Gov. Bev Perdue announced today that North Carolina remains the state with the Top Business Climate, according to Site Selection magazine.&bsp; It is the fifth year in a row and the eighth time in nine years that the state has taken the top honor in the annual ranking by Site Selection, one of the nations premier magazines for economic development.

Business leaders know we are listening to them and working aggressively to meet their needs, Perdue said. Companies know that in North Carolina they will find top-quality talent, world-class infrastructure, a pro-business environment, and premier education institutions. North Carolina is simply a great place to do business.

Site Selection Editor-in-Chief Mark Arend agreed that North Carolinas winning streak demonstrates that businesses are finding in the state what they need to succeed. He added, The synergy between North Carolinas research parks, corporations, communities, and economic developers at the state and local levels is a major factor in this years top ranking.

Site Selection magazines annual Top Business Climate rankings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors that corporate site-seekers those who help companies expand or relocate say they consider most important.&bsp; Fifty percent of the ranking comes from a survey of corporate site selection executives who were asked to rank their top 10 states, and 50 percent is based on four measures of new plant activity as tracked by Site Selection in its New Plant Database.&bsp; The magazine describes the ranking process as a blend of objective, actual new or expansion project announcements, and subjective input from corporate site seekers.

The article about North Carolinas No. 1 ranking can be found at: www.siteselection.com.