Investment

Global investment growth strengthens Alberta’s economy and communities

Published

2 years ago

January 24, 2023

Nitin Rakesh, CEO and managing director of Mphasis, attends at a launch event in Calgary on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. The Bangalore, India-based company announced the opening of its Canadian delivery centre in Alberta. Mphasis is just one of many companies choosing to locate in Alberta. Photo by Jim Wells /Postmedia Archive

It’s easy to be discouraged by global events like international conflict, climate change, and supply chain and food security challenges. These realities affect the international community and have impacts close to home. But focusing on these trends alone can mean overlooking that Alberta is on the leading edge of solutions to address these challenges, and new global investment is playing a pivotal role in the prosperity of Alberta communities.

With talent in energy, technology and agriculture, ideas come to life in Alberta. As a prime investment destination, Alberta is rapidly gaining the knowledge, skills, and technology to enhance our ability to build a resilient, sustainable economy.

Don’t think about food shortages without learning that GoodLeaf Farms, Canada’s largest indoor vertical farm, is creating a reliable, sustainable local food source with a base in Calgary. Don’t think about climate change and economic diversification without learning about the major global companies that are leading the development of low-carbon technologies, including Shell and Mitsubishi, ITOCHU and Petronas.

As an emerging hub for technology, Google’s Deep Mind and Amazon Web Services call Alberta home. In a few short years, EY Canada established a finance centre of excellence, RBC set up an innovation centre, and Mphasis established a delivery centre and Quantum City Centre of Excellence with post-secondary institutions. Four unicorn companies, startups valued at more than $1 billion, show that Alberta has the momentum to build on in the years ahead.

Our role at Invest Alberta is to attract high-impact, high-value investment and jobs. Every day we promote Alberta as a destination of choice with skilled workers, business-friendly policies, abundant resources and a “make it happen” attitude. Since 2020, we’ve worked with economic development agencies, post-secondary institutions and industry to attract $20 billion, 7,100 construction jobs, and close to 8,000 permanent jobs for Albertans in diverse sectors.

We have teams in Asia, Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. collaborating with companies designing solutions to global problems — and looking for the right place to expand. This gives us unique insight into the opportunities ahead that can further diversify the economy, flow jobs and revenue into Alberta, and eventually protect us from the boom-and-bust cycles.

Our research of thousands of capital investors, senior decision-makers and entrepreneurs around the world shows that the most important factors in investment decisions are cost, ease and speed of doing business, along with the ability to attract high-quality talent and a desirable place to live. Alberta has these advantages.

Investment intentions continue to be strong. In 2023, we expect to see commitments to large-scale projects that will help drive Alberta’s long-term economic development. More clean tech is on the horizon, following on the heels of companies like Air Products’ net-zero hydrogen energy complex that promises to create more than 2,500 jobs and bolster our role as a leader in Canada’s hydrogen economy.

While Edmonton and Calgary rank among the top places to live and work in the world, the advantages Alberta offers extends beyond the borders of our biggest cities. We continue to collaborate with rural communities to win projects so all regions can thrive. Projects like the plant protein facility in Strathmore and the net-zero hemp manufacturing hub in Vegreville ensure rural regions are not left behind.

Alberta has shown leadership in tough times by positioning itself for the next era of growth. As one of the world’s most attractive places to do business, our collaborative approach to investment attraction will continue to serve us well. The future holds meaningful job-creating investment that will diversify Alberta’s economy and continue to deliver value to the lives of Albertans.

Rick Christiaanse is CEO of Invest Alberta. Established as a Crown corporation, Invest Alberta promotes the province as an investment destination of choice to attract high-value and high-impact investors and projects. Since 2020, Invest Alberta has supported the commitment of over $20 billion in investment that created more than 10,000 new high-value jobs for Albertans.

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Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

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Investment

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published

3 weeks ago

October 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

Published

4 weeks ago

October 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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