The proposal by NewMarket Technology Inc. of Dallas surfaced yesterday during a presentation to a select group of companies in Beijing. The plan is still preliminary, with the location and roll-out timeframe for the Chinese Consumer Market Commerce Center still part of the unknown, Richard Lutz, NewMarket's investor relations director, tells GlobeSt.com.

What is known is "a lot of manufacturers want to break into the US market and just don't know how," Lutz says, adding the team had been "exploring" New Orleans for investment when the idea started to gel. Lutz says the ground-up project will be a cultural and marketing B2B portal, which could include showrooms and call center components. He says the commerce center is aimed at creating "a two-way street" for trading with a bricks-and-mortar presence on US soil as an entry portal for Chinese firms.

NewMarket as a minority partner for the project yesterday launched NewMarket China Inc. on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board, opening the door for the center to be a US corporation. NewMarket touts itself a pioneer in financing early stage business initiatives.