By: Brad Bookout—
Muncie, IN—Delaware County Commissioners James King and Shannon Henry along with Director of Economic Affairs Brad Bookout and East Central Indiana Regional Planning District Director Bill Walters attended the 2019 SelectUSA Investment Summit, June 10-12, in Washington, DC. The Investment Summit is an annual event connecting international companies with communities in the United States to facilitate new
business investment.
“The SelectUSA Investment Summit provides a platform to be introduced to various businesses so that we can share why Delaware County is a great place to invest,” said James King. “We can meet these businesses under one roof, make our pitch, and get project planning started all in a matter of hours. It is important for County officials to work on creative ways to help diversify our local business community.”
Commissioner Shannon Henry said, “SelectUSA gives us an opportunity to be introduced to qualified international companies who attend the summit for the specific purpose of learning more about different communities in the United States. Indiana is considered an affordable location verses places like Illinois or the coastal states. In addition, Delaware County is within a one days drive of 70% of the U.S. population which notably impacts the quick distribution of products.”
Past Investment Summit participants have announced more than $103.6 billion in new U.S. investment projects within five years of attending an Investment Summit, creating or retaining more than 167,000 U.S. jobs in the process.
“Global companies clearly see the benefits of investing in the world’s largest economy, and the SelectUSA Investment Summit is the event that connects companies to actual opportunities,” said Commerce Secretary Gilbert Kaplan. “Every attendee, speaker, business representative, and economic development official makes the Investment Summit successful, and I am proud of the incredible group of participants we will host in 2019.”
Nearly 3,000 attendees confirmed for the 2019 Investment Summit, including over 1,250 business representatives from 70-plus global markets.
Over 930 foreign companies have made investments directly in Indiana supporting tens of thousands of U.S. jobs across several industries in the state. European and Asian investment has been strong in East Central Indiana in the recent past. Local officials are hopeful to build on that foundation.
https://www.selectusa.gov/FDI-global-market/states-territories
About SelectUSA
SelectUSA’s mission is to facilitate job-creating business investment into the United States and raise awareness of the critical role that foreign direct investment plays in the U.S. economy. SelectUSA helps U.S. economic development organizations and companies of all sizes find relevant information, make critical connections, and successfully navigate the path to business investment. Learn more about the SelectUSA program at selectusa.gov.
