Joanne Pizzo, co-founder of Planning Plus, offers insights into eds & meds connectivity, and 10 timely strategies for colleges looking to leverage their real estate.
Consumers Energy and Michigan communities leave coal behind on the road to a net-zero future. (Bonus points if you can guess which Michigan-born rocker’s lyrics were so right for our headline.)
The 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) from Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) was launched Wednesday at London Tech Week. Familiar to readers of Site Selection’s annual look at Startup & Innovation Hubs, the GSER is the world’s most comprehensive and widely read research on startups, with 280 entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems and 3 million startups analyzed. This year’s edition includes a ranking of the leading 140 ecosystems, breakdowns by continent with regional insights, and founder-focused articles from thought leaders and experts around the world. Key insights include:
Despite a turbulent year for many, the top five global startup ecosystems maintain their reign at the top, with Silicon Valley in the #1 position, followed by New York City and London tied for #2 for the second year in a row. Beijing and Boston follow at #4 and #5, respectively.
North America continues to dominate the Global Rankings, with 50% of the Top 30 ecosystems coming from this region, followed by Asia with 27% and Europe with 17% of the top performing ecosystems globally.
The global startup economy is worth over $3.8 trillion in Ecosystem Value, more than the individual GDP of most G7 economies, not including the value of exits prior to 2018.
There are now 79 ecosystems generating over $4 billion in value — more than double the number identified in 2017.
A total of 91 ecosystems created unicorns in 2020. In 2021, meanwhile, as of August, “India had spawned 24 unicorns in 2021—including six in just four days in April,” the report states.
“Entrepreneurs, policymakers, and community leaders are working hard all over the world to build productive and inclusive technology ecosystems that are engines of economic growth and job creation for all,” said JF Gauthier, Founder & CEO of Startup Genome. “The Global Startup Ecosystem Report is the foundation of knowledge where we, as a global network, come together to identify what policies actually produce economic impact and in what context.”
DIGITAL EDITION
Can’t wait for all the September Site Selection stories to be posted on the web? Now all 248 pages of the September issue are fully accessible in the print facsimile Digital Edition of the issue. Features include:
The Global Groundwork Index cover story
Our annual Top Utilities and Canada’s Best Locations reports (including directories for each)
Top Locations for Remote Work
Can’t wait for all the September Site Selection stories to be posted on the web? Now all 248 pages of the September issue are fully accessible in the print facsimile Digital Edition of the issue. Features include:
Global coverage includes:
Top logistics locations (as well as insights into China’s new e-commerce industrial zones)
An EV manufacturing hub in England
Vietnam’s industrial development challenges.
Eleven state and regional spotlights include:
Idaho National Laboratory
The Chapter 313 incentive program in Texas
Offshore wind in North Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic states
The Southeast’s unique legacy of site selection consulting
Finally, don’t miss the Duke Energy Investment Report, as well as Selection Investment Profiles showcasing San Bernardino County, California; Consumers Energy; Enterprise Florida; Indiana Municipal Power Agency; Abilene, Texas; Hoosier Energy; Maryland; and San Joaquin County, California.
Critical production demands can’t always wait on a lengthy construction project. North Carolina’s shell industrial buildings are ready now with targeted state and local incentives available to help with up-fit.
At ElectriCities, we look for opportunities to partner with our 70+ NC Public Power member cities to provide customized assistance within all aspects of economic development at no cost to you. From marketing to targeted recruiting to grant assistance, we’re here with tools and expertise. We actively work with site selectors to recruit industries and bring jobs to our public power hometowns. Our local expertise allows commercial and industrial customers like you to find just the right site with fewer hassles—and way more hospitality.
Founded in 1964 in County Limerick, Kirby Group Engineering still likes what it sees there, as the company announced in July plans to create 300 new jobs as part of a significant expansion to meet demand for its services in Ireland and across Europe. Part of its recruitment drive is a goal to attract almost 100 people to be deployed across its apprenticeship scheme and graduate program. The company, which currently employs 1,200 after having already added 200 new jobs in 2020, plans to invest €2 million to upgrade its headquarters. Kirby currently operates in seven countries around Europe and its expansion has been greatly supported by Enterprise Ireland. Most of the company’s growth in the next 12 months will come from the construction of new data center projects, while also meeting the demands of its customer base across the life sciences, industrial, commercial and energy sectors.
