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The Governor's Office of Economic Development on Thursday approved tax incentives for a trio of companies pledging about 900 new jobs, including a financial-services firm that said it is coming to Utah after talking to investment banking giant Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs, whose Salt Lake City office is the company's fourth largest in the world, played a big role in Indus Valley Partners Corp.'s decision to expand its New York operations to Utah's capital, Gurvinder Singh, CEO of the financial analytics software provider, told GOED's board of directors.

"They were big proponents for this location," Singh said, "so that's how we ended up here."

The board approved a $1.1 million tax credit for Indus Valley, which pledged to create 200 full-time jobs in Salt Lake City during the next 11 years. Indus Valley can draw on the credit as it creates the jobs.

Indus Valley has 380 employees in offices in New York, London, New Delhi and Mumbai. More than 25 percent of $2.3 trillion in assets controlled by hedge funds around the world are managed with Indus Valley technology and software, according to GOED. Its clients include 15 of the top 50 global hedge funds.

"Our professionals have the requisite mix of industry experience and domain expertise to solve the most complex technological and operational issues facing the capital markets industry," the company said in a summary given to GOED before the board voted unanimously to approve the credit.

Indus Valley will pay more than $91.1 million in wages during the life of the agreement. The company expects to pay close to $5.4 million in new state taxes. It will spend $500,000 on new offices in Cottonwood Heights.

School Improvement Network (SINET) — which provides education software for students, teachers and school administrators — will receive a $3.1 million tax credit in return for creating 470 jobs during the next 10 years and investing $8 million into buying and renovating an empty building at the corner of 700 South and West Temple. SINET expects to complete the purchase of the building from Mark Miller Toyota by month's end, said Chet Linton, SINET's CEO.

Linton said the company will move its headquarters from Midvale to the new building. It should open in June with about 300 new hires.

SINET pledged to pay out almost $6 million in wages over the next decade and more than $15 million in state taxes. The company also expects to hire an additional 230 people later.

GOED's board approved a $1.4 million tax incentive for Nature Food Products, a Modesto, Calif., meat wholesaler. The company will build a $20 million pork-processing plant in Box Elder County that will hire 261 people within 10 years.

The plant will process 4,000 to 4,500 animals per day, according to the company. At the outset, the plant will slaughter animals and ship carcasses to customers. Over time, it will shift to meat-cutting and finally into producing specialty pork products.

The company expects to pay more than $90 million in wages over the life of the agreement, as well as $6 million in new state taxes.

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