§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his policy in respect of the trend towards increasing foreign control of United Kingdom manufacturing industry.
§ Mr. Redwood[holding answer 7 June 1990]: The Government's general policy is set out in the blue paper on mergers policy, published in 1988.
Our policy towards inward investment by foreigners in the United Kingdom is to welcome it and, broadly speaking, this applies to inward investment by way of acquisition of existing companies as much as to direct inward investment. United Kingdom companies engage in a considerable quantity of overseas investment, including acquisitions of foreign companies, and it is in the interests of the United Kingdom economy that there should be as little official interference as possible in this two-way flow.
For this reason, it is also our policy to try to reduce the barriers to takeover that exist in the European Community. The European Commission brought forward a set of proposals in May to reduce and eliminate barriers within the Community.
Nevertheless, there are instances in which foreign ownership of a United Kingdom company may raise particular concerns, and in such cases the power to make a reference to the MMC is available for use.