§ Mr. David Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the total reduction in overseas investment which has resulted from the Government's measures of restriction on 647W such investments, including direct restrictions on foreign overseas investment, the voluntary restraint on investment in the Commonwealth, the effects of the 25 per cent. remission levy on overseas investment realisations and the effect of corporation tax in making overseas investment less attractive.
§ Mr. Diamond:The 25 per cent. scheme contributed foreign currency to 563 million dollars to the official reserves to the end of November last year. There is no reliable estimate of the overall effect of exchange control, the Voluntary Programme and the corporation tax. The pace of direct investment abroad, excluding oil, has fallen sharply since mid-1966. But the main aim has been to reduce the burden imposed by such investment on the reserves. Total figures obscure the substantial volume of investment now financed with funds borrowed abroad and the fact that, except for oil, official exchange is no longer used for projects in the non-sterling area.