EDA PROVIDED $660 MILLION IN 2006 FINANCING ASSISTANCE, INCENTIVES IN SUPPORT OF GOVERNOR’S ECONOMIC GROWTH STRATEGY

TRENTON, N.J. (February 15, 2007) – The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) continued to advance Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s comprehensive Economic Growth Strategy in 2006 by finalizing $660 million in financing assistance and business incentives to support business growth and job creation in the state. This assistance is supporting new public/private investment of more than $1.8 billion in New Jersey’s economy that is expected to result in the creation of over 15,200 new, full-time jobs and almost 6,700 construction jobs.

Preliminary 2006 results show that the EDA closed $425.5 million in bonds, loans, loan guarantees and environmental assistance grants with 187 projects in calendar year 2006 to support economic growth and job creation in New Jersey. Additionally, the Authority executed 82 Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) grants in 2006 worth an estimated $173.6 million over 10 years to companies planning to create nearly 11,500 new jobs in New Jersey and invest more than $1.1 billion in their projects. Businesses executing BEIP grants in 2006 included Vonage (1,657 jobs), Citigroup (1,200 jobs), Sanofi-Aventis (850 jobs), Unilever (450 jobs) and MetLife (400 jobs).

“The EDA has been a catalyst for creating jobs and promoting economic growth for more than three decades, and we continued to move forward on these fronts in 2006 as we worked to achieve the Governor’s Economic Growth Strategy objectives,” said EDA Chairman Dr. Carl E. Van Horn.

Added EDA Chief Executive Officer Caren Franzini: “We focused our resources on the key business sectors critical to the state’s economy, like technology, the life sciences, manufacturing, logistics and financial services, as we met the financial and real estate development needs of small and mid-size businesses and stimulated investment in the state’s urban communities.”

The 2006 results boost the EDA’s financing totals to $17.2 billion since it was established in 1974. This assistance has leveraged more than $26.5 billion in new business investment and supported the creation of nearly 209,000 new, full-time jobs and 260,000 construction jobs. Through year-end, the EDA had also executed 318 BEIP grants worth more than $1 billion to encourage the expansion and relocation of businesses in New Jersey. The grants have spurred investment totaling approximately $10.8 billion the state’s economy since 1996 and resulted in the creation of more than 63,400 new jobs.

Additionally, the EDA approved 128 technology and biotechnology companies to share the $60 million allocation available in 2006 through the state’s Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program, which is administered by the EDA in conjunction with the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology and the state Division of Taxation.

Among its accomplishments in 2006, which support the Governor’s Economic Growth Strategy, the EDA:

Technology/Life Sciences

• Welcomed the first tenants to its Waterfront Technology Center at Camden, and received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) core and shell gold-level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for this modern technology facility – the first public project in the state to be certified under the Green Building Rating System. Also leased space at its Technology Centre of New Jersey in North Brunswick to four new biotechnology/pharmaceutical businesses.


• Approved a $2-million investment in the Edison VI Venture Fund and a $400,000 investment in the NextStage Capital L.P. venture fund to support the growth of early-stage technology companies in New Jersey.


• Targeted the first $45 million of its $150-million commitment to advance the Edison Innovation Fund, a new state effort managed by the EDA under the Governor’s Economic Growth Strategy to support technology and life sciences companies. The Fund’s aim is to increase access to early-stage capital and provide specialized assistance to existing mid-size and large technology and life sciences businesses. It also will build the capacity of New Jersey’s research colleges and universities in strategic areas that complement economic development.

Community Redevelopment, Brownfields

• Finalized the first financings for significant development projects in Edison, Millville and Trenton resulting from a $125-million federal allocation under the New Markets Tax Credits program to support investment and economic growth in low-income areas of the state.


• Continued to advance a Portfields Initiative with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and other state agencies to drive the expansion and modernization of warehousing and distribution functions in the Port District to help meet the growing commercial cargo and distributions center needs of businesses. Several major redevelopment projects are already moving forward in Carteret, Edison, Linden, Perth Amboy and Woodbridge.


• Promoted the investigation and cleanup of brownfield properties and underground storage tanks by providing 72 projects with more than $13.8 million in grants and low-interest loans.


• Expanded resources available to municipalities for advancing neighborhood revitalization by making available new funding to finance feasibility studies and other predevelopment costs associated with redevelopment projects, including planning and marketing expenses.


• Made a $185-million commitment that will be leveraged with private funding to establish the New Jersey Urban Fund. The Fund is designed to spur investment in the state’s urban communities by providing businesses and community development organizations with the financial and technical tools they need to grow and revitalize neighborhoods.

Core Small and Mid-Size Businesses

• Provided more than $305 million in financing assistance to small and mid-size businesses and nonprofit organizations planning to invest more than $515 million in New Jersey’s economy.


• Closed almost $121 million in financing assistance and business incentives with 72 manufacturers planning to create nearly 4,300 new jobs and invest more than $764 million in their projects.


• Completed the first full year of curriculum enhancements to its Entrepreneurial Training Institute for new and aspiring small-business owners and helped train more than 140 students who enrolled in the two-stage program at sites throughout the state to examine the feasibility of their business ideas and/or develop a formal business plan.

Other

• Implemented guidelines to ensure that its venture capital and community development investments are aligned with the Economic Growth Strategy and consistently support the success of emerging technology companies, woman-owned and minority-owned enterprises and other small businesses, and real estate development projects in New Jersey.

The EDA is an independent, self-sustaining state financing and development agency that works to promote economic growth, job creation and the revitalization of New Jersey’s communities with financing assistance, technical support and entrepreneurial training, and real estate development activities.

To learn more about opportunities for business growth throughout New Jersey, visit the state’s business portal at www.nj.gov/njbusiness.