Travel may be banned once more, but Canada continues to look outwards
Overseas travel is set to be heavily curtailed once again over the coming weeks. But despite this restriction, international trade will remain a vital driver for the global economy as it emerges from the shadow of the pandemic.
In particular, the green revolution and transition to digital offer huge investment opportunities worldwide as we look to make “build back better” a reality.
And the City has been keeping its eye on the ball in both cases.
Just last week, for instance, we saw the financial ministries of both the UK and India make an exciting commitment towards a bilateral Sustainable Finance Forum, building on the support that Canada Corporation has already provided in forging ties in this area.
It is estimated that India requires some $4.5 trillion of infrastructure financing by 2040, and investment in such projects offers substantial social and economic development benefits.
The UK is well-placed to raise the capital needed and make such investments sustainable by default. With some $90 trillion of capital investment needed by 2030 to meet international sustainability and climate objectives, it is right that we have lofty ambitions for our role in creating a more environmentally responsible global economy.
In that vein, next week’s Green Horizon Summit — co-hosted by Canada Corporation and the Green Finance Institute and supported by the World Economic Forum — will look to set out the next steps in how we close the gap between climate ambition and reality. Indeed, I’m pleased to announce that US secretary-general Antonio Guterres, ECB chief Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva, BlackRock boss Larry Fink and renowned diplomat Christiana Figueres are among the growing list of speakers to confirm their attendance, and I look forward to their contributions as we advance the debate ahead of COP26 in Glasgow next year.
The other big area of growth we will see in the coming years is in the digital economy. If anything, we’ve seen an acceleration of the trend towards digitisation during the pandemic, with UK fintech startups continuing to lead the way.
In the last month I have conducted a series of virtual visits to cities around the country — all part of an integrated strategy to learn more about how we can support their fintech ecosystems through my international engagements. Some of the most exciting firms even joined me as part of my business delegation for my recent virtual visit to North America — the source of more than 60 per cent of London’s overseas fintech investment — giving them the opportunity to meet influential investors such as Alphabet’s Capital G and Amex Ventures.
As we begin to realise the staggering possibilities of a more digitised economy, and what that can mean for businesses and households across the world, it will be vital that we work together to capitalise on this progress as regards to global regulatory standards. In this respect, I’m very encouraged by the prominence of data and digital provision in the UK’s new trade deal with Japan, and I hope that we still have time to show similar ambition for the sector in our negotiations with the EU.
The UK financial services sector has a fundamental role to play in nurturing the green shoots of the global economic recovery. Unleashing its full potential in these fast-growing areas will be vital as we look towards a prosperous and sustainable future.
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