Ginny Fang Appointed CEO of San Francisco Bay Area Regional Center
Ginny Fang Appointed CEO of San Francisco Bay Area Regional Center
ChinaSF Executive Director Has Built Business Between San Francisco and Chinac During Her Tenure
7 October 2011 — San Francisco, CA: Ginny Fang, Executive Director of ChinaSF (www.chinasf.org), has been named CEO of the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Center. Fang, who has led the public-private partnership,ChinaSF, for the last two years, has expanded San Francisco’s presence throughout China and successfully opened ChinaSF offices in Beijing and Shanghai. In her new role, Fang will continue to work with cross-border trade between China and San Francisco, but will narrow her focus to bringing foreign direct investment dollars into San Francisco and Bay Area-based projects.
“ChinaSF is a national leader in how government and business can work together to create jobs and grow an economy,” said Fang. “I am proud of everything that we have achieved, and look forward to supporting continued success for ChinaSF as a Board member. Furthermore, the experience gained from my work with ChinaSF will help jump start our efforts at the SFBA Regional Center. I am humbled at the support and trust given me by both institutions.”
“We are very excited to have someone as skilled and personable as Ginny to lead this organization,’’ said Steven Kay, president of SFBARC.
In addition to Kay, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown is also a principal in the newly formed San Francisco Bay Area Regional Center. The SFBA Regional Center is a federally-designated center to utilize the EB-5 program to bring foreign capital in the San Francisco Bay Area while focusing on job creation.
About ChinaSF With offices in Beijing, Shanghai and San Francisco, ChinaSF is a public-private initiative of the San Francisco Center for Economic Development (SFCED), in close partnership with the City of San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), supported by funding from private sector partners. Its goal is to attract and retain Chinese investment and business expansion into San Francisco and the Bay Area, and to also support San Francisco Bay Area businesses in their business efforts in China. Between 2008 and 2011, amidst one of the worst financial crises in history, ChinaSF successfully facilitated the expansion of 13 companies to San Francisco, and helped over a dozen Bay Area-based companies make important business connections in China. In addition to the financial investment into the Bay Area, ChinaSF’s efforts have directly created over 130 jobs for the Bay Area not counting any resulting multiplier effects and benefits.
About the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Center The San Francisco Bay Area Regional Center is a federally designated center to assist foreign nationals in obtaining permanent U.S. residency under the federal EB-5 program. That program is designed to encourage the flow of foreign capital into the U.S. economy and assist in domestic job growth. Under the EB-5 visa program, foreign investors can receive immigration benefits for investing $1 million, or $500,000 for Targeted Employment Areas, in the United States. Those investments must be shown to create at least 10 full-time jobs. Through the program administered by SFBARC, investors and their qualifying family members are offered the prospect, but not a guarantee, of lawful permanent residence in the United States.