The Bay State is about as cheap a place to do business as other biotech hotspots and there is relatively more venture capital here, Gov. Mitt Romney told international industry leaders yesterday in asales pitch for the state.

His appeal came on the heels of his visit to the Biotech Industry Organization’s annual conference in Washington this week where he met personally with several biotech leaders.

“You are welcome here,” he said yesterday to dozens of industry leaders who came from the conference to Boston for a two-day introduction to the area. “We appreciate your investments.”

Romney’s direct approach is part of a much larger effort to keep and attract biotech companies in Massachusetts amid growing competition from other areas.

The event, Massachusetts Works for Biotechnoloy, was jointly organized by state and private groups.

Although Massachusetts has a reputation for high taxes and high costs, it’s actually comparable to places such as California and North Carolina, Romney said.

The Bay State’s corporate tax rate is slightly higher, but companies can carry losses over for five years, which mitigates the differences, he said.

A clinical lab technician earns an average $34,960 in Massachusetts compared to $35,000 in North Carolina and $52,820 in California.

And although California has more venture capital, it is spread over two biotech centers, Romney said.

But the competition is stiff, say biotech leaders being wooed.

Among them are executives from Microsulis Americus Inc., who are looking at several possible U.S. locations for expansion, said William N. McMullen, senior vice president.

“They’ve been really, really pressured as far as incentives to look at those other states,” he said.

McMullen, a Massachusetts native, said he likes the area because of the high concentration of top doctors.