This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake County is one of six U.S. metropolitan areas selected to develop a regional plan to attract foreign direct investments.
The plan will build on a regional export plan the county released this spring. Mayor Ben McAdams said the county now will produce a report assessing the market for foreign direct investments and develop a strategic plan with goals, tactics and implementation commitments for stimulating international trade.
He said the assessment "will identify our unique assets and opportunities" and ensure the plan contains "the tools that help us excel in this critical economic area."
The Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase picked the county in an application process for the Global Cities Initiative, a four-year-old effort to help metro areas "grow their economies by strengthening international connections and competitiveness."
Also picked were Baltimore, Houston, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Fresno, Calif. All were evaluated on their readiness, capacity and commitment to maximize foreign direct investment sources such as greenfield expansions, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures and sovereign wealth funds."
Marek Gootman, Brookings' director of strategic partnerships, said he was confident the county "is positioned to take greater advantage of foreign direct investment and can be a national leader in fine-tuning more effective approaches to global economic engagement."
Mike Gorrell