The Chinese are coming!

As mentioned in early May, I am in the midst of drafting an article on the supposed influx of Chinese investment in the United States predicted by Rosen and Haneman in their report for the Asia Society.  In the article, I will focus on the changing nature of Chinese Offshore Direct Investment (ODI) in the US and try to cut through the noise surrounding this supposedly new phenomenon.

In the interim, a delegation from CNC World has visited Denver to discuss investment opportunities in Colorado.  According to their website, CNC is a television news network owned and operated by Xinhua News Agency--that is, "CNC and Xinhua's TV Department are the same institution under different names."  But in a Denver Post article, a representative from Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade suggested that CNC is considering Colorado as a location for a 300-person production studio.  Based upon meeting them while they were here, I am skeptical that CNC actually plans to build such a facility in Denver, but I do hope that whatever form their investment takes, it will involve many return visits to the Centennial State.  After all, like Beijing, Denver has some very nice mountains and some good telecom companies to enjoy.

If CNC does invest in Colorado, it would join CNOOC's recent $1.27 billion investment in the Chesapeake Energy's Niobrara shale venture, which straddles Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming.  Based upon the most recent reports, however, it looks like the number of jobs created by other Asian companies operating Colorado, particularly those headquartered in Japan, still exceeds that of Chinese companies by a long shot.  I suppose that leaves a lot of room for growth.