Jiangsu Easthigh's plans are still in their infancy, however
by Jenifer K. Nii
Deseret Morning News
Jiangsu Easthigh International Group Co., one of China's largest real estate developers, announced Thursday it plans to establish its U.S. headquarters in Utah.
The plans are still in their infancy—there are no estimates of how many jobs may be created, where the headquarters will be or what developments the company may launch in Utah—but Jiangsu Easthigh officials said Thursday that they “have intentions to set up a permanent presence in Utah.”
“As we all know, China is becoming one of the most dynamic developing countries, with more and more frequent interchange between China and the U.S.,” said Hai Yu, Jiangsu Easthigh's chief executive officer, through translator (and honorary Utah trade representative to China) Michael Chen.
“Recently, the Chinese government has opened its door to all the world, not only to attract foreign investment to China, but also at the same time encourage companies with good reputations, with the resources to go out into the international arena, to have interchange with well-known companies, so we can learn from each other.”
Jiangsu Easthigh's director, Benjamin Dong, and its general manager, David Ding, plan to move to Utah once they obtain the necessary visas to set up operations and assess opportunities.
The company has no immediate plans, Yu said, but Jiangsu is a true conglomerate—in addition to real estate development, the company also focuses on international conference and exhibition services, insurance, international advertisement, economic consulting and real estate management. It also has ties to auto dealerships, health-care services and technology.
Yu, Dong and Ding spent Wednesday and Thursday touring various local businesses and meeting with community and business leaders.
With the Chinese government's go-ahead, Jiangsu Easthigh began looking about five months ago for opportunities to establish operations in the U.S. Chen, who in addition to acting as honorary trade representative also works with a Chinese law firm doing work for Jiangsu Easthigh and as of-counsel with Salt Lake-based Kirton & McConkie, suggested that the company look at Utah.
Soon Utah Business Development Office Asia director Matthew McConkie began coordinating recruitment efforts with Chen.
“We went over in October, at which point we tried to tell them about Utah and its advantages over other places like California and New York,” McConkie said. Cheaper real estate, an unsaturated market and an educated (often bilingual) work force were among Utah's biggest draws, McConkie said.
But according to Tina Lewis, director of the Utah International Business Development Office, Chen's relationship, and Jiangsu's relationship with the state of Utah, may have played an equally important role.
“Business in China is so dependent on personal connections,” Lewis said. “Utah has a long history with China. It's the first (American) state to have an office in China. We've had a trade representative in China for six years.”
Yu had another answer.
"We want to be the first," he said. "There are many opportunities if you are the first. We know Salt Lake City from the Olympics. . . . We have some understanding of the history of Utah. We believe it has the foundation for us to grow."
With the entrance of Jiangsu Easthigh into Utah, Lewis said she anticipates that the company will look at opportunities here and provide Utah businesses with a valuable link to the burgeoning Chinese market.
"It's all about the personal connections," Lewis said. "We do a trade mission to China about once a year. But to actually have a very large Chinese corporation here, who we can introduce Utah businesses to? It's wonderful."
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com
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