皇冠体育app

• Microsoft, OpenAI and Pfizer among key investors in the UK to join Chancellor panels on Britain鈥檚 growth industries
• Chancellor Hunt will also bang the drum on investment into the UK through a series of bilateral meetings with global CEOs

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will today, Thursday 18 January, represent the UK at the World Economic Forum鈥檚 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He will bear the message that the UK is a world leader in science and technology and ripe for investment from the international business community.

皇冠体育app Chancellor will meet with chief executives from the world鈥檚 top-tier companies and speak about his optimism for the UK鈥檚 economic growth and productivity despite global uncertainties, in the first visit to Davos by a UK Chancellor since 2019. Chancellor Hunt will also champion the UK鈥檚 ambition to be a science and technology superpower, as well as how Britain will harness the economic potential of technology.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said:

I鈥檒l be in Davos to tell the world that Britain, a nation of great innovation, is on the up and open for business.

We boast some of the best and brightest businesses in sectors of the future like digital technology and life sciences. It鈥檚 these areas of strength that are going to drive growth across the UK economy in years to come.

皇冠体育app Chancellor will host a panel discussion on global headwinds in technology, and how these will impact Britain. He will speak about the challenges and opportunities the UK faces in the tech sector, as well as the strength of its offer for investors. His panellists will be:

• Satya Nadella, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft
• St茅phane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna
• Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford

皇冠体育app Chancellor will also participate in a panel entitled 鈥楾echnology in a Turbulent World鈥�, discussing the importance of technology for economic growth and outlining Britain鈥檚 approach to regulation and use, following its hosting of the world鈥檚 first AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in November 2023. He will appear alongside:

• Sam Altman, Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI
• Julie Sweet, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Accenture
• Albert Bourla, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer
• Marc Benioff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Salesforce

皇冠体育app Chancellor will also hold a series of bilateral meetings with CEOs of world-leading companies to encourage inward investment into the UK.

Digital technology such as AI and life sciences, including the improved running of cutting-edge clinical trials, are priority growth sectors for the UK and are expected to be the focus of the Chancellor鈥檚 pitch at Davos.

Britain is already a tech leader in Europe, with the UK鈥檚 tech industry worth three times as much as Germany鈥檚 and twice as much as France鈥檚 in 2023, based on venture capital investment. It has been valued at over $1 trillion, representing 3 million jobs and 85,000 tech start-ups including DeepMind and Stability AI.

皇冠体育app government has also announced a series of multimillion pound investments for the life sciences industry, including 拢520 million over five years for medicines manufacturing and a 拢650 million 鈥榣ife sci for growth鈥� package unveiled in May. In the Autumn Statement last November, it was announced that full expensing, whereby companies claim tax relief for qualifying plant and machinery investments, would be made permanent 鈥� an effective corporate tax cut worth more than 拢50 billion to business to help them invest for less. Existing R&D Expenditure Credit schemes were also simplified and improved to further drive research and innovation in the UK.