Germany-based Leoni, a global provider of products and solutions for energy and data management in the automotive sector and other industries, this month marked the official opening of its fourth plant in Serbia, in the city of Kraljevo. The facility will provide up to 5.000 jobs by 2023, which will make Leoni the largest private industrial employer in Serbia. The project is the first new plant built in almost 30 years in the region of Kraljevo and is expected to significantly contribute to the decrease of the unemployment rate, raise the living standard in the area and accelerate its development pace, said a release from Invest in Serbia. “We are grateful for the unbureaucratic and very professional support of the authorities over all these years,” said Aldo Kamper, CEO of Leoni. “We are happy to be able to tap into a large pool of dedicated and motivated employees here. And we are glad that we are contributing to raising the general standard of living in the region with our commitment in recent years. I think that’s what you call a win-win situation.” Leoni Serbia was founded in 2009 when the factory in Prokuplje started operating. The second factory was opened five years later in Malošište, in the municipality of Doljevac, and in the middle of 2017, the third factory in Serbia, in Niš, started operating.
According to WalletHub’s analysis, Wells Fargo & Co. pays the lowest overall tax rate among the S&P 100.
Photo courtesy of Wells Fargo & Co.
As debate ensues in the halls of the U.S. Congress over a potential raising of the corporate tax rate to 28%, WalletHub last week released its latest Corporate Tax Rate Report, which analyzes the 2020 federal, state and international tax rates paid by S&P 100 companies. Among them, here are those paying the highest and lowest overall rates, topped by California-based Gilead Sciences, maker of Veklury (remdesivir), the antiviral standard of care for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19:
Companies Paying the Highest Taxes (Overall Tax Rate)
Gilead Sciences Inc. (94.67%)
Booking Holdings Inc. (89.59%)
Kraft Heinz (64.95%)
Walgreen Boots Alliance Inc. (48.45%)
Dow Inc. (37.52%)
Mondelez International Inc. (36.18%)
Altria Group Inc. (35.36%)
Walmart Inc. (33.35%)
United Parcel Service Inc. (27.17%)
American Express (27.03%)
Companies Paying the Lowest Taxes (Overall Tax Rate)
Wells Fargo & Co. (-1015.20%)
Salesforce Inc. (-59.00%)
AbbVie Inc. (-36.02%)
Duke Energy Corp. (-28.13%)
Adobe Inc. (-25.96%)
Broadcom Inc. (-21.20%)
International Business Machines Corp. (-18.63%)
Medtronic PLC (-18.52%)
General Electric Co. (-9.12%)
NVIDIA Corporation (1.75%)
Among other findings, the overall tax rate that S&P 100 companies pay is around 20%. S&P 100 companies pay roughly 44% lower rates on U.S. taxes than international taxes. But most tech companies, including Adobe, Inc., Oracle Corp. and Microsoft Corp., are still paying more than 3% lower rates abroad, continuing an annual trend that goes back to 2013.
The report asks six taxation experts to weigh in on six questions, one of which is “What would you change about the way U.S. corporations are taxed?” Jim Hamill, department head, Accounting and Finance in Texas A&M University’s Commerce department, responds, “I support Treasury Secretary Yellen’s efforts to work with other countries to develop a global minimum tax, so each country has no incentives to pursue a race to the bottom with corporate taxes.”
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Photo courtesy of Next.e.GO Mobile SE
Conway Data Executive Vice President Ron Starner on Tuesday took this photo of the 18th hole at the Straits at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin as the U.S. Ryder Cup team practice wound down. Whistling Straits also includes the inland Irish Course, both of them designed by the “Dye-abolical” Pete Dye. Whistling Straits is just one component of Destination Kohler, which also includes the top-ranked Blackwolf Run Golf Course and resort and spa facilities. Play begins Friday morning in the highly anticipated 43rd Ryder Cup competition pitting top U.S. golfers against their European counterparts in foursomes, fourball and singles formats. Team Europe is the reigning cup holder after its 17½–10½ victory over Team USA in 2018 at Le Golf National in Paris, France.
