(Corrects governor's name in first paragraph)
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - Oklahoma is seeing a sharp
increase in foreign investment interest, especially in its
renewable energy sector, and is on the cusp of signing large new
deals with firms in Switzerland and Asia, Governor Kevin Stitt
told Reuters on Wednesday.
Stitt said Oklahoma, which just signed a trade agreement
with Britain, said foreign governments were increasingly looking
to bypass what he called "dysfunction" in the U.S. Congress to
forge favorable trade deals with states like his.
"If you want a manufacturing center in the U.S., there's not
a better state to be located in than Oklahoma. We're dead center
located in the middle of the U.S.," he said, citing a big push
by countries and companies to diversify their supply chains and
reduce reliance on China.
The state's low energy costs - about one-third the cost of
energy in Europe and the lowest in the United States - were a
big draw, Stitt said, adding that Oklahoma derived about 45% of
its electricity from renewable sources.
He said he had met recently with officials from Germany,
Switzerland, South Korea, Taiwan, France and Qatar, and was in
talks with various firms about potential deals valued at around
$1 billion, but ranging higher.
One Asian firm was preparing to finalize an investment deal
valued at $5 billion, with another deal imminent with a Swiss
firm in the "green energy" space, he said.
Stitt, in Washington for the SelectUSA Investment Summit,
gave no further details about the companies involved.
Japan's Panasonic Holdings ), a battery supplier to
electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc , said on Sunday it is
considering building a battery plant in Oklahoma, its third in
the United States.
Stitt said agriculture and rare earths production were other
promising areas.
USA Rare Earth is investing heavily in a rare-earth metal
manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stitt said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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