The UK’s new Labour government says a number of investors have confirmed attendance at the first UK International Investment Summit, which is due to take place on 14 October.
Rachel Reeves, Chancellor, is meeting with Robin Vince, the chief executive of BNY, who – along with CEOs from Blackstone and CyrusOne in New York – has confirmed attendance at the summit, according to HM Treasury.
She is also due to meet with Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor, to discuss the development of the National Wealth Fund (NWF), a new initiative announced since Labour took office.
Carney is a member of the National Wealth Fund Taskforce and the fund is backed by £7.3 billion of public investment, the government said.
The Chancellor and Carney are expected to discuss the importance of rapid progress on the NWF as a key tenet of Britain’s pitch at the International Investment Summit.
Reeves intends to make the UK “once again” an investment destination for global business and is promoting the message that “Britain is open for business”.
HM Treasury said Reeves had championed the UK’s strengths during her meetings, including its globally recognised higher education system with four of the world’s top ten universities, its fourth-place ranking for innovation in the Global Innovation Index, and its $1 trillion tech sector – the largest in Europe.
Reeves is on a three-day trip to the US and Canada and will also meeting with CoreWeave, a tech firms involved in cloud and AI, where she will set out for the first time a new government commitment to encouraging the building of data centres throughout the UK, to boost growth and create jobs.
It is estimated the sector employs around 17,000 people, with data centre operators generating an estimated £4.6 billion of annual revenue a year.
Reeves said: “The message is clear: Britain is open for business. And as more investors sign up for our International Investment Summit, it shows they believe it too.”
