British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has singled out UAE backing for British business, as he told a gathering of investors and company chief executives in London that there is “positive momentum” behind the UK economy.
Arriving at the Global Investment Summit at Hampton Court Palace, south-west London, Mr Sunak said he was “delighted” to have “secured investments worth around £30 billion ($37.9 billion)”.
“In the past year alone, we’ve secured new partnerships with the United States, Japan and South Korea, worth more than £50 billion.
“We became the first European country to join the fast-growing Trans-Pacific trade bloc and hugely benefitted from the Sovereign Investment Partnership from the United Arab Emirates, deploying over £14 billion into the UK in a little over two years.”
Opening the GIS, Mr Sunak pointed to the strength of the UK’s trading partnerships as evidence of Britain’s attractiveness to do business in and with.
“That will support tens of thousands of jobs right across the UK. It will create new growth and new opportunities and it’s a huge vote of confidence in our country’s future.”
Hundreds of delegates – including Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone, Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc, David Soloman, chief executive of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon – gathered at one of the favourite residences of Tudor monarch Henry VIII.
Addressing investors and executives, Mr Sunak said: “It’s not governments that grow the economy – it’s businesses and investors like all of you.
“You create jobs, drive growth, generate wealth and you even take on the some of the biggest social challenges we face.
“And it may be unfashionable to say, but I believe that your success is our country’s success.”
Pension fund investments
The Australian infrastructure investment firm IFM Investors, which is owned by the country’s pension funds, announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK government, with the intention to invest £10 billion in the UK by 2027.
The MoU covers investments identified in large-scale infrastructure and energy transition projects.
“Partnerships between governments and long-term investors are necessary to unlock the potential of pension funds to invest to help mitigate system-level risks such as climate change,” said IFM Investors chief executive David Neal.
Meanwhile, another Australian pension fund investor, Aware Super said it will direct £5.3 billion to the UK and Europe through its new London office.
Aware Super has already invested £9 billion in the UK and Europe. The fund said its fresh round of UK investment would initially focus on real estate, infrastructure and private equity.
“The benefits arising from the Australia – UK Free Trade Agreement, the ease of doing business in the UK, closely aligned culture, proximity to Europe and Northern America, and warm support from both the Department for Business and Trade and the City of London were also compelling factors in our decision to invest here,” said Aware Super’s chief executive Deanne Stewart.
