fDi Magazine's American Cities of the Future 2013/14 Rankings - Greater Montréal, Best Major American City for FDI Strategy

MONTREAL, April 16, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Greater Montréal has been awarded the prize for "Best Major American City for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Strategy" in fDi Magazine's American Cities of the Future 2013/14 rankings. It beat all the other 126 major cities across the Americas that competed in this category. The metropolitan Montréal region's entry was submitted by economic development agency Montréal International (MI), which acts as an agent with the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM - Montréal Metropolitan Community) for attracting foreign direct investment to Greater Montréal.

Just like the metropolitan region's economic development strategy, Montréal International's FDI strategy is based mostly on industrial clusters, including Greater Montréal's high-tech sectors: aerospace, information and communications technologies, life sciences and health technologies.

Greater Montréal a Leading FDI Destination of the Future in the Americas
The Québec metropolis placed third and fourth among 422 urban centres in the "Top 10 Overall North American Cities of the Future" and "Top 10 Overall American Cities of the Future" categories, respectively. Thanks to its open and robust economy, solid financial institutions, and competitive corporate tax rates, Greater Montréal also ranked third in the "Top 10 Major American Cities of the Future" for "Business Friendliness".

"Greater Montréal's outstanding performance in fDi Magazine's American Cities of the Future 2013/14 rankings shows just how attractive our region is thanks to the vitality of its high-tech sectors, its excellent universities and research centres, and its highly skilled, talented and bilingual workforce. We are extremely pleased and proud that the quality of our FDI strategy was recognized by such a prestigious publication as fDi Magazine," said Jacques St-Laurent, President and CEO of Montréal International.

About fDi Magazine's Rankings
The American Cities of the Future rankings are part of fDi Magazine's "Locations of the Future" series, which are designed to identify the most promising destinations around the world for future inward investment. Each world region is assessed every two years. fDi Magazine is a bimonthly publication that specializes in cross-border investment and is part of the fDi Intelligence division of The Financial Times.

About Montréal International (www.montrealinternational.com)
Montréal International was created in 1996 as a result of a private/public partnership. Its mission is to contribute to the economic development of metropolitan Montréal and enhance its international status. Its mandates include attracting foreign direct investment, international organizations and international strategic workers, as well as promoting the competitive and international environment of Greater Montréal. Montréal International is funded by the private sector, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (Montréal Metropolitan Community), the City of Montréal and the Governments of Canada and Québec.

Since its creation, Montréal International has helped to attract more than $8.7 billion in foreign direct investment to Greater Montréal. And these investments have contributed to creating or maintaining over 47,000 jobs. To date, MI has supported almost half of the city's 60 international organizations in setting up their operations in the area, while helping establish and retain more than 7,500 international strategic workers.

SOURCE: Montréal International

Céline Clément
Communications Advisor
Montréal International
514-987-9317
[email protected]