Utah called 'undervalued stock'

Utah has made strong economic gains in the past two years but remains what Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. calls "an undervalued stock."

Speaking at the Governor's Utah Economic Summit '07 on Thursday, Huntsman promised good things in the state's economic future.

"Generally speaking, from the overall business environment, the climate right now in the state couldn't be better," he said. "If we were a stock, you would want to invest in us. You'd buy us up because you want to buy a security that has a future value better than what it is today. You're buying an asset that has a strong future valuation. ...

"Even with all the good things that have happened in the last couple of years, we are a stock that is undervalued, because I think what you're going to see over the next year or two is a lot more of our economic power that is going to be on display and a lot more stories coming out of Utah, as you've seen just in the last couple of months, that really do showcase us as a premier business destination."

Huntsman noted gains in several areas since he conducted an economic summit — mostly involving company chief executive officers — two years ago. In total, those have led to Utah having "the hottest economy in the country," he said. "And I don't say that hyperbolically. I don't say that boastfully. You just read the statistics. Read the data. We are the hottest economy in the country today."

Among the strides are growing Utah's existing strengths, such as the visitation gains in Utah tourism; "picking off" researchers from others states to be part of the Utah Science, Technology and Research initiative; developing economic clusters; establishing a world trade center; and passing tax reform measures, he said.

Boosting activities tied to locally produced intellectual property also has occurred, he said.

"We run on ideas. We run on innovation. We run on brainpower. We don't run on commodities. Commodities ultimately flee to another part of the world where they're done cheaper and faster than we could ever do," Huntsman said. "We win the war in competition internationally by thinking the big thoughts, innovating, creating and putting entrepreneurship out on the line so that we can create and innovate new industries of tomorrow."

The state also has worked to attract and retain managerial talent and to offer business incentives for local companies considering expanding.

"I hope that you all look into it and know that we at the state level are not just interested in those who are coming in from the outside, because that will happen based upon market trends, but we're exceedingly interested in our local businesses and keeping our entrepreneurial talent here," he said.

Among the next moves are rolling out a new strategy to attract corporate headquarters and regional headquarters; pushing programs to meet the needs of companies for more engineers; finding ways to provide health-care coverage to the 275,000 uninsured Utahns; providing a "seamless transition" for students moving from secondary education to higher education; and getting Utahns to feel good about the state's accomplishments.

Huntsman noted several recent honors the state has received for its business climate, including one in which it led the country in economic dynamism. "When you become No. 1 in dynamism," he said, "you know something very special is happening in your state."

---

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com