British economy awaits overseas investment

By Mi Xingang
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 8, 2013
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Attracting foreign investment is badly needed to boost the currently sluggish economy in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister David Cameron explained in an article for U.K. publication the Standard on July 4. He made the statement based on his relevant experiences of the past few years.

As he mentioned in the article, Cameron has been seriously engaged in attracting investment on a global level since 2010. He described himself as a busy elf, "I've drunk tea in Beijing, ayran in Ankara and teh-tarik in Kuala Lumpur." Business tycoons from across the world are always welcome at his Downing Street residence. These meetings have led to multi-billion-pound investments in the U.K.

Stable democracy, well-established property rights and the rule of law, low business taxes and other preferential policies are all available to facilitate entrepreneurs' investments in the U.K. Cameron frankly admitted that he uses those exact words all the time as part of his "sales pitch," wherever he goes and whomever he's speaking to.

"The world does not owe us a living, we have to earn it -- and the Government I lead gets that," he emphasized in the article. Cameron advised the British people to completely forsake the ever-omnipresent complacency and modesty as the U.K. has gotten itself involved in a solid and fierce international competition for success.

Cutting corporation taxes to the lowest level in the G20, investing in important domestic projects such as Crossrail, reforming the planning system, Cameron mentioned all the above actions to highlight the government's determination in seeking progress.

Cameron also explained how he assigned government ministers to personally deal with major investors to Britain -- such as Hugo Swire for Samsung, Lord Green for Siemens and David Willetts for Huawei -- to show that the British are serious about winning foreign business. "…Britain is back open for business," Cameron continued."And the world has noticed."

He invoked last year's figures to stress that foreign investment in Britain had gone up by 22 percent against the general decline of 42 percent in the whole of Europe. Several foreign-invested projects are currently under construction in London. Cameron illustrated this by mentioning the following examples, "The Olympic Village is set to be transformed by a Qatari company into new affordable housing. The Royal Albert Dock is to be renovated by ABP, a firm from China. And the world's largest offshore wind farm is being built in the Thames Estuary, thanks to money from Canada and Abu Dhabi."

On a final note then, Cameron pointed out the decades-long airy-fairy Battersea Power Station will finally receive an investment from Malaysia to realize its breakthrough construction. Referring to the iconic image of a pig floating high above the station, one featured on the cover of a Pink Floyd album, the Prime Minister said: "It was more likely to see a flying pig [up there] than any viable development." Nevertheless, the project will now definitely be rewriting its script as the government also plans to invest in the supporting infrastructure construction.

During a visit to the station, together with the Malaysian Prime Minister, Cameron exclaimed he saw plans for thousands of homes, offices and shops and more importantly, 150,000 job opportunities. He subsequently urged the British to encourage the world to invest in the U.K and keep turning the economy around. Years later, the famous chimneys at Battersea won't be a symbol of decay; but a sign of renewal, he said.

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