Source: https://www.ft.com/content/61014f7b-0507-4450-9d58-8fa992883c9a
“We’re in a really exciting moment as a city right now … and I think now’s the time for us to just double down on Long Beach,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a recent Q&A with the Long Beach Business Journal.
The momentum is certainly gaining. The city was awarded “Most Business-Friendly City” at the 28th Annual Eddy Awards in early November and most recently the Long Beach found itself ranked number 22, out of 91 cities in the US, in the FT-Nikkei Ranking. A ranking that improved significantly from the previous year, with Long Beach moving up a total of 40 places. This year’s ranking puts the City of Long Beach #1 in the state of California above San Diego (#29), San Francisco (#31), and Los Angeles (#37).
The FT-Nikkei Investing in America ranking is significant as it looks at a number of combined factors, which are weighed to rank what makes a city attractive to foreign investors. City selection is limited to cities in 50 states and DC with a population above 250,000 based on 2022 Census place data.
Major factors include talent/labor force, openness/diversity, business environment or the cost of doing business. The ranking also considers foreign business needs and whether a city’s infrastructure and policies support international business. Quality of life, investment trends, and the level of state and local support available to foreign companies following their investment decisions were considered as well.
Many of California’s largest cities plunged in popularity with foreign direct investors last year due to an uncertain economic outlook and high taxes, among other reasons. However, California recovered some of the pandemic hit to FDI inflows in 2022, gaining 271 foreign-owned enterprises.
The 2023 FT-Nikkei ranking demonstrates that the City of Long Beach is a primary location for direct investment. Location is a critical piece to the success of our foreign direct investors and the City of Long Beach, with a centrally located international airport and the Port of Long Beach being one of the few US ports that can welcome today’s largest vessels, has the infrastructure to support growing foreign investor’s needs.
Congratulations to the City of Long Beach and its continued growth and success.
