Economic council fires leader

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

TANONAKA

At its 36th general meeting in Seoul, South Korea this week, PBEC's board delayed a final decision on whether to move the headquarters to Singapore, Hong Kong or elsewhere.

Leading up to the meeting, Tanonaka, 49, had been vocal in his support of Honolulu as the headquarters. The board wanted the president to remain neutral on the issue, Tanonaka said.

"That was one of the reasons that was cited," said Tanonaka, a former news anchor and one-time Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. "The board voted, and I lost."

The annual $100,000 in rent for the group's Fort Street offices was one reason it had been looking at alternative sites, Tanonaka said. Both Singapore and Hong Kong were pitching subsidies to land the five-person PBEC headquarters.

In a bid to keep the headquarters in Hawai'i, leaders for the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and the East-West Center met with PBEC officials in Seoul.

"They had not expected at all for Hawai'i to make a play to keep it," said Ted Liu, DBEDT's director. "The fact that we were there really struck them."

Among the incentives discussed was an offer to help recruit additional members for the group's Hawai'i chapter and to foster collaboration with other regional policy and analysis groups such as the East-West Center. If PBEC stays in Hawai'i, the plan is to move its offices to the East-West Center's fourth floor, where it would pay a discounted rent.

Liu said he was pleased the group delayed a decision on moving its headquarters. He said he wasn't told when the decision would be made.

PBEC has about 1,000 members, all of which are corporate executives. Tanonaka said PBEC could be an important resource for businesses looking for contacts in the Pacific Rim. That opportunity would be lost if its offices were to leave the state, he said. It has been based in Honolulu since 1992.

"These guys that are in this, many are major players in the region and the world," said Tanonaka, who took the job as president last year after failing to win the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.

"If they close the door, the door will be closed and there's a 99.89 percent chance it ain't coming back."

Tanonaka said he wasn't sure what he will do next but wasn't bitter about the loss of his job because he's now free to be an advocate for Hawai'i as a business destination.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.