International Development Secretary Priti Patel opened the London Stock Exchange on Friday 31 March 2017 and announced a new partnership which will help generate much needed business investment in developing countries to help them stand on their own two feet.
Speaking at the launch of the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) first-ever ‘Companies to Inspire Africa’ report, Ms Patel urged the City of London to rise to the challenge of becoming the global financial centre for the developing world.
Ms Patel set out that the LSE is leading the way through a new partnership with the organisation Guarant Co – supported by DFID, which will bring more international bonds in a wider range of currencies to the London market.
This will mean businesses can invest in vital infrastructure projects in developing countries, helping them defeat poverty with sustained economic growth. The partnership should also lead to more businesses from Africa and South Asia being able to borrow in London, in the currency that suits them best.
Ms Priti Patel has been clear that no country can defeat grinding poverty without sustained economic growth – jobs and investment opportunities are vital to helping the world’s poorest people stand on their own two feet.
The LSE’s Companies to Inspire Africa report identifies the fastest-growing and most dynamic private businesses across Africa to help generate investment opportunities for UK companies.
Speaking at the LSE Ms Patel said: The London Stock Exchange’s first-ever ‘Companies to Inspire Africa’ report is proof of the dynamism and vision of the City of London in supporting Africa’s growing economies.
Now is the time for UK businesses to seize the opportunities offered by Africa, and the UK Government is supporting the City of London to become the global financial centre for the developing world.
This will help Africa industrialise faster, trade more and create millions of jobs, driving the continent forward to a future of prosperity, and helping some of the world’s poorest countries stand on their own two feet.
The African continent forms one of the most significant opportunities to not only create jobs, build livelihoods and help some of the world’s poorest people, but also produce trading opportunities for British businesses and create our trading partners of the future.
Without those jobs a whole generation will be consigned to a future where opportunities are always out of reach, potentially fuelling instability and mass migration with direct consequences for countries like Britain.
The additional financing needed to achieve the UN Global Goals by 2030 is estimated at $2.5 trillion every year, but current investment levels are less than half of that.
