< Previous56 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE partnership with France. Working together, we will bring more economic development opportunities to Texas from France than ever before.” To close out the economic development mission, the Governor and First Lady attended a state dinner hosted by the Indian delegation at the Louvre Museum. Around 200 people were in attendance, including business and government leaders from both France and India, such as President Macron, the Prime Minister of France Élisabeth Borne and the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Affirming Alliances Following the success of the economic development mission of July 2023, Texas has continued to strengthen the ties that were forged throughout the tour. In March 2024, Governor Greg Abbott flew to the United Kingdom on a subsequent mission, where he signed a Statement of Mutual Cooperation (SMC) with United Kingdom Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch and met with United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “The United Kingdom and Texas already share $18 billion worth of goods trade last year, and today’s signing brings us even closer,” said Secretary of State Badenoch. “This MoU is designed to make it cheaper and easier for the United Kingdom and Texan businesses to thrive in each other’s markets. It will strengthen trade ties and help us work together on shared expertise like life sciences and professional business services. I want to thank Governor Abbott and his team for helping to make it happen.” Ten Days in India Prior to visiting the United Kingdom, Governor Abbott and a cohort of Texas business and economic development officials traveled to India to strengthen trade and business relations with government officials and industry leaders. During the 10-day trip, the delegation first stopped in Mumbai. While in the city, Governor Abbott connected with executives from some of India’s largest tech and IT companies: Infosys, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Group, and Wipro. The delegation discussed opportunities for the companies to expand their footprint in Texas, underscoring the Lone Star State’s robust industry sectors and overall commitment to diversity. On March 13, Governor Greg Abbott signed and United Kingdom Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch signed a Statement of Mutual Cooperation (SMC) to boost trade, investment and commerce between the two regions. Photo courtesy of The Office of Governor Greg Abbott58 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE The Governor also participated in a business industry roundtable and reception hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry to confer about strategies to continue to build Texas and India’s trade and economic partnerships. The Governor continued this discussion throughout the second leg of the mission in New Delhi, where he attended the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum and met with the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India Piyush Goyal. The two leaders shared their mutual ideas about strengthening Texas and India’s economic ties through investment in information and communication technology and supporting more engineering and research at institutions of higher learning. On the final day of the mission, Governor Abbott delivered a keynote address at the 7th India-U.S. Forum hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs, touting the strength of Texas and India’s economic relationship. According to Indian industry estimates, Texas is the most popular destination for Indian FDI capital investment and jobs created in the U.S. Within the last decade, companies based in India have invested $1.4 billion in capital investment through 59 projects in Texas, creating more than 10,300 jobs. In 2022, Texas’ total trade with India totaled $20.4 billion, making India the state’s 11th-largest total trade partner. That same year, Texas exports to India totaled $13.3 billion and accounted 28% of all U.S. exports to India. “Texas and India are two places — and two peoples — who both share an independent streak and a desire to make our mark on the world,” said Governor Abbott. “Each of us sits in a critical location — India, with China and Russia on their doorsteps, and Texas at the nexus of the United States and Latin America. We share the common values of family, faith, compassion, and hard work. As we look towards the future, we must ensure that the next generation of leaders in Texas and India will be the innovators who solve the world’s foremost crises and that embracing the values we share leads to liberty and prosperity unmatched throughout the entire world.” Governor Abbott and the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India Piyush Goyal. Photo courtesy of The Office of Governor Greg AbbottTEXAS OVERVIEW 60 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE by RON STARNERTEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 61 E ver wonder how Texas became the No. 1 state for corporate location projects and expansions, or how Texas became the best state for business, or how Texas became the No. 1 state for exports? In the pages of this guide, you