A group of Chinese private investors will be in Florida next week, but Gov. Rick Scott was already suited up at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on Friday to begin promoting the Sunshine State.

About 25 wealthy Chinese investors will descend on Orlando, offering the prospects of millions of dollars in fresh capital, as part of the “US-China Investment Week” event that kicked off in the $1.15 billion football stadium where they were greeted by Scott, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

“We want more investments in our states, all of our states do, we’re all competing, that is what makes us all better,” Scott said during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News. “We’re all talking to them about why they should come to our states and why for sure they should come to our country.

“We have to understand that while we’re all competing for this, we’re competing in a global marketplace.”

The whirlwind Sept. 20-29 trip for the Chinese investors, arranged by Beijing-based PiYi Investment Co. Ltd. and the Council of American States in China, is sending the investors to cities, including Dallas, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Orlando, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore.

“U.S.-China relations are at a critical point, where interdependence, globalization, and economic cycles are changing the dynamics and direction of capital flows,” explained Jay Riskind, managing director, PiYi Investment in a release.

“With $1-2 trillion of FDI estimated to flow out of China in the next 5-10 years, now is a critical time to identify strategies by which this capital can be steered into the U.S. economy in a way that is both mutually beneficial and productive.”

There are more than 50 high-net-worth investors on the trip, with the group splitting in two, half going east, the other half west, after the Dallas summit that will include dinner.

More than 100 “actionable investment projects” will be showcased, said Paul Swenson, president of The Council of American States in China, in the release.

“A results oriented agenda will balance a focus on the advancement of private investment transactions from China into the U.S., market trust building, and insights intended to move deal-making beyond the introductory phase,” Swenson stated.

Attracting foreign investment to Florida has been a goal of Scott’s to make the economy of the Sunshine State more diverse.

“What I’m doing every day is trying to make sure I help diversify the economy,” said Scott during an appearance Wednesday at the Governor’s Charter Academy in Tallahassee. “One of the areas I know we can grow is our ports, which is why I’ve put so much money and time into our ports and done trade missions to six countries.”

In the past year and a half, Scott has led Enterprise Florida trade missions to Brazil, Panama, Israel, Spain, Canada and England. A mission is planned for Colombia in December and there have been calls to include a mission to Japan or South Korea in his future agenda.



Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.