Gov. Scott Walker made a trip to the Dallas Cowboys stadium Friday to promote job creation, speaking first to a Chinese investment tour that may lead to Chinese companies investing in Wisconsin.
Catherine Fraizer, spokesperson for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, said Walker joined Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott in addressing a group of Chinese investors at the stadium in Texas.
Fraizer said the address was part of a series of speeches that aimed to talk about economic investment in all states.
Tom Thieding, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation spokesperson, said WEDC Secretary Paul Jadin accompanied Walker to Texas for the address. WEDC is a public-private entity focused on job creation by building Wisconsin’s business climate.
According to Thieding, it was the first stop in the state of the U.S. Chinese Investment Week tour which includes stops for investors in Madison and Milwaukee.
Madison will be hosting the Chinese investment firm PiYi and will be setting up meetings between PiYi and 18 other Wisconsin companies, Thieding said.
According to a WEDC factsheet, a number of Wisconsin companies will need to raise between $300 and $350 million dollars over the next year and currently not enough money is available to help fund more innovation. The factsheet also said WEDC is interested in expanding exports from Wisconsin and attracting more capital through foreign direct investment.
According to the factsheet, PiYi is interested in investing $100 million in Wisconsin companies across many industries including agriculture, infrastructure and bio-technology. PiYi is also interested in investing in companies that will expand into the Chinese market.
Fraizer said Perry also spoke at the meeting about creating “a climate for job creation” in Texas.
Jackie Schutz, a spokesperson for Scott, said Scott sought to spread the word about Florida and its incentives for business.
Schutz said Scott has been an avid supporter of job creation and is trying to attract more investment into Florida.
“Governor Scott is spreading the word about how Florida is open for business,” Schutz said.
Walker’s office did not return requests for comment.
