Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today that international business and government should work together to secure a global recovery in 2010.

 

The Prime Minister is hosting the Global Investment Conference, which will see 250 world business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs come together in London, including international companies such as Ford, Hitachi, Bombardier, China Merchants Bank, Burberry and Lockheed Martin.

 

 

In Yorkshire & the Humber alone, investment from foreign companies created and safeguarded nearly 47,000 jobs. On average, over 30 companies per week invest in the UK, the number one country in Europe at attracting inward investment.

 

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "If 2009 was the year of global recession, then 2010 must be the year of global recovery."This is not about a partnership of governments or a partnership of international business, but a partnership of international business and government. It is about how together we can lock in the recovery and grasp the opportunities of the future."

 

 

At the conference, organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) who help UK-based companies succeed in the global economy, Ministers will announce a number of developments including:
• the launch of an interactive, online map for investors highlighting UK excellence, in March 2010.
• the introduction of a highly trusted sponsor scheme for businesses, to be introduced by the UK Border Agency in autumn 2010.
• the introduction of a wider choice of foreign internship schemes, making it easier for businesses in the UK to bring over the brightest and best graduates from around the globe, from spring 2010.

 

 

According to international business, the UK is top of the ranking as a destination for inward investment due to its excellent business environment; the wealth of talent, creativity and innovation in the UK; and its location as a gateway to Europe and the world.

 

 

Showcasing the UK's creative excellence at the conference will be: Jonathan Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President, Industrial Design; Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative Officer at Burberry; Sir John Sorrell, Chairman of the London Design Festival; and Susan Searle, Chief Executive of Imperial Innovations plc, which commercialises innovations from London's Imperial College, one of four UK universities in the world's top six.

 

 

Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward, said:
"Approximately half of the region's top 600 businesses are foreign-owned and these alone provided 53% of 08/09 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Yorkshire and Humber. Coca Cola's recent investment of £13m in their Wakefield plant and the £25million BP and DuPont joint venture in Hull, which will focus on commercialisation of advanced bio fuels, are prime examples of this.

 

"Yorkshire and Humber's FDI strategy allows us to capitalise on future investment opportunities in sectors where we have strong capabilities such as advanced engineering and low carbon technology. Yorkshire and Humber is home to expertise that can only be accessed from within the region and this gives us a unique advantage in terms of attracting future inward investors."

 

UK Investment factfile

• Investment from foreign companies into the UK created 815,905 jobs from 1999 to 2009.
• In Europe, the UK has the largest industries for life sciences, ICT, financial services and creative industries.
• The UK is the world's sixth largest manufacturer.
• One in five of the world's top-selling medicines were discovered or developed in Britain.
• The UK has four out of the world's top six universities and is number one in Europe at attracting R&D investment.
• In 2009, London overtook New York as the world's leading financial centre (World Economic Forum).

 

A Yorkshire Investment Case Study:

Cream, cheese and 100 jobs for Leeds
Danish firm Arla Foods decided to expand its flagship production site in Leeds. The £70 million development in Stourton enables the company, whose dairy brands include Anchor, Cravendale and Lurpak, to produce cottage cheese for the first time in the UK. It also extends the site's production of fresh cream, crème fraiche and other dairy products.

 

The investment improves business efficiencies across Arla's UK network of dairies, which stretch from London to Lockerbie in Scotland. It is creating 100 new jobs as production moves from its Northallerton site in North Yorkshire to the Leeds facility. The upgraded site is expected to be in operation later this year.