In recent days we had a meeting in Mexico City with the governor of Arizona, Republican Doug Ducey, and this will be perhaps the last trip of the still governor to our country before handing over the responsibility to the governor-elect, Democrat Katie Hobbs. During this meeting, the governor highlighted the great opportunity that Arizona has in the coming years to continue increasing the commercial relationship with the north of Mexico but emphasizing that manufacturing will continue to be the best bet in which both regions should continue to develop together and where the priorities will be the electromobility sector, the semiconductor industry and the aerospace industry. Governor Ducey's eight-year effort to attract investment has been enormous, attracting companies such as TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.), which is currently building a large industrial building with an investment of USD $12 billion that will start producing chips in 2024, and Lucid Motors, an electric vehicle manufacturer whose operation began this year with a volume of 10,000 vehicles per year, but which already has a plan to grow to a manufacturing volume of 300,000 vehicles per year in the medium term. The supply potential that the northern states of Mexico have for these and other investments coming to Arizona is enormous and without a doubt Chihuahua is not only strategically located to do so, but also we already have the know-how in many of the products and processes that investments of this type require as part of their supply. Despite the restrictions that our country has imposed on itself to receive foreign direct investment, 2022 has been extremely generous with our state and so far FDI amounts to USD $1,683 million (which places us in fourth place nationally) but the opportunities for the future, especially in the aforementioned areas, are still enormous since the wave of "reshoring" has not stopped and there could even be a new wave from European countries due to the natural gas crisis that currently affects that region due to Russia's war with Ukraine. Currently, companies from Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, China and the United States are actively looking for locations to start producing batteries and other components for electric vehicles in Mexico, but in the case of batteries, it will be essential that the government grants facilities that allow private investors to extract lithium, since to extract this type of mineral requires large capital investments that our government will not be able to invest, even with the creation of the Lithium for Mexico (LitioMx), whose functions seem to be only good wishes. An option that could be opened without affecting "sovereignty" is that either Mexican and/or foreign capital companies could extract lithium and produce battery components using the PPP (Public-Private Partnerships) scheme, but in no way, waste the opportunity we have in front of us. The FDI potential for the short term in these three sectors that the Arizona government has focused on in recent years amounts to USD $4 billion and we must do everything in our power to be there and continue to grow our industry. Our only logistic route is also the route with which we commercially connect with Sonora through the border from Janos to Agua Prieta, but if the Arizona government continues with the plan to invest in the expansion of the Douglas bridge with Agua Prieta, our duty would now be to improve the road infrastructure to better connect with that state and if we add to this the potential investments that could be generated, municipalities such as Casas Grandes, Janos and Ascensión could be extremely benefited with the arrival of new companies. For the time being, let's think about not losing opportunities since 2023, despite the recession, is already projecting a 10% growth in the production of auto parts and one of the main reasons is the increasing demand for electric vehicles in the neighboring country. Román Rivas Wong Master in Administration. President of Index Chihuahua roman.rivas@mgsmfg.com Source: El Heraldo de Chihuahua https://www.elheraldodechihuahua.com.mx/analisis/here-comes-the-sun-shine-9250113.html