International companies promise to invest billions in the UK

The prime minister is highlighting international companies' plans to invest in the UK by entertaining a group of influential business people at Hampton Court.

The promise of £29.5 billion in new investment, according to Rishi Sunak, was a "huge vote of confidence" in the UK economy.

A few initiatives to promote increased business investment were included in the Autumn Statement last week.

However, it did so in the context of revised downward growth estimates.

The main goal of the Autumn Statement measures was to encourage domestic companies to increase their investment, as the UK has been lagging behind its G7 counterparts in this regard.

According to the government, the UK continues to have a strong track record of drawing in foreign investment.

In an effort to secure up to 6,000 UK jobs, Nissan announced last week that it would produce three electric car models at its Sunderland factory as part of a £2 billion investment plan.

But Mr Sunak recently declared that the high-speed rail line HS2, which was supposed to run from the West Midlands to Manchester, would be abandoned.

A deal to encourage energy companies to invest in offshore wind farms was also restructured by the government earlier this month after an auction in September of last year failed to draw any bidders.

The independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), downgraded the UK's economic growth forecasts at last week's Autumn Statement.

Its revised estimates for the economy are 0.7% growth in 2019 compared to 1.8% growth in 2020 and 1.4% growth in 2025 compared to 2.5% growth in the previous forecast.

The UK economy, according to Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, is "doing well despite significant headwinds".

"We are dealing with the same problems that many other countries around the world are dealing with," she stated to Sky News.

Furthermore, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt declared during the Autumn Statement that businesses that invest in themselves will receive permanent tax breaks. It implies that businesses can get 25p back for every £1 they invest in machinery, plants, and IT.

However, since the corporation tax rate increased from 19% to 25% earlier this year, many businesses are now paying a higher rate.

(Sources: bbc.co.uk)