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April 1, 2021

Investissement Québec International Announces Hiring of New Representatives for Priority Asian Markets

In keeping with their mission to promote foreign direct investment in Québec, Investissement Québec International and its Asia-Pacific and Middle East Department are welcoming a brand-new team to be based in countries across Asia. The team will be responsible for identifying businesses looking to expand in North America and then assisting them every step of the way, from locating strategic information to setting up operations in Québec.

 

Banner with the photos of Investissement Québec's representatives in Asia

 

“We are proud to welcome these experienced, hand-picked professionals into our ranks. Attracting foreign direct investment from Asia’s most promising regions for the benefit of Québec is one of our organization’s primary objectives,” stated Hubert Bolduc Open a new window, President of Investissement Québec International.

 

Four experts are joining the organization:

 

Kevin Jo Open a new windowwill be Investissement Québec International’s representative in Korea responsible for FDI attraction. He will be stationed at the Québec Government Office in Seoul led by Geneviève Rolland Open a new window. Kevin brings more than 16 years of experience in promoting and attracting foreign direct investments, facilitating trade deals, and undertaking global sales activities between Canada and Korea. He previously served as Senior Investment Officer (2018-2021) and Trade Commissioner (2008-2018) at Global Affairs Canada, and Manager of Marketing and Business Development (2005-2008) and Investment Specialist (2004-2005) at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Considered one of the top veterans in attracting FDI from Korea to Canada, Kevin is in an excellent position to help strengthen Québec's visibility in this very promising market.

 

Akira Yamaguchi Open a new windowhas been appointed as Investissement Québec International’s next representative in Japan dedicated to attracting Japanese investment to the province of Québec. She will be based at the Québec Government Office in Tokyo led by David Brulotte Open a new window. Fluently trilingual in English, French and Japanese, Akira brings over 15 years of experience in international business development in France, Québec and Japan. Her in-depth knowledge of the Japanese market and the Québec-Japan business cultures, combined with her vast network in high-growth sectors such as animation and video games, make Akira well positioned to help Investissement Québec International achieve greater success in the Japanese market. Akira will start on April 6 to ensure a transition with Mohan Patel, who plans to take gradual retirement later this year.

 

Johnny Tan Open a new windowwill be Investissement Québec International’s representative in Singapore, focusing on attracting foreign direct investment from the ASEAN countries and other important markets in the Asia Pacific regions, such as Australia. He will be stationed at the Québec Government Office in Singapore led by René Sylvestre Open a new window. Johnny was most recently the Director of the Asia-Pacific team at Toronto Global, where he built and led the APAC team with a prioritized approach to key markets including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India. Prior to joining Toronto Global, Johnny was the Business Development Team Lead at the Toronto office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), leading bilateral trade and investment projects between Canada and Japan across various key sectors.

 

Rachel Yin Open a new windowhas over 13 years of overseas investment and trade experience. Previously as Director of International Development at Calgary Economic Development (CED), Rachel developed and implemented the “Asia Strategy”. She had successfully attracted international companies to locate in Canada while assisting Canadian companies enter the Asian markets. Rachel joined Investissement Québec in August 2020 as Project Director, Asia-Pacific and Middle East. In February 2021, she was appointed as Director, Business Development, Asia-Pacific. Based in Montreal, Rachel promotes Quebec as a global investment destination with the goal of attracting Asia-Pacific businesses to locate in the province while supporting their establishment and expansion efforts in Quebec.

 

“The addition of these four colleagues strengthens the existing Asia-Pacific and Middle East Department within Investissement Québec International Foreign Direct Investments, which includes our China Representative Lingshi Meng Open a new window, and the team based in Montréal, André-Philippe Chenail Open a new windowand Ibtissam Boulkerch Open a new window. This newly restructured team led by Claire Yu Open a new windowand Louise Thiboutot Open a new window, is entirely dedicated to supporting international companies with their Greenfield investment and re-investment plans in Québec, working in close collaboration with various stakeholders at home and abroad,” said Daniel Silverman Open a new window, Vice President, Foreign Direct Investment at Investissement Québec International.

 

In cooperation with its partners, Investissement Québec International offers investors a full complement of support services and the strategic intelligence they need to evaluate and carry out their projects: data on specific industries, potential business and expansion sites, specialized labour, taxation and financial assistance, etc. For more information or to contact the designated representatives for specific regions, visit www.investquebec.com/international/en

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