Today, Governor Roy Cooper keynoted the annual Financial Times-Nikkei Investing in America Summit in Miami, Florida. The Governor spoke with Financial Times U.S. Managing Editor Peter Spiegel and highlighted North Carolina’s recent successes as a leader in the transition to a clean energy economy and being named CNBC’s Top State for Business for the second year in a row. The newly released 2023 Financial Times-Nikkei Rankings highlight Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro as top-20 locations for companies across the globe.
“I appreciate the opportunity to showcase North Carolina’s economic momentum for investors from across the globe. North Carolina is the best state to do business and remains a leader in the transition to a clean energy economy,” said Governor Cooper. “Thanks to our talented, educated, diverse workforce, we continue to attract major investments and good-paying clean energy jobs from companies who are eager to make our communities home.”
In addition to hearing from other panelists representing major foreign multinational companies on such subjects as clean energy investment and the semiconductor market, Governor Cooper also met with several CEOs to pitch North Carolina’s award-winning economic environment to host their major investment.
Each year, Financial Times and Nikkei release a list of 10 cities that have been ranked as top locations for companies all across the globe. The FT-Nikkei Investing in America rankings offer two of the world’s leading financial news organizations’ take on the top US cities for investment by foreign multinationals. Combining the global knowledge of the Financial Times and Nikkei with their special expertise in cross-border investment, the ranking explores where foreign companies can achieve success in the US. In 2022, both Charlotte and Raleigh finished in the top 10. In 2023, Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham and Raleigh all finished in the top 20.
In order to create the rankings, Financial Times and Nikkei cross-reference the preferences of overseas foreign multinationals with economic, social and regulatory traits of American cities. Cities in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. with a population of over 250,000 are considered. The 2022 winners captured 45% of all new foreign business projects in the US during that year.
The Governor’s administration is focused on leading the nation in the transition toward a clean energy economy. In October 2022, Governor Cooper signed Executive Order No. 271, helping the state prepare for the move to zero-emission electric vehicles.
In January 2022, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order No. 246 affirming North Carolina’s commitment to a clean energy economy and directing next steps in the state’s plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions while creating economic opportunities for all North Carolinians, especially in underserved communities.
Toyota recently announced plans to invest an additional $8 billion in its electric battery manufacturing site in Randolph County, including hiring another 3,000 employees. This historic announcement comes on the heels of Governor Cooper’s meeting with Toyota President Koji Sato during the SEUS/Japan Conference in Tokyo earlier this month. Toyota’s total investment in the Randolph County site will now total $13.9 billion and more than 5,000 jobs.
In July, CNBC named North Carolina as America’s Top State for Business in 2023. North Carolina ranked #1 in workforce and highly in the economy, technology and innovation, and access to capital categories. This is the second year in a row that CNBC has named North Carolina as America’s top state for business and only the second time in the ranking’s history that a state has received the top spot two years in a row. Since 2017, North Carolina has placed in the top five of state rankings four times.
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