MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the largest IC designer in Taiwan, is planning to invest ￡10 million (US$12.61 million) in the UK over the next five years, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said on Sunday.
On the eve of the opening of yesterday’s Global Investment Summit in London, the office announced that the Taiwanese company would invest in several British start-ups.
The UK has more than 140 “unicorn” enterprises — privately owned start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion each — which account for about one-third of the total number in Europe and more than the combined number in Germany, France and Sweden.
Photo: CNA
So far, the UK has attracted US$2.7 trillion in foreign direct investments (FDIs), the third highest in the world, British data showed.
MediaTek runs two offices in the UK that specialize in research and development: one in Cambridge, England, and the other in Kent, England.
The company’s recent investments in the UK include a joint project with Bullitt Group Ltd to develop the world’s first two-way satellite communications technology for use in smartphones and other devices.
MediaTek has also partnered with Inmarsat PLC in the UK to provide satellite communications services to customers.
Sunak on Sunday announced ￡29.5 billion of private-sector investments in the UK, before hosting global executives in his bid to restore the state as Europe’s top FDI destination.
Australian funds IFM Investors Pty Ltd and Aware Super Pty Ltd are to invest ￡10 billion and ￡5 billion respectively into projects ranging from infrastructure and energy transition to affordable housing, No. 10 Downing Street said in a statement.
Spanish power giant Iberdrola SA is to add ￡7 billion to its investment plans in Britain, which include transmission and distribution electricity networks, it said.
Other projects listed in the statement include a ￡2.5 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure by Microsoft Corp.
“Attracting global investment is at the heart of my plan for growing the economy,” Sunak said in the statement.
New funding for industries such as clean energy, life sciences and advanced technology would create high-quality jobs across Britain, Sunak said.
Top financiers Stephen Schwarzman from Blackstone Inc, David Solomon from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Jamie Dimon from JPMorgan Chase & Co were due to attend the investment summit at the 16th-century Hampton Court Palace.
France last year overtook Britain as the European country with the highest number of new FDI projects.
At a similar FDI gathering in May, French President Emmanuel Macron announced 13 billion euros (US$14.23 billion) of investment commitments in his country.
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