By David Shipley
Telegraph-Journal

Wealthy Chinese businessman Francis Pang is intrigued by the concept of building a Chinese village in Moncton - so intrigued he may consider investing in it.

"I may also be interested in taking a hard look at that kind of opportunity," he said, adding however he’s focused on developing his core business, education.

Mr. Pang has worked with the University of New Brunswick , the New Brunswick Community College and the New Brunswick Department of Education over the past decade as a pioneer developer of private schools offering New Brunswick high school, college and university curriculums in Beijing and Shenzhen.

In addition to working on building his private school business, Mr. Pang has also worked with Innovatia over the past year to help the Aliant division establish itself in .

He was in Saint John on Wednesday afternoon to announce a $100,000 personal donation for a new scholarship for Canadian and international students at UNB Saint John.

Creating a Chinese village in Moncton is a way to help it connect itself to a global economy, said Mr. Pang.

"Nowadays everywhere has to be globalized, I think for Moncton or for Saint John it’s so important to globalize. You also give opportunity for Chinese business people to know more about New Brunswick ," he said on Wednesday.

Mr. Pang said the key to attracting more Chinese investment was to get the word out about the opportunities in the province.

"We all know New Brunswick is a hidden secret. New Brunswick geographically (has such) easy access (to) not only , but also to the ."

The province has a number of advantages in addition to its proximity to major Canadian and markets. It has a skilled workforce and high quality management, said Mr. Pang.

"You have a lot of opportunity in New Brunswick ."

It’s crucial for businesses in the province who are seeking ties with Chinese companies or investment from , to spend time in the country letting potential partners know about the opportunities in New Brunswick , he said.

Saint John-based CanLink Global, which specializes in connecting Canadian and Chinese organizations, companies and investors, is aiming to help raise the province’s profile in with its second China Business Discovery Tour in October.

The international trade company has offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Beijing and its previous business tour last fall led to several business opportunities for Canadian firms including a lucrative contract for the Moncton Flight College to train Chinese pilots, said Brice Belyea , the chairman of the board of CanLink Global.

There are 15 spots available on the trips, which includes stops in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Beijing . Each spot costs $8,500 plus tax and includes economy airfare to Hong Kong from participating cities, and return to origin from Beijing . It also includes connecting flight from Shenzhen to Beijing as well as eight nights single occupancy accommodation.

Participants in the trips will take part in business workshops and visits to private and state-owned companies, a Chinese banquet and a networking event.

"We’re hoping to keep the numbers down to 15 local business folks," said Mr. Belyea, adding if more than 15 companies sign up they’ll consider adding a second trip in the fall.

Mr. Belyea said it was important to keep the numbers low so that each company could receive attention from CanLink’s staff.

Going as part of group can significantly reduce the cost for business people considering a trip to to drum up business, said Mr. Belyea, adding the cost to travel individually could be as high as $20,000.

CanLink has received a great deal of interest in from local businesses, said Mr. Belyea.

"I think it’s like drinking out of a fire hose," he said.

"Our phone rings constantly there’s people inquiring about , ’how do we get there, what do we do, can you help us.’ "