will find answers to all these questions along with many others that explain the decades-long dominance of the Lone Star State. But you should also know that underpinning a great deal of this success is a group of leaders who put their money where their mouths are. They are the members of the Board of Directors of the Texas Economic Development Corporation. Investors in the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization known as the TxEDC, these leaders collectively fund the marketing of Texas to the world. Anytime a business is recruited to Texas, you can bet your last dollar that TxEDC played a role in the outreach. TxEDC is a public-private partnership that markets Texas as a premier business destination to corporate decision- makers and site selection consultants worldwide. According to an official statement on the board’s website, “Our areas of strategic focus serve as the foundation of Texas’ economic development and marketing success.” The board does this by focusing on four core areas: • Establishing a statewide network of business leaders to stimulate job- creating investment in Texas. • Executing a bold plan to market Texas across the U.S. and globally as the destination of the future. • Expanding the state’s presence with national and international trade visits. • Elevating and promoting economic growth of existing business and regions throughout Texas. Recent trade missions to Germany, France, UK and India were conducted by TxEDC to attract and recruit foreign direct investment to Texas. TxEDC also produces and distributes the “Just One Thing” newsletter to encourage businesses to “Go Big in Texas.” The Board of TxEDC is comprised of leaders of many of the largest companies based in Texas. The former Chairperson of the Board is Vicki Hollub, President and CEO of Occidental. Vice Chair is Arun Agarwal, CEO of Nexxt. Secretary is Adrian Cannady, President and CEO of Temple Economic Development Corporation. Treasure is S. David Deanda Jr., President of Lone Star National Bank. Board Directors are: Katie Farmer President and CEO BNSF Railway Arun Agarwal CEO Nextt Vicki Hollub President and CEO Occidental Elizabeth Killinger Senior Advisor NRG S. David Deanda Jr. President Lone Star National Bank Adrian Cannady President and CEO Temple Economic Development Corporation George “Trey” Henderson III Manager and Owner Henderson Community Ltd. Adriana Cruz Executive Director, Economic Development and Tourism Office of Governor Greg Abbott L. Frederick “Rick” Francis Executive Chairman WestStar Eduardo Margain CEO and Founder Pixiu Investments Peter J. Holt CEO and General Manager Holt Cat Aaron Demerson President and CEO Texas Economic Development Corporation62 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE TxEDC Investors The TxEDC is funded by a lengthy list of investors from around the state and nation. Lead investors are part of the CEO Council: Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BNSF Railway, Calpine, Capital One, CenterPoint Energy, Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Formentera Partners, Frost, Go Car Insurance, Gulf States Toyota, Holt Cat, Hunt, Infosys, McKesson, NRG, Occidental, ONCOR, Ryan, Sempra Energy, Tata Consultancy Services, Texas Capital Bank, The University of Texas System, Toyota, Valero, Vistra Energy and WoodForest National Bank. The Executive Council includes: The Electric Company – El Paso Electric, ExxonMobil, Happy State Bank & Trust Company, Kleinheinz Family Foundation, McLane, Samsung Austin Semiconductor, Transwestern and WestStar. Developer Council members are Blue Bell Creameries, Cheniere, Google and Hillwood. TxEDC Annual Investors are Opportunity Austin, Greater San Antonio Regional Economic Partnership, Greater Houston Partnership, Amarillo Economic Development, The Borderplex Alliance, City of Dallas, The City of El Paso, HDR, Irving Economic Development Partnership, Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, McKinney Economic Development Corporation, Port of Brownsville, Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge, AEP Texas, Arlington, Plano, City of Sugar Land, Dallas Regional Chamber, Develop Abilene, Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, Greater Conroe Economic Development Council, New Braunfels Chamber, Greater San Marcos Partnership, Lone Star College, Pearland Economic Development Corporation, STEC, Temple Economic Development Corporation and Yates Construction. Investors in TxEDC are regularly involved in capital investment projects of TxEDC is a public-private partnership that markets Texas as a premier business destination to corporate decision-makers and site selection consultants worldwide.their own in Texas. For example, recent investment deals involving TxEDC investors include: • Samsung announced that it plans to more than double its total semiconductor investment in the Lone Star State to approximately $44 billion. The South Korean firm said it would concentrate this investment in Taylor just outside of Austin. • Amazon announced plans to build a new $250 million data center in Round Rock near Austin. The complex will be built on 150 acres just north of the State Highway 45 tollway. Amazon also announced that