News from Finnish American Chamber of Commerce

Finnish American Chamber of Commerce Newsletter

February 2012

Issue 2 Volume 3

Greetings!

still few more days to register to the Tax & Investors Seminar held at the beautiful, exclusive Phillips Point.

We are also happy to announce that Dr. Dan Steinbock from Finland will be one of the keynote speakers at the Palm Beach Strategy Forum in April. Stay tuned for more details on our next newsletter.

At your service,

FACC-FL board

February 17th 2012

TAX & INVESTOR SEMINAR

Now you have an first hand opportunity to learn about Valuable Tax Facts for International Investors, U.S-Finland Tax Treaty, Business Visas, Immigration Policies and Investment Opportunities in S.Florida.

If you are interested in moving your operations to Florida or perhaps looking for partners in the respective fields, this is for you.

Place: Phillips Point by The Breakers, West Palm Beach, FL

Time:12 Noon till 3 p.m.

Price: $55.00 Member / 60$ non -member

Speakers:

Her Excellency Ambassador Ritva Koukku-Ronde, the Finnish Embassy, Washington D.C.

Martin Cass, international tax expert from Alpern Rosenthal

Harry Polatsek, an experience immigration lawyer from Polatsek Law Firm

Gary Hines from the Palm Beach Business Development Board.

Registration and Payment: Call: 561-582-2335 or e-mail: info@facc-fl.com. Non-refundable payment must be received by Feb. 13nd. Price include full buffet style lunch.

Join FACC-FL!

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News from Palm Beach News from Miami

Enterprise Florida

Economic news from Florida

RECORD YEAR FOR MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Miami International Airport reached a new all-time high for annual passenger traffic in 2011, with 38.3 million passengers - up 7.3 percent from the previous year, according to recently released statistics from the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

International passengers led the way, up 9 percent to 18.4 million travelers, while domestic passengers rose 5.8 percent to nearly 19.9 million, a news release said.

THE NEW PALM BEACH COUNTY CULTURAL COUNCIL OPENED IT'S DOORS IN LAKE WORTH

The sleek, modern-stype building opened in 1940 in heart of Lake Worth as the Lake Worth Theatre and has since been used as disco, restaurant and several art galleries and now as the headquarters for the Palm Beach Cultural Council. The entrance of the building serves as an arts information hub, and it will host events such as art exhibitions, concerts and plays. Building is open from 10a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

The LW CRA contributed $700,000 toward the $1.5 million renovation as part of the agency's plan to brand the city as an arts destination. Full story here.

COMPLYING WITH U.S. EXPORT CONTROLS

February 15-16, 2012

Orlando, Florida

This two-day seminar is led by the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) professional counseling staff and provides an in-depth examination of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The program will cover the information exporters need to know to comply with U.S. export control requirements on commercial goods. BIS will focus on the items and activities that are subject to the EAR; steps to take to determine the export licensing requirements for your item; how to determine your export control classification. Registerhere.

News from Finland

INTRODUCING FINLAND's 12th PRESIDENT

Finnish voters have elected Sauli Niinistö from the moderate conservative National Coalition Party as the nation's 12th president in a decisive second round on Sunday. The 63-year-old former finance minister defeated the Green's Pekka Haavisto by 62.6 percent to 37.4 percent. read more

WHAT DOES FINNISH HIGH-TECH COMPANY HAS TO DO WITH REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE?

ZEF Solutions has created an online application that helps American voters to choose their candidates in the GOP 2012 presidential primaries. This is the first time that Finnish company has introduced an online tool to assist U.S. voters. Test it here.

TEAM FINLAND TO PROMOTE FINLAND'S FINANCIAL INTERESTS AND INTERNATIONALIZATION OF BUSINESSES

The current way of handling Finland's external economic relations and the internationalisation of businesses is siloed and fragmented, says the working group chaired by Matti Alahuhta, President and CEO of Kone Corporation. The group presented its final report today to Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Minister of Economic Affairs Jyri Häkämies and Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb at the launch held at Finlandia Hall. The core idea in the report is that the promotion Finland's economic external relations and internationalisation call for reform. The group proposes forming a network-like structure operating both at home and abroad, which is implemented by developing existing resources and focusing them better. Finncham network is a key business partner in the new Team Finland concept. Read the full report here.

FACC-FL upcoming program for 2012

FEBRUARY 18th-19th

FINLANDIA DAYS

FACC is participating with a booth at the 27th Annual Finlandia Days festivals. The festival is to promote Finnish culture in South Florida. Please come and visit us at the "Tori" Marketplace. More information about the event can be found at the link below.

www.finlandiadays.com

Looking for members who want to volunteer their time at the boot on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th.

Please call 561-582 2335 to volunteer! Hope to see you there.

APRIL, 16-17th

Palm Beach Strategic Forum.

The Palm Beach Strategic Forum is presented by the International Economic Forum of the Americas. Its mission is to address the major governance challenges of the new world economic order, focusing on the central role of the Americas and in the global market.

The objective of the Palm Beach Strategic Forum is to foster a better understanding of opportunities and challenges at stake for the Americas in the Global Market. The Forum also seeks to provide a platform for business meetings in a broad spectrum of sectors, including banking and finance, and to foster economic development

FACC is happy to announce that Dr. Dan Steinbock, a Research Director, India China and America Institute (USA), Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China), EU Center (Singalore) will be one of the keynote speakers at the event among many other highly credit speakers.

More information on our March Newsletter on how you may get a change to meet Dr. Steinbock. Stay tuned.

More information about the event and registration at

http://pbstrategicforum.com/

Email us at info@facc-fl.com for more information.

If you are not a member yet, check out our new website for benefits and join our growing group!!

We hope you find this newsletter useful and we love to get feedback and suggestions how we can make it better. We also have many volunteer opportunities within the chamber so let us know how you want to be involved.

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Sincerely,

Lena Hartikainen
Finnish American Chamber of Commerce