Business, Transportation & Housing Agency

News and Press Releases - 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 29, 2008

Contacts:
Mike Bowman
(916) 323-5416

CALIFORNIA SELECTED AS PARTNER STATE FOR CeBIT 2009
California’s Selection Marks First Time a State, Not a Country, Will Serve as Partner

(Long Beach, CA) – CeBIT, the world’s leading trade fair for digital business solutions and information and communications technology (ICT), has announced that the State of California has been selected the Partner State for next year’s event, which will run 3–8 March 2009 at the Hannover Fairgrounds in Hannover, Germany. The invitation to participate as partner was issued by CeBIT organizer Deutsche Messe AG and BITKOM (German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media); and accepted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

California’s selection marks the first time that a state, not a country, will serve as partner at CeBIT. CeBIT 2008 featured 67 exhibiting companies from California as well as other California companies that registered through their international subsidiaries. California’s participation at CeBIT 2009 will spotlight the state’s innovative ICT technologies in several key industries, including: entertainment, Internet-based services, TeleHealth, security, consumer electronics, digital content generation and distribution, aerospace, and research and technology. Additionally, California will feature its Green IT initiatives.

Dale E. Bonner, Secretary of California’s Business, Transportation & Housing Agency, said,“California is not only one of the world’s ten largest economies, it is also a major source of information and communications technology and venture capital. We are honored to be the official 2009 partner state and look forward to demonstrating how ‘California’ is synonymous with technology innovation and thus a perfect fit for CeBIT.”

According to a recent American Electronics Association (AeA) study, California's high-tech industry added 21,400 net jobs – a two percent increase – for a tech industry total of 940,700 in 2006, the most current state data available. The report also indicated that California continues to lead the nation by most high-tech industry metrics, and that venture capital investments increased eight percent to $13.8 billion in 2007, accounting for 47 percent of all venture capital in the country.

BITKOM President Prof. Dr. August-Wilhelm Scheer said that California’s regional economic policy sets an example for Germany, stating, “California has kept Silicon Valley – which continues to be the cradle for technologies that change our lives – highly innovative. Just think about companies like Google or Facebook in the age of web 2.0. California instills a spirit, an entrepreneurial drive that enables one to found a company in a garage and rise to be a billionaire.” California also
represents a huge opportunity for the German IT industry, according to Scheer, who said that Germany can improve cooperation between research and business by following California’s example.

Ernst Raue, the Deutsche Messe AG board member responsible for CeBIT, said, “California’s program at CeBIT next year will consist of exhibits, forums and special presentations that will place California companies on the global stage as never before”. Additionally, Raue stated, “CeBIT provides California companies an excellent platform to export their products in a Euro-strong environment, which will create new business and economic development opportunities.” Partner State California at CeBIT 2009 will be organized jointly by Deutsche Messe AG and its U.S. subsidiary, Hannover Fairs USA, Inc.; the U.S. Department of Commerce; the Office of the Governor of California; the California Business, Transportation & Housing Agency; and BITKOM.

About CeBIT

CeBIT is the number 1 marketplace for digital solutions and most influential international information and communications technology (ICT) event. CeBIT 2008 attracted 495,000 attendees, 5,800 exhibitors and 7,000 press/media from over 77 countries. CeBIT 2009 will take place March 3–8 in Hannover, Germany, and will highlight several key sectors, including: IT
infrastructure, business solutions, communications, Internet and mobile solutions, consumer electronics, content and multi-channel content distribution, telematics & navigation, automotive solutions, TeleHealth and eHealth, banking and finance, Future Parc, eGovernment, Public Sector Parc, and Planet Reseller. Visit www.cebit.com for more information about CeBIT.

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