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Invest in California

Top Industries in California by FDI

Top Investors in California by Country

Northern California's Economic Growth and Prospects

California Incentives for FDI

Additional Resources for Foreign Investors Interested in CA

Certain industries in California have benefited especially well from FDI. That said, many untapped sectors await the beneficial growth of foreign competition. The following list of California ’s top industries supported by FDI (according to total employment and PPE: property, plant, and equipment value) comes from the Public Policy Institute of California. Example companies are in italics:

Manufacturing (2003: 180,400 employed, $88.25 billion PPE)

Nearly one fourth of all foreign employed jobs are in this industry, and foreign controlled companies accounted for 8.7% of total manufacturing employment in California in 2003.[1] Almost half of FDI in manufacturing is in the electronics, electric machinery, and automotive industries.

ABB Inc., Siemens Corporation, Infineon Technologies (German), Alcon Inc. (Swiss), Honda, Toyota, Hitachi Chemical Co., Sony Electronics, Panasonic-Matsushita (Japanese), Hyundai-Kia (South Korean), Alcatel, Saint-Gobain Corporation (French), GKN Aerospace Services, BAE Systems North America (British), and Roche Consulting (Canadian).

Wholesale trade (2003: 87,200 employed, $31.7 billion PPE)

The major foreign firms in the California wholesale industry are concentrated in food and beverage products and services. They are also some of the biggest of their kind in the world.

Nestle (Swiss), Sodexho Inc. (French), and Unilever (Dutch-British Joint Venture).

Information (2003: 40,100 employed, $5.95 billion PPE)

The dominant foreign force in the California information industry, Reed Elsevier (owner of LexisNexis), is one of the world’s leading global publishers and information providers.

Reed Elsevier (Dutch).

Retail (2003: 25,400 employed, $3.25 billion PPE)

Despite facing stiff domestic competition, foreign retailers have managed to acquire a large amount of PPE through operations in California .

     Ikea (Swedish).

Finance & Insurance (2003: 23,600 employed, $2.32 billion PPE)

California is home to major foreign banking and investment operations, including one of the biggest banks in Europe .

Zurich North America (Swiss).

Professional, scientific, & technical services (2003: 17,300 employed, $1.29 billion PPE)

This industry is especially varied, highlighted by the presence of British telecommunications giant Vodafone, which also owns a large minority share of Verizon Wireless.

Vodafone Americas Inc. (British).