SGV attracts chinese investment

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz

Posted: 12/24/2014 

It is no secret that Chinese visitors, immigrants and investors are attracted to the San Gabriel Valley.  The number of Chinese businesses is growing and more and more signs are in Chinese. Not to mention we have some of the best Chinese restaurants in the country.  But what is attracting this investment to the SGV?

An estimated 498 million Chinese live outside of China. Thailand is the number one destination with 9.4 Chinese residents.  Malaysia is number two with 6.9 million followed by the United States with 3.8 million Chinese immigrants.

Within the U.S., the largest concentration is in the New York City Metropolitan Area where 3/4 million Chinese reside.  Next is the San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland area with around 630,000 followed by the Greater Los Angeles region with 567,000 Chinese residents.  Within the LA region the SGV is ground zero, claiming two-thirds of LA’s Chinese population and growing.

History tells us that the Chinese people have a history of traveling throughout the world.  They traveled to foreign lands for trade in silk and porcelain.  They emigrated for work and adventure.

China does not make it difficult to get a passport and their citizens take advantage of opportunities to see the world.  In 2013, more that 100 million Chinese traveled outside of the country.  And some of those travelers found lands that tempted them to stay.

Adventure aside, there are a number of very practical reasons why the Chinese are moving to new countries.  They seek a better quality of life starting with clean air and safe food.  Beijing and other cities are notorious for bad air days when locals must don masks before heading outside.  Consumers dying from tainted food are not an unusual occurrence. People of means – and there are a lot of them in China – want to protect their family’s health. 

According to the Swiss bank, UBS, there are 190 billionaires in mainland China and an additional 82 in Hong Kong.  Add to that a combined 2.6 million millionaires in the two economies (according to BGC Global Wealth Market-Sizing Database) and that’s a lot of people who can afford to care about having clean air and safe food.

With that much money in play, the Chinese are also looking for safe investments.  Safe doesn’t always mean that you know there will be a big pay-back.  It also can mean that laws apply to everyone, contracts are enforceable, and business isn’t done with one hand under the table.  When there is big money involved, investors want assurances that there is a level playing field.

Education has always been a top priority for Chinese families and many move to find good schools. The U.S. EB5 program - an economic stimulus program that provides green cards for investors’ families in return for creating American jobs - has offered investors direct access to American schools. Chinese investors are by far the biggest users of the program. 

Foreign investment has played a positive role in the SGV’s economic recovery.  Economists predict the investments will continue but they should not be taken for granted.  Others countries and states are watching and would enjoying nothing more than enticing this money to their locales.  We need to help these investors succeed here.