The city of Richardson, Texas is showing the world how to attract foreign investment and build a dynamic urban center that meets the current benchmarks of sustainability as one of the world’s most livable cities.
Home of the Telecom Corridor®, so named because of the high concentration of telecommunications and related companies from the industry, Richardson also attracts foreign companies from other technology and financial service industry sectors because of “soft–landing” services designed to make the move to the city easy and hassle–free.
For its initiatives and efforts, Richardson received the No. 1 ranking as the “Small Cities for FDI Strategy” award in the “American Cities of the Future 2015-16” list compiled by fDi Magazine, which evaluates cities across North, Central and South America on their attractiveness for foreign direct investment.
“We are proud to have been recognized by fDi Magazine for our strategy in identifying and attracting investors from around the world that have similar industries to Richardson,” said Michael Skelton, Director, Mayor’s Office of International Business for the Richardson Economic Development Partnership.
Working closely with local foreign chambers of commerce, Richardson is stepping up efforts at home and abroad to highlight and promote the economic advantages, highly skilled workforce, cost effectiveness and connectivity of the city and its surrounding areas to attract companies from around the globe.
“We’re also working hard to create partnerships with foreign and local organizations that know of companies from their homeland that need to globalize to maximize their business opportunities,” added Skelton.
In September, Skelton traveled to Japan to head a trade mission that promoted the city to potential investors and met with head office officials of Japanese companies already located in Richardson to discuss additional investments.
