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‘Digital Entertainment Meets China Meets Tech’ in Pasadena Today

Published on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 | 5:34 am
 

Hundreds of entertainment and investment industry insiders will join together in Pasadena today for a conference on Chinese investment in Southern California, and vice-versa.

The 4th Silicon Dragon conference at the Pasadena Convention Center highlights the business opportunities that emerge when business people on each side of two of the world’s most powerful economies work together.

This year’s theme: Digital Entertainment Meets China Meets Tech.

As the name implies, the gathering will draw together representatives of entertainment and tech industries, as well as investors, to focus on reinforcing a financial bridge between Hollywood and Beijing. It’s one of a series of similar conferences held throughout the globe, with a similar goal of building economic partnerships between China and the rest of the world.

It all began with a book, Silicon Dragon Founder Rebecca Fannin said.

“I wrote a book titled, ‘Silicon Dragons,’ which was about China’s internet wave and profiled the leaders such as [technology and artificial intelligence company] Baidu,” she said. “And from there, I started doing more interviews, and more and more interviews, and then putting people on stage.”

Silicon Dragon Founder Rebecca Fannin

“We’ve been doing events now since 2010 and we’ve held nearly 100 events in all the leading technology innovation hotspots. So that includes L.A. of course, San Francisco, New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Sydney, London, Bangalore. And it’s just been a very interesting experience to run these events,” Fannin said. “We tailor the program to each locale,” she said. “For instance, in L.A., our program is really about Hollywood and China, but there’s also a panel on transit in innovations.”

“Certainly, L.A. has a traffic problem, Fannin continued. “So we have some very interesting companies that are on the program. For instance, an electric vehicle maker…a company that it actually is making [and] producing the technology behind an electric-powered plane, also a company that’s doing lithium batteries.

American entertainment companies are also eager to branch out into China, Fannin said.

“The studios all want to get into China because it’s the world’s second-largest movie market, and it’s been very fast-growing so there’s a lot of potential there,” she said.

Keynote speaker Janet Yang is known for producing films including “The Joy Luck Club” and worked with Director Steven Spielberg on “Empire of the Sun.”

“I think we have a very exciting program and something for everyone,” Fannin said.

The rate of Chinese investment in Southern California has slowed somewhat in recent years, but remains strong, she said.

“2016 was the peak year of China investment in the U.S., and there were a lot of deals in Hollywood and in technology startups as well,” Fannin said.

But economic tensions between the nations’ governments, among other factors, have helped the wave break and start rolling back.

The issues pre-date the Trump administration, she said, but the current talk of trade wars and tariffs isn’t helping the situation.

“I think it makes people pause,” Fannin said. “It puts a damper on deals and people are, you know, being cautious and being cautious about deals, whereas before it was a real frenzy.”

Podley Properties owner Pasadenan Bill Podley said he’s seen the slowdown of investment from the east in recent years, and even recent months.

“The prevailing sense among the members of the real estate community is that it’s because China has slowed the ability of its citizens to withdraw money from the country in large amounts sufficient to purchase real estate in the United States,” he said.

“The number of higher priced homes (sales) has slowed substantially over the last, well, at least six months, if not longer,” Podley said. “And it’s believed that the primary reason is that it’s just more difficult for our Chinese friends to acquire a property, given that it’s more difficult to bring money from their country to ours.”

New developments in the complex economic relationship between the U.S. and China could come at any time.

“It’s an ongoing issue in Washington D.C.,” Fannin said. “(Lawmakers are) preparing to pass legislation this week that would limit foreign investment more than it has been. It’s a very timely issue that will be discussed at the conference.”

Pasadena Economic Development Manager Eric Duyshart will be among the speakers.

“Silicon Dragon is a group that holds events internationally, and they’ve been locating their Los Angeles event here in Pasadena for several years,” he said. “They’re an important group that helps network both investors from here in California with those along the Pacific Rim.”

Duyshart said he’s glad the conference has made its home in Pasadena over the past four years.

“For Pasadena, we are an international city, and many of our technology companies look to selling their product not just here in the United States, but abroad, and China is a huge market,” he said. “We appreciate the opportunity to meet with new businesses and those that are offering up new skills.”

Despite the recent slowing of Chinese investment, opportunities still abound, Duyshart said.

“Technology investment, of course, is always risky. But we have a range of people that are eager to try and find new opportunities and new discoveries,” he said.

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