The Atlanta Christkindl Market is mainly a cultural endeavor, a monthlong display of German culture that warms the hearts of expatriates and introduces locals to the country’s traditions. But given the importance of German investment in the state of Georgia, it’s fast becoming an asset for winning and keeping investment and trade — or at least Read more
Economic Development
Hapag-Lloyd Deal Reveals Georgia’s New Openness to Foreign Mergers
German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd’s plan to hire more than 360 new people at a Gwinnett customer service center may seem like a standard foreign investment, but a deeper look shows it results in part from a shift in approach toward mergers and acquisitions in Georgia. The deal is the latest and perhaps one of the most Read more
Exporter GF Health Invests $10M in Gwinnett Headquarters Expansion
GF Health Products Inc., a medical equipment supplier that has stayed competitive via exports and domestic manufacturing, opened a new headquarters Monday that represents a $10 million investment and 20 new jobs in Gwinnett County. The nearly 119,000-square-foot facility sits on 7.45 acres and is to house about a third of the company’s overall 325 Read more
China Expert’s Kiwanis Address Sounds Alarm for U.S. Tech Companies
China’s ambitions to enter new markets and expand its presence globally were stoked with its admission to the World Trade Organization on Dec. 11, 2001, Dr. Lora Saalman said at the weekly luncheon of the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, coincidently on Dec. 11 at the Loudermilk Conference Center downtown. Billed as a routine address on Read more
A Toast to an Active 2019 Highlights Japan Emperor’s Birthday Party in Atlanta
The celebration of the birthday of Emperor Akihito this year held at the official residence in Atlanta of Japan‘s consul general on the evening of Dec. 4 marked the passing of an era due to the emperor’s pending abdication from the Chrysanthemum throne next year. Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30 having Read more
Georgia Finds Silver Lining as Trade War Casts Pall Over U.S.-China Ties
China and the U.S. may have temporarily averted the most drastic escalation yet in their ongoing trade war, but their broader dispute has already soured other aspects of a relationship that is trying to find its footing. That’s the assessment of experts and business leaders convened at the Metro Atlanta Chamber for the Georgia State Read more
Q&A: Can a New Chamber Deepen Atlanta’s India Outreach?
Editor’s note: Atlanta has long benefited from an active, prosperous community of Indian-origin immigrants that some estimate to number more than 100,000. Many metro companies have deep operations in India, and the city has been the venue for billions of dollars in Indian-backed acquisitions. Indian tech giants like Wipro and Tech Mahindra employ thousands of Atlantans and Read more
Benelux Benefits: European Ambassadors Tout Integration Over Trade Barriers
The ambassadors of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg argued from experience Monday for the virtues of integrated economies while expressing concern that the bonds holding the global trading system together are weakening. The Benelux envoys chose Atlanta for what will be their only joint appearance outside the Beltway to mark 60 years since they created a model Read more
SK Innovation to Invest $1.67B in Georgia as Threat of Auto Tariffs Looms
Georgia’s recruitment of its single largest foreign investment project last week, a $1.67 billion commitment from a Korean manufacturer of hybrid electric vehicle batteries, may have President Trump to thank — indirectly anyway. SK Innovation didn’t mention tariffs when announcing the deal, instead pointing to aggressive plans to increase global battery production capacity more than tenfold from Read more
Metro Chamber Annual Meeting: Workforce Key to City’s Global Growth, Local Prosperity
If there’s one word beyond all the sloganeering that defined the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s annual meeting Thursday, it might be “mirror.” Representatives of a range of companies, from BlackRock to Pandora, intimated on stage that they located in Atlanta partly because it’s an emerging tech hub, but mostly because they could see their culture and Read more
