By James Kohnstamm
Leading the nation in employment recovery, vaccination rates, travel recovery, and leasing rate activity, Miami topped the global real estate brokerage firm JLL’s Most Recovered Market Scale in 2021. This was a welcome indication of the transformation underway. But this initial recovery phase lacked one conspicuous component of Miami-Dade’s historic economic growth matrix: foreign direct investment (FDI). Vaccines were just rolling out globally and travel remained challenging, driving speculation of an imminent global recession.
After two years of virtual engagement, however, business leaders and entrepreneurs were eager to discuss opportunities to expand, and in-person. In March 2022, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava led the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Americas Linkage mission to Israel, the first since the pandemic. In May, the Miami-Dade Beacon Council led a mission to Spain with County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, followed by a delegation to London for finance industry outreach – and the Farnborough Airshow. Miami-Dade was intent on telling the world about the opportunities in this market.
The Beacon Council’s FDI activity ramped back up to pre-pandemic levels, leading to a historically high watermark of active project opportunities by the end of the summer. The international prospects represented a broad range of industries, from finance, tech, and professional services to food manufacturing/distribution and creative industries.
Validation of our competitive positioning for international investment came as Miami was ranked the best city in the U.S. for foreign multinationals to do business in the inaugural “Investing in America” ranking compiled by the Financial Times and Nikkei (Japan’s largest financial media outlet), and as the best market in North America for FDI by World Business Magazine. Seemingly all at once, international delegations returned to Miami, curious to learn about our exponential growth and investment potential. Delegations from India, Bolivia, Brazil, Berlin, Galicia, and others organized multi-day programs with our international business and trade community.
In October 2022, Beacon partnered with Enterprise Florida to welcome dozens of Japanese business leaders to Miami for a “re-introduction” to the market in preparation for the Southeast U.S. Japan Association’s annual summit (hosted in Florida every 14 years). Immersive tours of some of Miami’s unique business assets followed, including visits to Hitachi Rail in Medley (a joint venture that built the county’s new Metrorail cars), and a visit to the University of Miami’s Converge labs. Delegates found Japanese FDI in South Florida to be strong, including the ownership of leading life sciences firms Noven and Innfocus by Hisamitsu and Santen, respectively. Efforts to secure direct air service from Tokyo to Miami have also resumed, with Quantas also announcing plans for direct service from Sydney.
In November, Miami hosted the Association of British Health Tech Industries (ABHI), comprised of senior leaders of the Nation Health Service and two dozen health tech startups. Eager to tap into Miami’s vast healthcare ecosystem, high level programs and tours were organized with our healthcare and life sciences leaders. MOUs, direct business relocation plans, and discussions of a reciprocal visit to London are already in the works.
Miami’s competitive positioning for foreign direct investment has long fueled growth in our region, and we have never been in a better position to capitalize on our global brand. From MIA’s record number of passengers this past year (No. 1 in the U.S. for international passengers and freight), to PortMiami’s dominance as the No. 1 passenger port in the world (with a growing TEU and perishables market share), connectivity is at an all-time high. Our international banking community, esteemed Consular Corps, and deep bench of professional services and trade officials have set the foundation for a business community with a global perspective.
Miami-Dade County’s FDI partner community – including the Beacon Council International Advisory Committee, The Miami-Dade County International Trade Consortium, Enterprise Florida, World Trade Center Miami, and our many Chambers and municipal teams – will continue to create foreign investment opportunities that drive wider prosperity for our community.
