Chancellor seeks to deepen economic ties with key markets
The Chancellor will visit South Africa, Japan and South Korea, to provide support to key industries for the UK economy.
Starting in South Africa on Wednesday (7 December 2016), the Chancellor will embark on a series of international trips to showcase the UK’s commitment to forming even stronger global ties as we prepare to leave the EU.
Holding talks with his finance minister counterparts and senior leaders and businesses, the Chancellor will use visits to South Africa, Japan and South Korea, to provide support to key industries for the UK economy such as financial services.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said:
As we leave the EU, Britain’s future prosperity depends on maintaining the strongest possible economic links with our European neighbours, while building on the already strong economic partnerships we have with the world beyond Europe.
In the course of these visits I’ll be discussing how the UK can deepen its economic and investment ties with these countries and make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead.
The trip to South Africa this week includes meetings at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, followed by a roundtable with individuals from major South African business sectors. The Chancellor will also meet FinTech start-ups, inward investors to the UK and attend the South Africa Youth reception in partnership with the Tutu Foundation and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.
South Africa is the UK’s biggest export market in Africa and our bilateral trade reached nearly £8 billion in 2015.
In Japan the Chancellor will meet with the CEO of Softbank, who recently announced their purchase of ARM holdings, the largest ever Asian investment into the UK as well as take part in bilateral meetings with the Bank of Japan’s Governor Kuroda and Finance Minister Aso. He will also host a roundtable with key financial services representatives and meet Japanese Investors.
The programme in South Korea will revolve around bilateral meetings with ministers and the Bank of Korea’s Governor Lee.