Premier Bob McLeod meets with Wang Zhengwei, chairman of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People's Republic of China during last month's trade mission to China and Japan. Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister David Ramsay hailed the trip as a success despite having no "real benefits" to announce upon returning from the trip. - photo courtesy of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment |
Patience preached after trade mission
Despite 'real benefits' in short term, minister says maintaining strong ties with China and Japan fundamental for future investment
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Friday, February 6, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A recent trade mission intended to encourage Chinese and Japanese investment in the NWT is being hailed as a success by Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister David Ramsay, although it could be a while until the territory reaps what it sowed during the trip.
After returning from the 11-day tour of the two countries Ramsay told Yellowknifer it might be a while before the territory experiences any "real benefits" from the trip. However, he assured the public that the delegation, led by Premier Bob McLeod, helped bolster potential for future investment in the NWT.
"It was a success," he said. "It's hard to quantify that statement so soon after getting back, but this is an investment in our future."
"You'll have to kind of wait a while because it's too early to see what the real benefits from that are going to be. But from what we saw in both China and Japan, the benefits will come."
During the trip, Ramsay met with several large companies from both countries. At least two Chinese companies and a couple of "interested" Japanese investors are planning to visit the NWT to explore the potential for "large-scale" investment within the next year, he said. Although Ramsay would not give details about the companies or what sector they represented, he said they could lead to significant opportunities to grow the territorial economy.
"We're very well-positioned to see some investment from both those countries," he said. "Things like that, they don't happen overnight. You have to build those relationships and build that trust factor."
While the approximately $300,000 price tag of the trip may seem steep without any seeing any tangible returns in the short term, executive director Tom Hoefer of the NWT Chamber of Mines, said the government needs to do all it can to attract foreign investment.
"We are facing one of the most challenging times globally for financing exploration and new mine construction," wrote Hoefer in an e-mail to Yellowknifer. "Any efforts by (the territorial) government to help raise the NWT's profile and to demonstrate that we are competitive and attractive for investment could be a great boon to (the) construction (of) a number of new mines, and to helping sustain mining by re-establishing healthy exploration levels in the NWT."
This was the second time in the last two years that the GNWT made a trip to China, and the first time in a decade that representatives from the government visited Japan.
Last year, the NWT received 90,000 visitors including close to 16,000 from Japan and another 1,500 from China.
"Tourism for us is a $107 million business, so we have to ensure that we're out there promoting what we are and that is the Aurora capital of the world," he said.
Ramsay said he also approached a Chinese media company about the possibility of playing a one-minute video promoting territorial tourism in 32 airports around China.
"We're working on that deal," he said.
While a great deal of the delegation's focus was on attracting mining and tourism investment, Ramsay said he also met with Japan's space agency during the trip. With the Mackenzie Valley fibre optic line expected to be completed in the summer of next year, Ramsay said Japan is one of many countries which have expressed interest in setting up a polar satellite monitoring station in Inuvik.
"That discussion has started and a number of countries are interested in positioning themselves in Inuvik," he said.
Although there were few tangible announcements to come out of the trip, Ramsay was pleased to report five new Chinese clients had signed up to buy fur at the annual sale in Helsinki, Finland, where NWT furs are auctioned off several times a year.
In the future, Ramsay would like to see the government reach out to other South Asian countries like South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and India.
"I'm not sure if we'll be able to do that under this government but certainly those markets are on our radar," he said. "We've got to be out there and we have to have our game face on."
