HC Deb 11 February 1975 vol 886 cc89-90W
Mr. Hoyle

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total of foreign investment in 1973 and 1974; what foreign investment was refused during the same period; what proportion of foreign investment has gone into manufacturing industry; what proportion has gone into land and property speculation; and in which fields foreign investment is over 30 per cent. of the United Kingdom's productive capacity.

Mr. Dell

Overseas investment in the United Kingdom public and private sectors—net of disinvestment—totalled £1,815 million for 1973 and between 1st January 1974 and 30th September 1974, the latest date for which information is available, totalled £2,013 million.

No record of the number of applications for exchange control consent that are refused is maintained, but the num- ber would be very small because applications unlikely to meet our requirements are unlikely to be formally submitted.

Some data on foreign investment in the United Kingdom in 1973 classified by industrial sector should be available in April this year. This information will relate only to investment by overseas parent companies in their affiliates—"direct investment". The figures will include direct investment in property owning and managing but exclude investment in oil and insurance. Data on portfolio and miscellaneous investment—which include other investment in the manufacturing industries and in land and property—cannot be analysed so as to identify the recipient sector.

Comprehensive information by sector of foreign investment in United Kingdom productive capacity is not available.