§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the work he has done to secure(a) Korean and (b) Japanese inward investment into the United Kingdom. [81098]
§ Mr. WillsThe Invest in Britain Bureau (IBB), which is jointly managed by DTI and FCO, works to secure the UK's position as the number one European location for Japanese and Korean investment. IBB runs a programme of company visits (900 in Japan, 220 in Korea in 1998–99), promotional seminars, media campaigns and inward missions aimed at attracting inward investment, as well as working closely with existing investors alongside the UK Development Agencies.
The Ministerial teams in both Departments support this, both here in the UK and when travelling overseas. For example, I recently met senior representatives of Honda Motors and intend to meet other Japanese and Korean companies located here.