Miami, FL – The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade’s economic development organization, is pleased to announce that Miami has been named as the number five (5) Major City of the Future by fDi Magazine.

The leading global publication of the Financial Times focusing on foreign direct investment. In addition, the magazine’s April/May issue also lists Miami in six other Top-Ten rankings of major world cities in its Cities of the Future 2009/2010 shortlists. The full 2009/2010 rankings for Miami are as follows:

#3 – Major City for Lowest Unemployment Rate
#3 – Major City for Best Business Friendliness
#4 – Major City for Best Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Strategy
#5 – Major City of the Future
#5 – Major City for Highest Growth of Companies within Knowledge-Based Sector
#5 – Major City for Best Quality of Life
#8 – North American City of the Future

An independent judging panel and the fDi research team reviewed data from 400 North American cities and scored them on the basis of economic potential, human resources, cost effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure, and business friendliness. In addition, The Beacon Council submitted information about Miami’s foreign direct investment promotion strategy as part of the judging requirements. The fDi Magazine spent more than six months selecting the “top ten” shortlists of cities of all sizes with the highest foreign direct investment and the best strategies and resources for economic development.

“The rankings are a measure of Miami-Dade’s economic potential, not only of our ability to attract new foreign direct investment projects, but also our strategy to promote Miami-Dade as the Business Center of the Americas,” states Frank Nero, President & CEO of The Beacon Council. “Through our ongoing work we have been able to keep our unemployment levels steady and consistently lower than state and national percentages, as well as keeping new capital investment and jobs coming into Miami-Dade. Currently, 50 percent of our projects are international; without a doubt, international investments are keeping Miami’s economy afloat.”

Earlier this year, The Beacon Council partnered with WorldCity Magazine in the Second Annual South Florida Global Economic Impact Study, which measures the depth of economic activity fueled by the strong multinational presence in the region. The study concluded that South Florida’s multinationals oversee in excess of $221 billion in annual revenues, validating “the importance of the multinationals in our local economy and the fact that we are a growing global business hub,” as stated by Mr. Nero. The multinational presence in Miami-Dade County continues to create new and diverse economic opportunities for businesses and residents of the County.

The Beacon Council continues to push its aggressive promotional strategy through its Miami: Where World’s Meet marketing campaign, currently about to enter its second phase. The original $2 million global marketing campaign to promote Miami-Dade County as a dynamic, world-class destination for business, vacation and meetings was launched in September of 2008. It its second phase the campaign will continue to focus promotional efforts throughout North and South America, as well as Europe.

Nero went on to state, “This is a proud accomplishment that reflects our resiliency and the collective effort of our business community to rise above the economic challenges. These rankings are especially significant because they underscore our efforts to market Miami internationally through our target markets, such as Brazil, Canada France, Italy, Spain and Asia. We will continue to be aggressive through phase two of our Miami: Where World’s Meet campaign and our economic development mission schedule, as these rankings are reflective of The Beacon Council’s direct marketing activities.”