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Prime minister Keir Starmer has promised to remove barriers and red tape for those wishing to invest in the UK, as the government’s inaugural International Investment Summit begins in London.
In a speech at London’s Guildhall, he said the government will do everything it can to “galvanise growth”. That includes “getting rid of regulation that needlessly holds back investment.”
“Growth is the number one test for this government,” he said.
He pledged to “upgrade the regulatory regime to make it fit for the modern age, making Britain fit to harness all opportunities.”
“We’ve got to look at regulation where it is needlessly holding back the investment, to take our country forward,” he added. “We will rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment and we will make sure that every regulator in this country take growth as seriously as this room does.”
CEOs and investors from across the globe are in London on Monday to meet with ministers, first ministers, and local leaders. Companies such as Google parent Alphabet (GOOG), BlackRock (BLK) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) are in attendance.
The event comes at a time when businesses and industry are awaiting more detail on a host of economic policy. The Autumn budget, slated for the end of October will give more clarity on this, as Labour attempts to meet an ambitious growth target of 2.5% for annual GDP.
READ MORE: What UK wealth managers and investment platforms want to see in the budget
“We are focusing on investment because the mission of growth, in this country especially, demands it,” Starmer said. “Private sector investment is the way we rebuild our country and pay our way in the world. This is a great moment to back Britain. This is great moment to back England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.”
Part of the regulatory shakeup will involve asking the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to look at how it fosters innovation. The government will also review the focus of other major regulators, according to a government release.
Confirmed speakers for the rest of the summit include Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet; David A Ricks, chair and CEO of Eli Lilly (LLY); Alex Kendall, CEO of Wayve; and Pushmeet Kohli, vice president of Research at Google DeepMind.
Others in attendance include Amanda Blanc, the boss of insurance group Aviva (AV.L), Greg Jackson, the chief executive of Octopus Energy, and Shemara Wikramanayake, the managing director of Australia’s Macquarie Group (MQG.AX), a former owner of Thames Water.
Reports from Sky News claim private-sector investments worth more than £50bn are set to be announced.
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