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Investment roadshow
By Yang Lan Source:Global Times Published: 2015-6-7 18:38:02
Representatives from 24 economic development organizations from the US took a trip recently to eight cities in China to promote investment opportunities with local businesses and investors.
The traveling delegation, named SelectUSA Greater China Roadshow, was founded in 2011 to encourage investment opportunities and provide federal-level services to global investors. China was one of the first destinations on its worldwide itinerary, which concluded in Shanghai on May 25.
"Traditionally, investors had to travel to another country to learn about investment opportunities there. But this roadshow brings the information and opportunities to investors," Felicia Pullman, director of Outreach at SelectUSA, told the Global Times.
Making investment easier
The number of delegations currently taking part in the roadshow is larger than any other country in the world, an indication of the enthusiasm of American businesses to engage with Chinese investors.
To facilitate investment channels and provide assistance to Chinese investors, the US public sector has partnered up with its private sector to establish an Invest USA Committee in Shanghai. The committee is comprised of 120 companies, offices and agencies located in Shanghai.
"When I first started, we were trading from the US to China. Then from about 2007, we started to see a lot of Chinese companies' interest in going overseas," Paul Swenson, Chairman of Invest USA Committee Shanghai, told the Global Times.
"Now, with the work of SelectUSA and its partner agencies, the information and services are made available to Chinese investors." A total of 35 states from the US have set up representative offices in China, said Swenson, who has been working in China for over 20 years.
The United States is the world's largest recipient of foreign direct investment, with a total stock of $2.8 trillion, according to the media advisory of the Consulate General of the United States in Shanghai. The US has been ranked number one by the A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index for three straight years.
Chinese investment to the US
Chinese investment to the US has been growing at an average rate of 41.5 percent year-on-year for the past five years, faster than any other nation. The choice of locations in the US is related to each state's unique industries.
However, a majority of Chinese investment is located primarily along the East and West coasts. Investment in California, for example, focuses on real estate, software and information technology services. In the Great Lakes region of the East Coast, the auto and metal industries are core investments.
The states that have attracted the most Chinese investment are California, New York and Texas, which fits the traditional Chinese preference of following their peers rather than discovering untapped markets, which gives Chinese investors a sense of security.
"California has housed Asian culture since its establishment, and it has less language barriers than other states. That is why it has attracted so much Chinese investment," said Liang Jie, a partner at Tax and Business Advisory Services of Deloitte. "However, Texas has a strong energy sector, so it also has attracted a lot of investment."
Preparation and cooperation
As the US has recently opened new investments in gas and oil, many Chinese upstream and downstream chemical companies are moving in fast. The general assumption is that labor in the US is very expensive, but Swenson notes that the US market has broad labor resources to meet any labor rate.
Pullman says that SelectUSA's intention is to help foreign business find the needed data to make an informed investment decision, connect them to the right people at the federal and local level, and steer through the American federal regulatory system, which is consistently recognized as one of the easiest in the world to navigate.
"We have a very high level of transparency, a strong legal system, world class educational facilities, vibrant capital markets, stable government institutions, skilled labor and accessible global and regional markets," said Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
The traveling delegation, named SelectUSA Greater China Roadshow, was founded in 2011 to encourage investment opportunities and provide federal-level services to global investors. China was one of the first destinations on its worldwide itinerary, which concluded in Shanghai on May 25.
"Traditionally, investors had to travel to another country to learn about investment opportunities there. But this roadshow brings the information and opportunities to investors," Felicia Pullman, director of Outreach at SelectUSA, told the Global Times.
Making investment easier
The number of delegations currently taking part in the roadshow is larger than any other country in the world, an indication of the enthusiasm of American businesses to engage with Chinese investors.
To facilitate investment channels and provide assistance to Chinese investors, the US public sector has partnered up with its private sector to establish an Invest USA Committee in Shanghai. The committee is comprised of 120 companies, offices and agencies located in Shanghai.
"When I first started, we were trading from the US to China. Then from about 2007, we started to see a lot of Chinese companies' interest in going overseas," Paul Swenson, Chairman of Invest USA Committee Shanghai, told the Global Times.
"Now, with the work of SelectUSA and its partner agencies, the information and services are made available to Chinese investors." A total of 35 states from the US have set up representative offices in China, said Swenson, who has been working in China for over 20 years.
The United States is the world's largest recipient of foreign direct investment, with a total stock of $2.8 trillion, according to the media advisory of the Consulate General of the United States in Shanghai. The US has been ranked number one by the A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index for three straight years.
Chinese investment to the US
Chinese investment to the US has been growing at an average rate of 41.5 percent year-on-year for the past five years, faster than any other nation. The choice of locations in the US is related to each state's unique industries.
However, a majority of Chinese investment is located primarily along the East and West coasts. Investment in California, for example, focuses on real estate, software and information technology services. In the Great Lakes region of the East Coast, the auto and metal industries are core investments.
The states that have attracted the most Chinese investment are California, New York and Texas, which fits the traditional Chinese preference of following their peers rather than discovering untapped markets, which gives Chinese investors a sense of security.
"California has housed Asian culture since its establishment, and it has less language barriers than other states. That is why it has attracted so much Chinese investment," said Liang Jie, a partner at Tax and Business Advisory Services of Deloitte. "However, Texas has a strong energy sector, so it also has attracted a lot of investment."
Preparation and cooperation
As the US has recently opened new investments in gas and oil, many Chinese upstream and downstream chemical companies are moving in fast. The general assumption is that labor in the US is very expensive, but Swenson notes that the US market has broad labor resources to meet any labor rate.
Pullman says that SelectUSA's intention is to help foreign business find the needed data to make an informed investment decision, connect them to the right people at the federal and local level, and steer through the American federal regulatory system, which is consistently recognized as one of the easiest in the world to navigate.
"We have a very high level of transparency, a strong legal system, world class educational facilities, vibrant capital markets, stable government institutions, skilled labor and accessible global and regional markets," said Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
Felicia Pullman, director of Outreach at SelectUSA
Representatives from SelectUSA promote business opportunities to investors in a roadshow in Shanghai.
Photos: Yang Lan/GT
Posted in: Metro Shanghai