First Nations Get Chance To Meet Chinese Investors

First Nations Get Chance To Meet Chinese Investors

Friday, October 09, 2009 at 15:10

There’s a new opportunity for First Nations looking for businesspeople with lots of money — a Chinese/First Nations Expo.

The event is being held at the Saskatoon Inn, Oct. 19 to 22, and it’s designed to link Chinese investors with First Nations looking for investment.

Rick Gamble, chief of the Beardy’s Okemasis First Nation, is one of the expo organizers.

He says Canadian governments and businesses don’t seem interested in investing in First Nations business opportunities, so he started talking to the Chinese.

Gamble says things are going so well, there’s talk of setting up an independent Aboriginal office in China.

“We want to establish our own office in either Shanghai or Beijing, so First Nations people can sell themselves over there, and promote what we have, because certainly the province is not going to do it for us, and neither is the federal government. So I think it’s up to us to step up and make it happen,” he says.

Organizers are not only looking at China, they’ve also invited delegations from Taiwan, South Korea and the U.S. to participate.