Ruapehu Seeks Chinese Investment
COUNCIL PROMOTES RUAPEHU OPPORTUNITIES TO CHINESE INVESTORS
Ruapehu mayor Don Cameron and council chief executive Peter Till are meeting with a Chinese investment delegation in Palmerston North later this week to promote Ruapehu investment opportunities.
The Chinese delegation of 40 government and high net worth individuals are part of a mission that has been finding out more about investment opportunities in Australia and NZ.
Mayor Cameron said that council was looking to leverage off the recently released Manawatu-Whanganui Regional Growth Study (July 2015) that highlighted that extending existing industries while nurturing compatible ones was the best way to put the region onto a stronger growth path.
One of the specific growth opportunities identified for Ruapehu was further developing the district as a destination for adventure, nature, cultural and outdoor tourism experiences with a focus on international visitors, he said.
To fully capitalise on these opportunities will require a lot of investment and we specifically want to highlight the opportunities in tourism and visitor services to the Chinese delegation.
This is council's first step in starting to nurture direct investor relationships like this and people shouldn't expect anything to happen too quickly.
Mayor Cameron noted that council was very lucky to have the assistance of a Chinese business relationship specialist Joy Chen from our road management contractor GHD to assist us put Ruapehu in the best possible light.
As well as her role as a senior GIS analyst Ms Chen has assisted GHD host Chinese delegations seeking business opportunities in NZ from both central government departments and the private sector.
Mayor Cameron said that council was very fortunate to have access to Ms Chen.
Ms Chen has completed a Master's Thesis at the University of Auckland related to International Visitor Stopping Behavior in NZ and will provide invaluable assistance as an interpreter and regarding cultural sensitivities, language, business protocol etc, he said.
In preparation for meeting with the delegation council has been working with Ms Chen to develop an investment prospectus.
Although our primary focus will be on tourism investment the prospectus covers a wider range of investment opportunities in Ruapehu including tourism, agriculture and specialist producer opportunities such as game packing.
In recognition of Ruapehu as a key client GHD is sharing the cost of providing Ms Chen for the prospectus development and meeting with the Chinese delegation.
Mayor Cameron added that the ability to leverage our existing contractor arrangements for specialist support demonstrates the value of council outsourcing services to organisations like GHD which have broad international connections.
Another good example of this was when council was able to utilise Veolia Water's international network when responding to the diesel contamination of the Raetihi water supply, he said.
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