While the number of foreign-owned companies in the six-county Southern California region has increased, the number of jobs declined slightly, according to a report released Friday by World Trade Center Los Angeles.

The Foreign Direct Investment in Southern California report, prepared by WTCLA — a trade-development organization — in conjunction with the nonprofit Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., found that in 2017, there were 10,378 firms in Southern California that have foreign ownership, which was up from 9,964, although total employment levels dropped to 427,954 from 439,101.

“This third year of our FDI report is starting to reveal trends, and analysis will inform our work of attracting investment and companies to the region,” said Stephen Cheung, president of WTCLA. “We believe that the increase in FOE firms in the region will have significant, positive impact to the regional economy.”

Japan is the biggest source of foreign-owned companies in the region, with 85,874 jobs, followed by the United Kingdom with 63,739 jobs and Canada with 40,819 jobs. The report also noted that while China ranked No. 8 on the list, jobs at firms with Chinese ownership increased 148 percent over the past two-year period, to 15,968 jobs.

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