years ago, and now has 1,000 employees in Cordoba, modernizing and maintaining aircraft. And with us are smaller companies, also. Like ProNetLink.com. This is a start-up that provides trade leads via the Internet linking suppliers to buyers and already has customers in more than 100 countries.'
During the mission ProNetLink.com had the opportunity to meet and present the ProNetLink.com mission statement to the following officials:
Brasilia:
President Fernando Henrique Cardosa
Marcos Caramuru, Ministry of Finance
Alcide Tapais, Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce
Felipe Lampreia, Minister of External Affairs
Lytha Battison Spindola, Secretary of Foreign Commerce
Brazilian businesses and trade associations
Sao Paulo:
US Ambassador Harrington
Hon. Mario Covas, Governor of Sao Paulo
The Sao Paulo Federation of Industry
Bueno Aires
President Fernando De la Rua
Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini, Minister of Foreign Relations
Amb. Horacio A. Chighizola, Secretary of International Economic Affairs
Dante Caputo, Secretary of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation
Argentine businesses and trade associations
Cordoba
Governor de la Soto
Mayor Kammerath
Argentine businesses and trade associations
Santiago
Vice President Raul Troncoso
Mariano Fernandez, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nicolas Eyzaguirre, Minister of Finance
Jaunita Gana, Minister of Transport and Telecom
Juan Manuel Cruz, Minister of Economy
Maria Eugenia Wagner, Undersecretary of Finance
Chilean businesses and trade associations
ProNetLink.com established relationships in each market that will assist in providing the information and content needed to support multilateral SME trade programs. In addition to meetings with officials and associations, the company had the opportunity to meet a number of substantial firms interested in representing ProNetLink.com's sales efforts within each country. ProNetLink.com will immediately begin to integrate these new resources into its site.
About ProNetLink.com
ProNetLink.com, The Global Trade Internetwork, is a comprehensive business-to-business E-commerce portal designed specifically for the international trade community. In addition to locating potential markets and trade partners, ProNetLink.com users may conduct business functions online, participate in live trade event netcasts, communicate in real-time with trading partners and receive the critical information and resources necessary for the continued growth of their businesses.
ProNetLink.com has established strategic alliances with key international companies to facilitate the e-commerce model of the site. Some of these alliances include; UPS, Dun & Bradstreet, AT&T, Aon Insurance, Dow Jones News Service, E-Credit, Actrade, Unz & Co., SWBC International, BTS Translations Services, Amazon.com, The Journal of Commerce, The US Chamber of Commerce and others. ProNetLink is working with trade organizations, Chambers of Commerce and Governments from around the world
ProNetLink.com offers a procurement directory of over 3.2 million companies from 122 countries. It receives over 30,000 trade leads per month from around the world and offers over 5,000 international freight forwarders online. Currently the site receives over 62,000 business user sessions per month from 106 countries.
ProNetLink.com also features PNL-TV, the Internet's first trade news broadcast network. PNL-TV broadcasts a live newscast Monday through Friday at 11:00 a.m. EST featuring current global trade issues, interviews with government and international business leaders and reports from correspondents from around the world. PNL-TV can be accessed through the ProNetLink.com home page or by visiting www.PNLTV.com.
Headquartered in New York City, ProNetLink.com maintains sales offices throughout the world. For more information, please contact ProNetLink.com at (212) 688-8838, email: info@pronetlink.com. ProNetLink can be reached online at pronetlink.com.
ProNetLink.com is publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange OTC Bulletin Board: PNLK (PNLK.OB).
The ProNetLink.com logo and Global Trade Internetwork are trademarks of ProNetLink, Corp.
This release contains, in addition to historical information, forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which reflect ProNetLink.com's current judgments of those issues. However, because those statements are forward-looking and apply to future events, they are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could case the Company's results to differ materially. |
