Eluned Morgan has said she hopes foreign-owned companies spend billions of pounds and create thousands of jobs in Wales as a result of an international investment summit.
The Welsh government has confirmed the event will happen in Newport on 1 December.
Growing the economy was her “top priority”, the first minister said, and she promised a “different emphasis” to previous Welsh Labour leaders.
The Welsh Conservatives said Labour, which has led the Welsh government since devolution in 1999, had “hamstrung” the economy. Plaid Cymru called the summit a “gimmick” to disguise Welsh Labour’s lack of economic vision.
More than 170,000 people in Wales work for companies that are owned overseas, but Morgan told BBC Wales: “I think we can get more of that. And that’s what this summit is about.”
“I am very ambitious in terms of what I’m hoping to get out,” she added.
“I am looking for billions of pounds of investment to come in and thousands of jobs to be delivered.
“This is a process that is going to happen over a number of years, but we are talking to the companies that we want to come already so that we can work up what our ambition is in relation to their investment.”
Morgan, who picked up the reins after Vaughan Gething’s resignation last summer, said voters had told her they wanted more quality jobs.
“I’m taking my lead from the public because that’s what they want to see,” she said.
Asked if it represented a change of direction from helping the least well off, she said standing by people who struggle “is fundamental socialism which is core to my beliefs, but I think that can go with a jobs and growth agenda”.
“Every leader is going to bring a different emphasis to the role and my emphasis is very much on producing quality jobs because that’s how people pay their bills,” she said.
The summit will be at Newport’s International Convention Centre (ICC Wales) and the Celtic Manor Resort.
The Welsh government is also spending £2.5m to help US technology company Cadence Design Systems open a new base Cardiff, creating 100 jobs.
Conservative shadow economy secretary Samuel Kurtz said: “While Welsh and UK Labour hamstring businesses with a multitude of new taxes from both ends of the M4, the Welsh Conservatives are committed to fixing the Welsh economy, by delivering high-quality education, world-class skills and meaningful support for businesses.”
Plaid Cymru economy and energy spokesperson Luke Fletcher called the investment summit a “gimmick” to disguise Welsh Labour’s lack of economic vision, describing business support in Wales as “fragmented and dysfunctional”.
“We need a new, one stop shop for both investors and domestic Welsh businesses to access the information, support and finance they need to grow,” he added.
