The Invest Quebec agency celebrated the official opening of its Atlanta office on June 18 by joining with the Quebec government and trade office to celebrate the province’s “national” day prematurely.
Atlanta joins New York, Chicago and Los Angeles as U.S. cities with an Invest Quebec office. The agency, which seeks to draw foreign investment to the province, also has offices in Beijing; London; Munich, Germany; Mumbai, India; Paris and Tokyo.
“We want to support the companies that choose to come to Quebec by providing them with distribution networks and whatever they need to be successful,” said Liliane Laverdiere, director of the office for the Southeast.
Invest Quebec can provide services ranging from industry intelligence to strategic partnerships and site selection. In addition, it provides tailored tax incentive and financial packages.
Ms. Laverdiere will be responsible for promoting Quebec as an investment destination in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North and South Carolina and Tennessee as well as Georgia.
In an effort to raise awareness of Quebec as a favorable location for doing business, she will hold seminars reviewing the sorts of financing and fiscal incentives available to international companies operating in the province.
Ms. Laverdiere told GlobalAtlanta that the Invest Quebec offices analyze the strengths of each region in which they are located. For instance, she said, that the New York office is focused on the financial services industry, especially now that the investment banking firm Morgan Stanley opened a global operations center in Montreal last year.
According to Ms. Laverdiere, the agency in Los Angeles is focused on multimedia and life science companies and in Chicago, on information technology and medical devices.
In Atlanta, she said the agency would be looking in all sectors where there is innovation that can benefit from Quebec’s strengths in scientific research.
Last year the offices brought 50 foreign companies to Quebec and the pace is about the same this year, she said. Quebec as well as the rest of Canada has benefited from the comparatively better position of its banks than U.S. institutions, she added.
The evening celebration was held at the 191 Club of the 191 Peachtree building downtown. Invest Quebec will operate out of the offices of the Quebec government, which are located in the 191 Peachtree building.
Ginette Chenard, who heads the Quebec government office in Atlanta, welcomed the guests for the dual celebration, although St. John Baptiste Day, which dates back to 1636 in Quebec and has traditionally been a festival for French Canadian culture, takes place on June 24.
Guests attending the reception received small “Inukshuk” sculptures, modeled on the Inuit rock sculptures serving as guideposts in northern reaches of Canada.
The gifts recognized Canada’s multiculturalism as well as providing a symbol of fellowship.
Ms. Laverdiee may be reached by calling (404) 584-5340 or by sending an email to liliane.laverdiere@invest-quebec.com
The Pendleton Group is the presenting sponsor of Global Atlanta's Economic Development Channel. Subscribe here for monthly Economic Development newsletters.