it will build a last-mile distribution facility just off County Road 172 in Round Rock, where the firm will create roughly 150 to 200 new jobs. • Meanwhile, Cheniere’s Corpus Christi LNG plant is about 53% complete, the company said. The $8 billion expansion project is expected to be ready to begin production by sometime in late 2024. To see the full list of investors, go to: https://businessintexas.com/about/ investors/ For more information on how to join TxEDC, and for information on all TxEDC events, contact Christin Evans , vice president of external affairs, at christin@businessintexas.com.64 TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE Y ou don’t become the eighth-largest economy in the world by doing small things. You get there by doing things that are big, bold and audacious. Consider Texas. With a $2.4 trillion economy that accounts for nearly 10% of U.S. GDP, the Lone Star State continues to outpace the nation by landing record investment deals. Over the last 12 months, Texas garnered 25 capital investment projects of $250 million or greater. Cumulatively, these corporate facility expansions totaled $49.73 billion and accounted for the generation of 8,137 new jobs statewide, according to the projects database of Conway Data Inc., publisher of Site Selection magazine. Two of the largest deals came in the energy sector. NextDecade Corp. announced an $18.4 billion energy project in Brownsville, while Sempra Infrastructure announced a $13 billion energy complex in Port Arthur. The NextDecade Rio Grande LNG export facility is the largest greenfield energy project financing in U.S. history. It was announced in July 2023. In March 2023, Sempra announced that its subsidiary, Sempra Infrastructure Partners LP, had reached a positive final investment decision for the development, construction and operation of the $13 billion Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project in Jefferson County. “With strong customers, top- tier equity sponsors in ConocoPhillips and KKR, and a world-class contractor in Bechtel, this project has the potential to become one of America’s most significant energy infrastructure investments over time,” said Jeff Martin, CEO and chair of Sempra, “while creating jobs and spurring continued economic growth across Texas and the Gulf Coast region.” Sempra and NextDecade have a lot of company in Texas — and not just on the traditional oil and gas side of the energy sector. Renewable energy investors are flocking to Texas. Case in point is Waaree Energies, which announced in December that it plans to build its first U.S. solar panel factory in Brookshire near Houston. The India-based company said it will invest $1 billion at the site over four years as it scales the project to 5 GW by 2027. The firm added that it will also build an integrated U.S.-made solar cell plant and open it by 2025. Altogether, Waaree plans to create 1,500 jobs in Texas by 2027. From EV Chargers to Chips These investments are not an anomaly. Across Texas, investors are lining up to spend big bucks on alternative power projects. In Fort Worth, Gage Zero and by RON STARNER INVESTMENT SNAPSHOT: BIG DEALS Even the Deals are Bigger In Texas BNSF Alliance Intermodal Facility at AllianceTexas in Fort Worth Photo courtesy of Gage Zero and HillwoodTEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 65 Hillwood announced plans to develop the state’s first EV fleet charging hub at AllianceTexas. Gage Zero has committed to investing $300 million into an EV charging network across the country. The new hub at Alliance is part of that investment. In his annual Report to the People of Texas, Governor Abbott highlighted other deals making huge impacts. These include a $17 billion investment by Samsung Austin Semiconductors LLC in Taylor, creating 1,800 jobs; an $870 million, 600-job investment by Leprino Foods in Lubbock; and a $670 million, 1,529-job investment by Producer Owned Beef in Amarillo. Data center developers are picking up the pace too. Prologis and Skybox are building a $10 billion data center on Highway 79 in Hutto near Austin; Meta is constructing an $800 million data center on just under 400 acres in Temple; and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, just announced a $600 million data center in Red Oak south of Dallas. ‘Texas Offers the Freedom to Aspire’ And for those with a healthy appetite, Plant Agricultural Systems has a project that’s sure to please: a $1.2 billion investment to bring over 3,000 acres of advanced Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) to Amarillo and Lubbock. The indoor hydroponic farms will grow leafy greens, tomatoes and strawberries. The goal, says the company, is to help turn the U.S. from a net importer of fruits and vegetables to a net exporter. Projects like these are why Texas outpaces the nation. While the U.S. economy grew by 2.5% in 2023, Texas grew by 5.7%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. “Texas is again outpacing the nation in economic expansion and job growth thanks to the best business climate and strongest workforce in America,” said Governor Abbott. “Across every region of this great state, Texas offers hardworking Texans the freedom to aspire.” Next >