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Olympics to attract £1bn trade boost

UK trade and Investment (UKTI), are hoping to attract up to £1 billion from foreign investors, as more than 4,000 business leaders and politicians head to the UK for an Olympic event.

During the course of the 2012 Games, more than 4,000 business leaders and politicians will be in London to attend some of the 17 events going on around the capital. UKTI hope that the Games will help UK businesses procure new contracts with international firms.

In total the Government is hoping that the Olympics will add up to £13 billion to UK investment.

The British Business Embassy will be located in Lancaster House in Central London, and will be the main host for the UK investment events. It will also hold a special business summit for China, the UK’s third biggest overseas investor.

A further £4 billion in “high value opportunities” has also been identified by UKTI, including projects linked to the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro, and UKTI believe that many British businesses will be well placed to share their expertise.

They also hope that a further £6 billion could come from direct investments in other UK projects and developments. including the £8 billion redevelopment of Battersea Power Station by Malaysian firm SP Setia, which will create around 33,000 jobs.

Figures from the UKTI showed inward investment by overseas firms created 52,741 new jobs in the year to the end of March, an increase of 26% increase on the previous year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .