- Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson 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 Poppy Gustafsson 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 Poppy Gustafsson 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 Poppy Gustafsson 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
