Hawaii proving it can compete in business world

Henk Rogers’ lawyer told him he’d be crazy not to set up his mobile game company in Hawaii. So he tried it.

Nearly four years later, his Honolulu studio buzzes with some 50 programmers, designers and testers making games played by millions of mobile phone owners around the world.

In April, Rogers sold Blue Lava Wireless to JAMDAT Mobile Inc. of Los Angeles for $137 million. And he extracted a promise from the mainland company not to move the unit from the islands.

"We in Hawaii want to prove ourselves to the rest of the world that we are just as good as they are," Rogers said. "We’re going to go out there and kick butt. We did, we have, and we’re still doing it."

Hawaii, a state more famous for its languid tropical climate than its robust business climate, is quietly nurturing a bevy of businesses like Rogers’. The 50th state can thank generous tax credits for high-technology investment and a senior senator in Washington, D.C., whose political muscles bring home research and development contracts.

Statistics measuring the growth of the high-technology sector in Hawaii are scarce. But the anecdotal evidence is mounting.

By Audrey McAvoy
Associated Press

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