The basic conditions of the EB-5 program are: a foreign national may make an at risk equity $500,000 investment in an American enterprise and in return receive temporary green cards for himself, his/her spouse, and their children. Each potential investor must be cleared by the American government and prove that his $500,000 was gained legitimately and that he had this $500,000 asset for as least five years.
The American entrepreneur must prove to the American government that his opportunity will create at least 10 direct or indirect jobs per each $500,000 investment. Further, for the green cards to become permanent, the project must still have 10 jobs per investment two years on. There can be no guaranteed return or interest on the investment, and it may not be repaid for five years.
With that and tickets in hand, we set off for the 12-hour and 57-minute flight from Chicago into the sun, leaving at noon on Thursday and arriving five movies and three meals later in Tokyo on Friday at 3 pm. With the 12-hour time change, day is night and night is day. Departing the aircraft one feels that he has lost his gyroscope hoping not to fall, disoriented like the beetle on its back, saying “which way is up?”
The airport is quiet, almost silent, ones hears only soles of shoes meeting the ground. There is no litter, so clean. We hop on a bus arriving at a five star hotel arranged for us by the State of Vermont. The rush begins. The next day after a walk through the Imperial Palace grounds, we hold our first reception. We dress, set up our displays, and unfortunately host only one firm interested in EB-5 investments.
Falling into bed, we rise at 5 am to meet a 5:40 bus to the airport, and on to Beijing. Unlike Japan, Beijing is neither quiet nor clean. Its scale is massive. The concourse is not 30 feet wide as in America, but 30 yards wide, and full of Chinese. You move like the bevy of swans in Swan Lake with no one tripping over another, just gliding. Once outside you can taste the air. There will be no star gazing in China.
We were off to the hotel for another reception at 4 pm. This turnout is better but remains in single digits. We asked the state what sort of marketing was done to promote these receptions and were told, “None.” We asked the Vermont Chamber of Commerce who assisted in the trip the same question and we were told, “We were only asked to do the logistics in China and Hong Kong.”
One more day in Beijing with a Chamber sponsored lunch and up at 4:45 am and on the bus at 5:30 to fly to Shanghai and another reception at 4 pm. The crowd was larger, 20-30, and the quality was high. Many people had been in attendance the previous year. Governor Douglas had his first opportunity to address the potential a group. It was a collection of investors, agents, public relation experts, and immigration attorneys including three from Montreal, now with offices in both cities.
The quality of the hotels was beyond compare. Your scribe, like Eloise, has stayed at the Plaza and other western five-star hotels. They would compare as a roadside motel beside the Asian hotels with their remarkable attention to detail, unique design elements, service response, spas with steam rooms, cold and hot tubs, pools out of the movies, and attendants to cater to your every need. Total relaxation.
The Vermont King of EB-5 investment is Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak. He has signed up over 200 international investors from 48 countries. Take a trip to Jay Peak. The bundle of activity, of good-paying construction jobs, is truly a sight to see. Each time I approached the state with an EB-5 question, the answer was “ask Bill Stenger, he knows the most.” So we did.
“I was very disappointed in the turnout in Tokyo and Beijing though we did find two solid prospects in Beijing,” Stenger said. “I was told that the state mailed some database, but clearly it was not effective. Shanghai was strong and the quality of the attendee was high. It was also our second year proving to the investor that we are a fully owned player who is not here today and gone tomorrow. We developed some good relationships. In Hong Kong we had a small but high quality group.”
While most of the group returned home from Hong Kong, Stenger put together his own reception in Ho Chi Ming City (formerly Saigon). Governor Douglas accompanied him.
The governor was remarkable. He was a bundle of energy and good cheer. He made himself available, by appointment, to any of the Vermont delegation for one on one meetings with investors to help close the deal. Investors said that in no other state did they even see a governor let alone sit down with one. Having met Vermont’s governor gave them enhanced credibility and comfort in our Vermont projects.
Stenger and Douglas had high praise for the Vietnamese. Stenger said, “We were very happy with the turnout. We worked for about a month promoting the reception and had 178 turn out and I expect about 30 will invest. There is an emerging middle class with strong entrepreneurial skills.”
Douglas concurred saying, “I found the Vietnamese to be friendly, interested and interesting. They are a people looking for opportunities for their families. There is clearly lots of wealth, a strong work ethic and entrepreneurial strain. For an EB-5 opportunity, Vermont is the only state where the EB office is run by the state. We monitor the program and follow up with the investors and the investments and this gives a level of greater comfort to the investor. We have received very good feedback from both our business community and the investor.”
Stenger concluded by saying, “I am an American who grew up in the time of the Vietnamese war. It was very interesting to me to be here, but it gave me an uneasy feeling seeing traffic signs to Da Nang and the like. I know that the page has turned and I can see that Vietnam today is where China was 15 years ago and equally entrepreneurial. This was the highlight of a good trip for us and I expect that we will be returning early next year.”
James Dwinell lives in Norwich. Please send comments to dwinell@comcast.net
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