B.C.’s finance minister Carole Taylor is making the rounds of Bay Street and Wall Street this week, meeting with financial and business leaders in New York and Toronto, to drum up investment for the province.

The ministry says that the goal of the annual investor tour is to maintain an open dialogue with major government bond investors and broaden the province’s investor base. The tour will also highlight B.C.’s economic success story and promote business investment.

Taylor will meet with institutional fund managers and investors, senior corporate executives, banks, investment firms, credit rating agencies and business media during her three-day trip, providing information about its budget and the province’s economic outlook.

“The budget has already attracted plenty of interest from North America’s investment and business leaders,” said Taylor. “In my conversations with them, I point out how our provincial income tax rates are now the lowest among provinces for people with incomes up to $108,000. Add to that the fact that we are enhancing skills and training, introducing initiatives to help with housing affordability, and investing in transportation and other infrastructure, and British Columbia becomes an even better place to live, work and invest.”

In the past several years, B.C. has received a series of credit rating upgrades, including last October’s triple-A rating from Moody’s Investors Service Inc., the agency’s highest possible rating. Increased investor confidence and higher credit ratings mean reduced borrowing costs for the province, it noted.

“British Columbia’s thriving economy is getting attention from across Canada and the United States, and this is another opportunity to remind investors about all that our province has to offer,” said Taylor. “That includes our dynamic and highly skilled workforce, competitive tax rates and business costs, reliable energy, and our strategic position as gateway to the Asia-Pacific.”