Page 28 - FDI Alliance International Magazine Summer 2020 Digital Interactive Issue

INVESTISSEMENT QUÉBEC INTERNATIONAL

BUILDING BRIDGES TO ECONOMIC EXPANSION AND GROWTH IN QUEBEC

Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Invest Quebec International Quebec is home to a vast landscape of higher learning institutions that
is an economic development organization that offers an unparalleled are developing the next generation of advanced expertise, enabling Invest
range of services as part of its mission to foster business innovation, Quebec International to assist foreign investors in accessing an exceptional
entrepreneurship, business acquisitions, and investment growth in the pool of homegrown talent. Quebec is also a low cost, highly effective
Province of Quebec. Under the leadership of Hubert Bolduc, President of alternative to the United States and other regions in Canada both in terms
Invest Quebec International, the organization is committed to facilitating of the cost of doing business, and by its lower cost of living. Additionally,
foreign investment that supports employment in all regions of Quebec. Quebec’s diverse, multi-cultural society features more than 180 spoken
languages, further assisting foreign companies in the integration process.
A division of Investissement Québec, Invest Quebec International is
comprised of two divisions. The organization’s Export division is led by Vice → A case in point
President, Marie Eve Jean, and is mandated with sourcing and expanding Among those who have benefitted from Invest Quebec International’s
export markets abroad for Quebec-based businesses. The Foreign Direct services is Bel Canada Inc., the Montreal-based Canadian subsidiary of
Investment division, headed by Vice President, Daniel Silverman, leads the French company, Bel Group, which is the third-largest branded cheese
organization’s efforts to attract and secure foreign investment in Quebec company in the world. Bel Group’s Canadian subsidiary was employing
by actively pursuing companies who can contribute to, and benefit from, a mixed business model combining imports and local production, with
Quebec’s impressive network of developing and mature economic the latter achieved through partnerships with Quebec-based companies
ecosystems. In addition, Daniel’s team also plays an important role in at the heart of the Canadian dairy industry. In 2017, Bel Canada Inc.
attracting talent. began working on a plan to build a plant capable of producing one of
the parent company’s core products, recognizing Quebec as a gateway
→ Why Quebec? to a Canadian market that they had been serving for more than 60 years.
The Canadian subsidiary moved the ball forward by reaching out to
In 2019, the Foreign Direct Investment division’s prospecting activities Investissement Québec, leveraging an existing relationship that had proven
attracted 77 foreign investment projects to Quebec, totaling $2.3 billion beneficial to the subsidiary numerous times over the course of its Quebec-
and creating or preserving 7,789 jobs over a maximum period of three based history.
years. With a diverse economy, rich in advanced technology clusters,
Quebec offers growth opportunities in a wide range of advanced sectors, Invest Quebec’s Foreign Direct Investment division stepped in with a
including artificial intelligence, green electricity, the electrification of vehicles proactive approach aimed at opening doors and expediting the process.
and batteries, aerospace, life sciences, video gaming, food processing, film The organization unveiled a full gamut of government programs that the
and entertainment, and much more.
28. FDI ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL