The northern Mexican state of Chihuahua is looking to attract investors from the aerospace and semiconductor industry as part of a plan to draw $8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the next five years.
Governor Maru Campos Galván held meetings in the U.S. with Intel, Boeing, and other companies to promote Chihuahua as an attractive destination for foreign investment as the state seeks to move up in the supply chain. The goal is to build on the region’s traditional strength in auto parts and electronics, which helped position Chihuahua as Mexico’s largest goods exporter to the U.S. The state currently exports more than US $58 billion worth of goods a year to its northern neighbor.
In the meetings, Governor Campos assured companies that Chihuahua is ready to welcome foreign companies with incentive packages through an economic policy aimed at strengthening a diverse range of manufacturers including the semiconductor and aerospace industries. To date, Chihuahua is home to 15% of aerospace manufacturing in Mexico.
To attract investment, the local government has pushed talent development strategies, the strengthening of local suppliers and the promotion of innovation and applied technology. “I want to be the spark plug of the US-Mexico border,” Campos said in an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, as part of her tour in Washington, D.C.
Joining the meetings was Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S., Esteban Moctezuma, who said that benefiting from its strategic location bordering the U.S., Chihuahua plays a key role in the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. and its common goal of promoting economic regional growth.
In September, the U.S. encouraged Mexico to offer incentives that bring chipmakers to North America from Asia as both nations try to expand the production of semiconductors — an industry that according to the consulting firm McKinsey is projected to become a trillion dollar sector by 2030.
The ambassador added that Chihuahua forms part of a highly integrated region with Texas and New Mexico, connected with efficient, state-of-the-art ports of entry, railways, and airports. The position offers a unique manufacturing and logistics platform to compete in the global market, he said.
The meetings were held as part of the state government’s “Chihuahua Month” in the U.S., which drew representatives from Intel, HP, Honeywell Boeing and Bombardier.
With reports from Bloomberg and the Government of Chihuahua
