Governor Beshear is reaching out to company and government officials in three Asian countries this week. The governor was in Singapore Wednesday and heads next to Japan. He and his team also made a stop in Taiwan.
State Cabinet for Economic Development Spokesman Joe Hall says more than 170 Asian owned facilities are already found in Kentucky.
"So, that bond is already there. However, there is more opportunity," Hall adds. "These economies are growing quickly. These are some of the biggest businesses in the world and when they want to expand, we want them to consider Kentucky."
Over the past five years, Japanese companies alone have made investments in Kentucky facilities totaling more than two billion. That's expected to result in almost six thousand jobs.