MAYOR VOWING PAYOFF IN TRADE BENEFIT TO VALLEY SEEN IN ASIAN TRIP.

Byline: TONY CASTRO Staff Writer

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promised Tuesday to deliver substantial gains in tourism, investments, entertainment business and fashion trade from his upcoming 16-day, $500,000 Asian trip.

``I want to get the biggest bang for our buck, and I'm focused on real deliverables,'' Villaraigosa told Daily News editors and reporters in a meeting advancing his trip to China, South Korea and Japan that will begin Sunday.

As he prepares for his first international trade mission, Villaraigosa was getting positive reviews from local business leaders who are also looking forward to expanding trade with the Far East.

``It's a great opportunity for Los Angeles and businesses in the San Fernando Valley,'' said Brendan Huffman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, which will send former VICA Chairman David Fleming as part of the mayor's delegation.

``We continue to complement the mayor's effort to bring new business to Los Angeles and the Valley. New business means more jobs for Valley residents.''

Villaraigosa will be joined by some 50 business and civic leaders -- what he called ``a delegation that looks like L.A. and represents L.A.'s diverse business community'' -- in a trip he portrayed as an economic blitz of the Far East.

Asia is already the city's largest trading partner but there is room for growth, the mayor said.

``Trade, trade, trade, trade, trade,'' a visibly charged Villaraigosa said at one point, emphasizing each word by pounding his palms on a conference table. ``One hundred and twenty billion dollars of (Asian) goods pass through our port, and we want to increase that.''

Although he refused to specify any of the trade deals he expects to hammer out during the trip, the mayor did promise ``to come back with a lot of money and investments,'' as well as mining new relationships for future business.

Villaraigosa said future growth of the city's international trade with Asia and other countries -- he noted the economic potential of Europe and India -- depends on maximizing L.A.'s potential, as well as making it ``green,'' underscoring the city's environmental concerns both locally and worldwide.

He said these were the same points he emphasized during his visit last week to London and Manchester, England, at the invitation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

As he did in England, Villaraigosa will be using the Asian trip to promote Los Angeles' campaign for the 2016 Olympics, which the mayor said a recent survey found is a goal supported by 88 percent of the city's residents.

``I am extremely focused,'' he said, ``on bringing the Olympics to L.A.''

Villaraigosa will be joined on his Asian trip by City Councilmen Dennis Zine, Jack Weiss and Jose Huizar, as well as seven aides from the mayor's staff.

The estimated $500,000 cost for the mayor and other officials will be paid by the city's Port and Airports departments and L.A. Inc., its convention and visitors bureau.

The mayor will be joined in each country by 15 to 17 members of the Los Angeles delegation, with some dropping out after China and others joining him along the way.

tony.castro(at)dailynews.com

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