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Dr. Adam Wu Will Address the Question "Why is China Spending Billions
in the Caribbean?" at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment
Conference (CHTIC) May 10-12, 2011 in Montego Bay, Jamaica
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 THE CARIBBEAN (April 26, 2011) - Dr. Adam Wu, chief
operating officer of the China Business Network will be a presenter at
the
upcoming Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC),
May 10-12
at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Jamaica, and will address
China's
recent investment interest in the Caribbean with billion dollar
projects
throughout the region.Dr. Wu will participate in General Session 1 - The Caribbean Now and the Future: Tourism is Key which takes place on Wednesday, May 11 from 8:45 am to 10:15 am. GlobalPost Reporter Ezra Fieser wrote an article titled "Why is China Spending Billions in the Caribbean." An excerpt of the article follows: "Why is China spending billions in the Caribbean?" The Caribbean lacks commodities, it's not a major producer of raw materials and it has relatively little buying power. Yet China is investing billions there. SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - After the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2005, it received a token of appreciation from the mainland Chinese government: a $55 million cricket stadium. It was part of $132 million China doled out to Caribbean countries in aid and soft loans in the years leading up to the 2007 Cricket World Cup. At the time, the investment was seen as a not-so-subtle reward to countries that had broken off formal relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. Ever since, China has made that sum look like pittance. The Beijing government and private Chinese corporations are spending billions in the Caribbean, building major tourism projects, financing roads and ports and buying companies - all of which are helping open new markets for Chinese products. The onslaught has cash-strapped Caribbean governments simultaneously praising China as a welcome benefactor and questioning what the country wants in exchange. "Nearly every island in the Caribbean, from the smallest on up, currently has a substantial investment from China," said David Jessop, managing director of the Caribbean Council, a London-based consultancy that works with Caribbean governments. "It seems that what nobody knows is what is motivating China." The total investment is difficult to quantify. China's Ministry of Commerce reported that foreign direct investment in Caribbean countries by Chinese firms totaled nearly $7 billion in 2009, a more than 300 percent increase from the 2004 foreign direct investment of $1.7 billion. Those figures are somewhat misleading because of Chinese use of Caribbean tax havens - such as the Cayman Islands, which received $5.3 billion in Chinese foreign direct investment in 2009. That aside, Caribbean islands have clearly been the recipients of investment by both Chinese firms and the government of the People's Republic of China, which is financing some of the Caribbean's most notable, and largest, projects. The boldest broke ground last month: The Chinese government's Export-Import Bank is putting $2.4 billion toward the construction of a 3,800-room resort in the Bahamas that will boast the largest casino in the Caribbean. Roughly 5,000 Chinese workers will be brought in to construct the Baha Mar resort on Cable Beach. Others projects recently agreed to or completed by Chinese firms or the government include:
At a recent dinner between Caribbean leaders and a Chinese delegation, Jamaican officials asked, "'What does China want from us?'" a person who was at the meeting told GlobalPost. "That's the big question that everyone has about this: Why?" The full GlobalPost article can be accessed via: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/110325/china-caribbean-investment-tourism Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference The registration fee includes all general sessions, two receptions, one dinner, two lunches and coffee breaks. Registration fees are $450 per person for CHTA-member hotels and government officials; $875 per person for CHTA allied members and $975 per person for non-members. The CHTIC program features the Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism for Jamaica, delivering the keynote address, themed "Tourism Investments...Key to Caribbean Growth," during the opening ceremony, which takes place at 6:30 pm at the five-star Iberostar Resort All Suites on May 10. CHTA President Josef Forstmayr will also speak at the opening ceremony and touch on the importance of investment in the Caribbean to help maintain the economic stability of the region for years to come. The full program can be accessed online via http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com/events-chtic/event-CHTIC-program.php CHTIC sponsors currently confirmed include host sponsors Jamaica, Jamaica Hotel & Tourism Association, JAMPRO, and Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort and Spa; Patron Sponsors: Columbus Business Solutions, FirstCaribbean International, FLOW, Interval International and MasterCard;Platinum Sponsors: KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopersand World Travel Group; Gold Sponsors: ARDA, Best Western International, Exposure4, Hill International, MacLellan & Associates and MacLellan International Brokers, OBMI, Tourism Development Company LTD and Tourism Intelligence International; Platinum MediaSponsors: HotelNewsNow.com and STR; and Silver Media Sponsors: ARDA Developments, Caribbean Construction Magazine, CaribBest.com, Caribbean Developer and Lodging Hospitality. Building on the momentum achieved in recent years with a growing interest in Caribbean tourism development, CHTIC is staged by two not-for-profit organizations - CHTA and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). CHTA represents the regional hotel and tourism associations and CTO is the public sector tourism body which represents the countries of the region. All funds from the conference are being reinvested in the region for the benefit of the Caribbean tourism industry. CHTIC was founded by CHTA and CTO in 1997 with the specific objectives of improving the tourism investment and operating climate in the Caribbean, raising awareness of development opportunities and stimulating a continuing flow of equity and loan capital into the region. For more information on CHTIC 2011 - including sponsorship opportunities - please contact CHTA at 305-443-3040, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com/events-chtic/event-chtic-about.php. About The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) facilitates the full potential of the Caribbean hotel and tourism industry by serving members' needs and building partnerships in a socially responsible and sustainable manner. CHTA was founded in 1962; it is the voice of the Caribbean hospitality industry for the development of the region in the highly competitive and sophisticated environment of international tourism. Today, tourism is widely recognized as a pivotal industry in the economy of the region - and CHTA functions as the common denominator for this industry in a region of diverse nationalities, languages and styles, identifying mutual problems and marshalling the resources of the active and allied members to devise solutions. CHTA represents all facets of the hospitality industry with more than 725 member hotels and 525 allied members. For more information, visit http://www.caribbeanhotelandtourism.com. Follow CHTA on Facebook www.Facebook.com/CaribbeanHotelandTourismAssociation and Twitter www.Twitter.com/CHTAFeeds. |
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