Britain’s Cameron uses Olympics to drum up business

LONDON – British Prime Minister David Cameron used the London Olympics yesterday to try to drum up one billion pounds in foreign investment as he tries to drag the country out of a double-dip recession.

“Britain is back open for business,” Cameron said as he opened a global investment conference in London on the eve of the official opening of the Games.
His appeal to the leaders of organisations including Google and the IMF comes one day after official data showed British gross domestic product (GDP) slumped 0,7 per cent between April and June from the first three months of the year.
“My message today is very simple: Britain is back open for business. And we are committed to supporting global growth with open trade between our nations,” Cameron said in a speech.
“So invest in Britain. Partner with Britain. Not just to invest in this country, but because I believe this will increasingly be seen as the place, the hub, from which your company can grow and expand.
“So let’s make this Olympic year a great year for your business, here in Britain.”
Other speakers at the event include International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde, OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt.
The meeting is the first of 18 business summits being held during the London Olympics to capitalise on the presence in the British capital of thousands of world leaders, policymakers and investors.
The British government says it hopes to generate deals worth more than one billion pounds over the Olympics, with 13 billion pounds more over the next two or three years.
The Games themselves are costing 9,3 billion pounds to stage – more than four times the original estimate. – Nampa-AFP

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