Efforts to attract more corporate headquarters to the Lower Mainland is benefiting from the region’s reputation as an immigration destination, especially for those with business and entrepreneurial expertise.

On Friday, Beijing-based conglomerate Aikang Group announced it will set up its North American base in Vancouver. Aikang, which operates a number of investment funds in China (targeting real estate development, aerospace and health care), will concentrate on health-industry investments in North America.

Wang Dong, chairman of the parent company in Beijing, immigrated to Vancouver several years ago, and decided to open a local office out of a desire to give back to Canadian society.

Aikang’s announcement makes it the fifth company to be recruited by HQ Vancouver (a joint provincial-federal initiative to bring corporations to the Lower Mainland) to create a base in the city. Zhiye Photoelectric Precision Technology said in January it will invest $1 million in a local facility that could create up to 100 jobs.

All of these companies had executives living in Vancouver before the decision was made to set up offices.

“They live here; they have homes here; their kids go to school here,” said HQ Vancouver president Yuen Pau Woo. “They already consider B.C. to be their home, and set up roots here, some for as long as 10 or 15 years. What they are trying to do now is to align their family interests with their professional and corporate interests. We need to encourage them to do that.”

Another similarity for the five companies is the fact they are all based in China, which does not surprise Woo. He added that it was not the intended goal of HQ Vancouver to attract Chinese companies specifically, but rather a reflection of where new immigrants, and new entrepreneurs, are coming from.

“We are interested in companies from anywhere in the world that want to set up head offices here,” Woo said. “As it turns out, many of our prospects, and all of our success to date, come from companies in China. The common factor is that the senior management of the companies already have connections to B.C.”

On Friday, Aikang kicked off its new ties to Vancouver by announcing a $145,000 donation to the Vancouver General Hospital.

“I realized that, if I use this entrepreneurial drive to give back to the community, we have a chance to flourish as a business, as well,” Wang said. “Doing business in Vancouver is easy because people trust each other. But you have to establish roots here as community members, not just be someone who doesn’t get involved in anything.”

chchiang@vancouversun.com