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LONDON – Britain’s Labor government hopes to attract foreign capital to the country on Monday as it hosts its inaugural International Investment Summit in London.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds will chair the one-day event at London’s Guildhall, which is expected to be attended by around 200 UK and overseas executives.
Former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, BlackRock chief Larry Fink and GSK CEO Emma Walmsley are among the named guests. Newly appointed investment minister Poppy Gustafsson, co-founder of British cyber security firm Darktrace, will also be on hand to promote the UK as a place to do business.
At the event, the government will announce the easing of multibillion-pound investment deals in artificial intelligence, life sciences and infrastructure, which Starmer called a “great time to protect Britain”.
“We will remove the red tape that blocks investment and ensure that every regulator in this country takes growth as seriously as this room does,” Starmer will tell delegates.
“We have a golden opportunity to use our mandate to end the chop and change, policy shake and stick that make it so difficult for investors to assess the value of any proposition,” he added.
Participants and observers expressed frustration to CNBC, however, about the lack of information about the summit, with details about the location and time being withheld until Thursday. Some said before that they would not go, others still do as reported Weighing whether to fly or not, since the end of last week.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives an interview to the media while attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters on September 25, 2024.
Leon Neal | via Reuters
“The uncertainty of what’s happening is undermining the event,” Dr. Bruce Morley, professor of economics and finance at the University of Bath, told CNBC by phone. “There is a lot of speculation.”
A major complaint has surrounded the timing of the summit, just over two weeks before the chancellor’s budget, amid a lack of detail on the radical changes he is calling for to plug an alleged £22bn black hole in the public finances. The day was decided by Labour’s pre-election pledge to hold a business summit in its first 100 days.
Reeves has already ruled out changes to corporation tax, along with increases in income tax and National Insurance social security payments. He has also pushed back on alleged plans to hit private equity tycoons with a top tax rate and a mandated pledge to dismantle the country’s centuries-old. “non-dom” status for rich people
Increases in capital gains tax (CGT) and inheritance tax (IHT) remain on the table, however, with the chancellor considering increasing CGT to 39% for top-rate taxpayers. according to to The Guardian. That would be a significant increase current band from 20% to 28%according to the asset, and which investors have said could hinder entrepreneurship in the country.
A Treasury spokesman described the report as “pure speculation” in an email to CNBC.
A pro-business Labor government
The event is part of Starmer’s pledge to lead a more “business-friendly” Labor government, with the prime minister telling CNBC last month that his “first priority was wealth creation”, as he used a visit to the US to pay tribute. Wall Street investing.
Tried to paint more work positive picture after accusing him of saying the doom of the economy early months in the office It also wants to position itself as a reliable partner after years of upheaval — including Brexit — a flurry of prime ministers and a bond market sell-off.
Business confidence, which initially rose after the party’s July election, took a hit in September amid uncertainty over the budget. gross domestic product (GDP) it went up a little after a two-month hiatus in August, but has struggled to return to the modest highs reached at the start of the year.
Amanda Blanc, a board member at British insurer Aviva, welcomed the government’s efforts to reassure businesses and said she hoped regulatory requirements would be further relaxed.
“It’s really important to have confidence as an employer, to have confidence as an economy,” he told “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday.
Morley said the government would need to address its poor productivity if it is to further stimulate growth, and urged the government to use the summit to focus investment in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics.
“We’re lagging behind our peers in that area. This would be a way to catch up, looking for incentives to attract these types of companies,” he told CNBC by phone.
“The UK will not achieve growth in economic activity without this increase in productivity,” he added.
On Sunday, the government announced the launch of its new industrial strategy and advisory board led by Microsoft UK chief executive Clare Barclay, designed to focus on “eight sectors to drive growth”. These include the creative industries, financial services, advanced manufacturing, professional services, defense, technology, life sciences and clean energy industries.
