US UK Foreign Direct Investment deal projects need to be expedited for more immediate economic impact
The projects born from the UK US economic deals need to have a more immediate impact on the economy, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Simon Gleeson, a partner at the firm, said: “A positive US & UK partnership has been key to a resurgence in FDI, with $10bn of economic deals to be signed this week by Donald Trump during his trip to the UK. But the projects born from it need to be expedited to have a more immediate impact on both countries’ economy.”
He added: “Google is investing £5bn in new AI powered data centres, creating 8000 jobs, and greater cooperation between UK & US energy sector is planned, but this collaboration needs to be accelerated as does the delivery of these projects. Consumer prices have sky-rocketed in recent years so lowering costs through more efficient energy production would be a welcome relief, but these projects usually take years to pass and build up.”
Simon said: “Recent announcements from Nvidia and OpenAI supported by Blackstone’s £100bn commitment in investing in UK over the next 10 years is encouraging. What further support can be provided from a regulatory and policy perspective is critical to expedite the economic impact such investments can have, to ultimately attract more FDI in the coming years.”
He added: “Against a backdrop of continued economic woes, a weakening job market and stagnating appetite for London Listings, key questions remain on what else the UK Government can do to help entrepreneurs start-up, scale up and list.”
Simon said: “A review of the immigration, tax incentives and deeper cooperation to keep London as a leading destination for US investment should treated as a priority with more clarity needed on regulatory policy to promote long-term stability to protect historically strong sectors such as pharma, life-sciences and therapeutics who have withdrawn large research and development (R&D) investments in recent weeks.”