Rockville conference draws executives from around the world

When he began his career in this country in the late 1980s, real estate was slow. ‘‘So, I went East” in 1990, back to Myanmar, as it had by then become more open to foreign businesses, he said.

Now he’s directing projects of Soe Lin & Associates Architects in Asia, Europe and America from company headquarters in Bethesda and offices in Singapore and Germany.

‘‘I like to double dip in the two markets,” said Soe Lin, who is also building hotel resorts in Myanmar.

Soe Lin was among the roughly 300 people attending the third annual Asian American Business Conference Oct. 16 in Rockville, many of whom shared tips and experiences in conducting East-West businesses.

The conference series began in 2005 as mainly a Chinese-American business gathering because of that community’s significant presence in Montgomery County, said Sally Sternbach, executive director of the Rockville Economic Development Inc., a sponsor.

This year’s conference, however, drew business leaders with roots across Asia, from the Philippines to Israel, as organizers made an effort to include nationalities that were not well-represented last year. Financial adviser Robert Manankil of Smith Barney reached out to his Filipino-American community, some 22,000 strong in Maryland, to bolster its attendance.

Global designs

With the ongoing political crisis in Myanmar, the story of Soe Lin’s company was perhaps the most poignant at the conference. The military government’s crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations has slowed his firm’s renovations of city hall in Yangon — formerly Rangoon — a building designed by his grandfather.

He and a panel of real estate leaders with Asian roots epitomized an oft-repeated message at the conference: Be persistent in your business niche.

W.D. ‘‘Denny” Minami, president of Billy Casper Golf in Vienna, Va., said that after earning his master’s in business administration at the University of Chicago in the 1980s, he felt the reality of being a minority in business.

‘‘Then, I had to learn what I am good at doing. And I really like real estate,” he said, while advising younger entrepreneurs to start with networking with family and friends in their own communities.

While real estate opportunities drew attention, promoting East-West high-technology businesses was a more dominant theme of the conference. The Monte Jade Science & Technology Association of Greater Washington, D.C., Area was the conference co-host. The organization is named for the highest mountain peak in Taiwan.

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said his recent trade mission to Israel resulted in proposals now on his desk from several new Israeli companies to locate in the county. He said the effort’s first goal is to sustain Montgomery County’s existing 20 Israeli companies.

‘‘I believe strongly in this mission to make every segment of our county have the opportunity to own and operate a business,” said Leggett, who also recently met with the Chinese ambassador to the United States. ‘‘You can’t just sit on your laurels” when it comes to competing for international business.

There are 11,000 Montgomery County businesses owned by Asian-Americans, Leggett said, the most of any county in the state.

Business with China risky

Doing business with China carries risk, cautioned Edward F. Schiff, managing partner with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in Washington. Schiff discussed China’s transition from a planned economy to more of a market-oriented one.

‘‘A substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the [government],” Schiff said, adding that the government continues to play a big role in imposing industrial policies to regulate development. The government limits or bars foreign investments in some industries and limits investments by Chinese companies outside overseas.

China especially restricts financial services, aviation and media, said Mark Spradley, owner of private equity firm Mazao LLC of Chevy Chase. Spradley, who did not attend the conference, told The Gazette that China ‘‘is an exciting place to do business and the opportunities are more numerous than can be imagined in the sense that there is a value placed on American ingenuity and our ability to structure deals.”

The conference featured keynote speakers Norman Mineta, former secretary of both commerce and transportation, and M.K. Kim, chairman and CEO of SMI Hyundai.

One of the conference organizers, Ying Chen, a Realtor with Long and Foster, said partnering with the Monte Jade group this year was a conscious effort to focus on the technology sector, but that next year’s conference may focus on the financial sector.

Besides the Rockville development group, the conference was sponsored by the state Department of Business and Economic Development, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development, Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce and PNC and HSBC banks, as well as several other companies.

Another goal of the conference was to bridge the language and cultural differences that can sometimes be obstacles for the Asian-American business community, said conference co-chairman Warren N. Minami, a member of the Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.

This report originally appeared in The Business Gazette.