- Minister for Investment is
in Tokyo to sign new partnership with top
Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corporation.
- Deal secures £7.5 billion investment into key UK
infrastructure and clean energy projects.
- Latest multi-billion investment shows Plan for Change is
working, days after Deloitte survey puts UK in joint top
spot for global investment.
New collaboration between the UK government and a top
Japanese trading company will unlock £7.5 billion of investment
into Britain, boosting economic growth and driving forward the
government's Plan for Change.
Today [Wednesday 9 July], Minister for Investment Baroness signed the new
partnership with Sumitomo Corporation's Energy Transformation
Group CEO Mr Hajime Mori, Europe CEO Mr Hiroyuki Koike and the
Energy Transformation Business Group in Tokyo.
Sumitomo Corporation aims to facilitate £7.5 billion of
investment into key UK infrastructure and clean energy projects
by 2035, backing the government's aim to significantly increase
long-term business investment into key growth sectors following
the publication of the Modern Industrial Strategy and the 10-Year
Infrastructure Strategy.
This latest vote of confidence reaffirms the UK's position as a
global investment destination, and builds on the positive
findings from Deloitte's latest survey which found that finance
leaders see the UK as the joint-most attractive destination when
it comes to investment.
Minister for Investment Baroness CBE said:
The UK is a top investment destination for Japanese businesses,
so I'm delighted to be in Tokyo to sign this new collaboration
with Sumitomo Corporation. This is yet another major vote of
confidence in our economy and shows international backing for our
modern Industrial Strategy, which shows our Plan for Change is
working.
We're serious about clean energy as a key growth sector, and
deals like this create high value jobs, encourage
further investment into our world-leading industry and help boost
economic growth right across the UK.
This commitment to facilitate investment into the UK
also comes after the launch of the government's Modern Industrial
Strategy which aims to make it quicker and easier for
businesses to invest in the UK, providing investors the
certainty and stability they need to make long term
decisions.
The investment will be focused on key offshore wind and hydrogen
projects, supporting the UK's aim to become a clean
energy superpower.
Hajime Mori, Managing Executive Officer, Group CEO,
Energy Transformation Business Group, Sumitomo Corporation
said:
We have made active investments in several business sectors in
the UK, including decarbonisation and clean energy. Under the
UK's new industrial strategy, clean energy is designated as a
priority sector. Through this agreement with Office for
Investment, we will continue to leverage our strengths to drive
growth in the clean energy sector in the UK.
Hiroyuki Koike, Managing Executive Officer, General
Manager for Europe, Sumitomo Corporation said:
We are inspired by the UK government's active promotion and
support of private investment which has helped to improve the
business environment in many areas.
We hope that this comprehensive MOU with the Office for
Investment will further strengthen the relationship between the
UK government and Sumitomo Corporation, and that we will
contribute more to the development of the UK economy and society
through our business.
Economic growth is the Government's central mission and unlocking
new investment opportunities with the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region
is vital to achieving this, as the UK-APAC trading
relationship is now worth over £135 billion.
This new collaboration also adds to the strong trade
and investment partnership the UK already shares with Japan,
building on the Industrial Strategy Partnership and Economic 2+2
established earlier this year and CPTPP ratification – which is
estimated to boost the economy by £2 billion a year in
the long-term.
Today's announcement comes as the Minister for Investment visited South Korea and
Japan this week, meeting a range of investors and
businesses to encourage further investment into the
country.
Notes to editors:
- For more info on Deloitte's latest survey of the UK's
investment attractiveness – please see here
