UK Launches Office to Oversee FDI

The United Kingdom launched a new office to oversee foreign direct investment, in a bid to attract more investment projects. The Office for Investment will be staffed by “highly experienced individuals” with both private sector and government experience, the U.K. said Nov. 10. Based in the Department for International Trade, it will be responsible for resolving “potential barriers” to investment. The office will create a “single front door” for U.K. investment and help boost “economic recovery” nationally. “This major operational transformation is designed to ensure the UK is the most attractive destination in the world to invest,” the U.K. said.

But it will also ensure “high and rigorous standards of scrutiny and security,” the U.K. said. The U.S. has urged its trading partners to increase scrutiny of foreign investment, particularly from China (see 2002260042 and 2006230057).