DETROIT – Sino Ambassadors signed a deal to set up two venture capital funds with the Hanson Group, a major Chinese conglomerate, to invest in Cleantech companies with ready-to-market products. Hanson will then produce and sell the products in China while also providing capital to scale up operations here.
Hanson is a massive real estate project located in Foshan, Guangdong, about half an hour from Hong Kong. In addition to the usual shopping centers, office buildings and hotels, the development also boasts an industrial park and a business incubator, both of which are focused on nurturing cleantech enterprises, Crain?s Detroit reports.
The project has received support from all levels of the government, including an initial tranche of 300 million dollars. Seven more similar projects are expected soon. The next is slated to be in central China?s Wuhan, which is hoping to be China?s automotive powerhouse, making it a perfect partner for Detroit. Like everything in China, Hanson is expected to grow fast, and with it, so too will its investments in Michigan?s cleantech.
Bringing Hanson to the area is Sino Ambassadors, a consulting firm helping Michigan businesses work in China and vice versa. In November, Sino hosted Hanson?s trade delegation, which boasted a Chinese congressman and the group?s CEO. Lt. Governor Brian Calley, MEDC head Mike Finney and State Treasurer Andy Dillon all expressed their support for the fund when they met the delegation, and they discussed the possibility of the state investing in the project.
But the trip wasn?t just about schmoozing. Hanson also met nearly a dozen cleantech companies that piqued their interest. The first deal–an investment in an Ann Arbor-based firm that has invented a replacement for rebar–is being hammered out now and could be finished early next year.
For years, foreign firms outside the auto industry have ignored Michigan. But as Hanson?s excitement proves, enthusiasm is rising overseas–and that might just be exactly what the state needs.
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