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Roundup: Britain retains crown as Europe's top hotspot for overseas investment

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Britain attracted the highest number of foreign direct investments (FDI) among any other nation in Europe in the past year, official government figures revealed Wednesday.

It means Britain has maintained its position as the number one destination for such inward investment projects.

The investments in the 12 months to April 2015 resulted in over 85,000 new jobs being created and a further 23,000 jobs safeguarded. It also took FDI stock in Britain passed the 1 trillion pounds mark (1.57 trillion U.S. dollars) for the first time ever.

The British government's main investment arm, the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), published its annual investment figures Tuesday, revealing for the 2014/15 financial year Britain attracted 1,988 FDI projects, or 12 percent more than in 2013/14.

A UKTI spokesman said in London: "The UK's strong performance during 2014 has seen the country's inward FDI stock -- the value of accumulated FDI in the UK -- break the 1 trillion pounds level for the first time. This is the highest in Europe and third in the world after the United States and China."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The scale of foreign investment is a huge success story which shows that Britain is the place to do business and is more evidence that our long term economic plan is working."

"Securing investment from overseas is a key part of our 'One Nation' policies to create thousands of jobs, provide security and opportunities for working people throughout the UK," said Cameron.

Trade and Investment Minister Lord Maude commented: "2014 was an exceptional year for UK inward investment and we are proud to be bucking the global trend. The government will continue to work hard to attract investment from across the globe to further strengthen the UK economy."

The UKTI statistics show that FDI into Britain came from more than 70 countries, including the world's leading emerging markets.

The United States remains the largest source of inward investment, with a total of 564 projects in 2014/15, followed by France (124 projects). China was in the fourth place in the investment table with 112 projects.

Investment from India increased by 65 percent making it Britain's third largest source of FDI accounting for over 9,000 new and safeguarded jobs.

The UKTI spokesman added: "There was also evidence of a strengthening relationship with China with 112 projects in 2014/15 resulting in almost 6,000 new and safeguarded jobs."

The figures came as Cameron and Maude traveled to Italy to meet with British and international businesses at Milan Expo 2015.

To strengthen Britain's key global relationships, Maude announced Tuesday the date for the fifth Great Global Investment Conference, which will take place in London on Sept. 17 this year.

The conference will bring together global corporate leaders and other investment stakeholders to hear from industry leaders as they share their success stories. Endit