Latest news with #businesssummit
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Mayor to host London-Africa summit to boost capital's economy
The first Africa-London business summit will be held next year, Sir Sadiq Khan has announced during a trade mission to the continent. The mayor said the summit will be hosted in London with the aim of tapping into the "huge economic opportunities that a strong, mutual relationship with the continent can bring". Sir Sadiq Khan began his investment trip in Lagos, Nigeria, this week and will also see him visit Accra in Ghana, and Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Conservative shadow chancellor Mel Stride acknowledged that while cultural links "are very important", he feels the mayor should be in London "with his hands on the tiller" to tackle issues such as shoplifting. The summit would bring together entrepreneurs and investors, state officials and trade groups from across the 54-nation aim is to attract foreign investment to the capital and boost trade links, a City Hall spokesperson currently accounts for for 1.25% of foreign direct investment into London, according to figures from the mayor's office."Expanding ties with Africa will be key to delivering our international trade ambitions, creating thousands of good jobs in the next five years and beyond," Sir Sadiq said. "London has a rich history with the continent through our diaspora communities." Kolawole Ajayi, a Nigerian chef with a food stall and two restaurants in Peckham, south London, welcomed the prospect of strengthening ties. "We have a lot of brains [in Nigeria] that if London can nest that and create an opportunity, there will be a big growth," he told BBC London. "Gone are the days it's only India you can outsource to. There are brains in Nigeria, I promise you." Foreign Secretary and Tottenham MP, David Lammy, also welcomed the event, calling London a "global city where the world comes to do business".Nationally, trade with the African continent amounted to £49bn in 2024, according to the Office for National is a key sector for the growth in trade, the mayor told BBC News in Nigeria."Lagos is the number one tech city in Africa and London is the number one tech city in Europe."I'm hoping to create partnerships that leads to wealth, prosperity and jobs".
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Next-Gen CSOs: Evolving Sustainability Roles
Chief Sustainability Officers Claudine Blamey (Aviva), Alex Buck (Endeavour Mining), and Charlotte Wolff-Bye (PETRONAS) discuss the evolving roles and skills of Chief Sustainability Officers with Bloomberg's Yinka Ibukun at the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit 2025 in London. (Source: Bloomberg)
Telegraph
04-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour forced to cancel Chancellor's £5,000-a-head conference
Labour has cancelled a summit for business leaders charging £5,000 a head amid reports of low demand. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, was expected to address executives and lobbyists at the conference in central London in three weeks. It was supposed to be the first in a series of special events offering a 'unique opportunity' for businesses to 'engage with Labour's plan to kick-start economic growth '. But it has now been postponed after several firms decided to skip it, according to the Financial Times, with leaders put off partly by the cost. It comes after Labour cancelled another audience with the Chancellor in March, two weeks before it was set to take place, with tickets said to cost £1,500. On Wednesday, Ms Reeves was grilled on whether Labour was treating companies like a 'cash point', with firms reportedly becoming 'jaded' about 'constant requests' for money. It points to an increasingly strained relationship with the sector in the wake of the Chancellor's tax raid on businesses last year. Taking questions after a speech in Greater Manchester, Ms Reeves was told that companies were getting 'increasingly jaded by constant requests for cash from the party in the name of business engagement'. Asked if Labour was treating businesses like a 'cash point', she said: 'I think that it's well known that I regularly meet British businesses in my capacity as Chancellor, also as a local MP, and when I'm on visits right around the country, and I am doing right now at this great bus company in Rochdale. 'So I don't think that it's a valid criticism of me as Chancellor, that I don't spend enough time with business.' The decision to pull the June event was seized upon by the Tories, who joked that charging firms for access while hiking their taxes did not amount to a 'great sales pitch'. The Financial Times said that several lobbyists had decided not to attend in part because of the cost. In March, Labour reportedly raised the price per head from £3,000 to £5,000. One senior figure at a FTSE 100 firm told the newspaper that 'none of our team is going', while another lobbyist said they had 'no clients planning to attend' and a third said businesses were 'getting stricter about what they spend on'. A Labour Party spokesman said: 'The Labour Party regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders and events are frequently scheduled throughout the year, which receive a high level of interest.'
Trade Arabia
20-05-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Lubna Olayan to open Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Riyadh
Lubna Olayan, one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent business leaders, who has appeared 12 times on Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business list, will open the Fortune Most Powerful Women International Summit in Riyadh today (May 20). Olayan will set the tone for the two-day gathering, which marks Fortune's first international Most Powerful Women summit in the Middle East — a milestone moment that reflects the Kingdom's focus on advancing women's leadership in business. The summit will also feature an unprecedented presence of senior Saudi female officials, representing leadership across multiple sectors of government, including: • Princess Haifa Mohammed Al Saud – Vice Minister of Tourism • Dr Hala Al-Tuwaijri – President, Saudi Human Rights Commission • Dr Einas bint Suleiman Al-Eisa – Deputy Minister of Education • Adwa Al-Arifi – Assistant Minister for Sport Affairs, Ministry of Sport • Farah Ismail – Deputy Minister, Sectoral and Regional Development, Ministry of Economy and Planning These leaders will speak on how women in government are driving progress in key sectors—from economic diversification and education to wellness and tourism demonstrating the depth of Saudi Arabia's women leaders as the country continues to implement its Vision 2030 reform agenda. Taking place at The St. Regis Riyadh on May 20 and 21, the summit will convene around the theme 'A New Era for Business: Partnering for Global Prosperity.' It will bring together more than 150 of the world's most influential women—including CEOs, policymakers, and entrepreneurs—from 35 countries to explore new models of inclusive growth, innovation, and international cooperation. As part of the opening day, Fortune will also unveil its 2025 Most Powerful Women in Business list, celebrating the achievements of leading female executives and further elevating the event's global resonance. Joining the summit's roster of global leaders is Theresa May, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2016–2019), who will headline the closing session on May 21. In a conversation moderated by Ellie Austin, Editorial Director of Fortune Most Powerful Women, May will offer her insights on fractured global alliances, climate leadership, and the role of bold, ethical leadership in navigating geopolitical uncertainty. The summit's wider speaker roster includes senior executives from FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard, Marriott International, Microsoft, and other Fortune 500 companies, as well as international public sector. In addition to business and policy discussions, the Summit will spotlight women driving change across culture, media, and sport. On Day 2, a special MPW Spotlight on Women in Sports will feature Adwa Al-Arifi, Assistant Minister for Sport Affairs, in conversation with Noor Nugali, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Arab News. Al-Arifi will highlight the country's growing investment in women's sports, from school leagues to elite training centers, and its broader impact on public health and societal change. This will be followed by 'Playing to Win: Women, Sports, and Breaking Barriers', featuring: • Aalia Al-Rasheed, Head of Women's Football, Saudi Arabian Football Federation • Zam Zam Al Hammadi, Fighter, Professional Fighters League • Rasha Alkhamis, President of the Saudi Mixed Martial Arts Federation • Mashael AlObaidan, Rally Driver
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
'Choose France' summit to bring 20 billion euros of new investment
PARIS, May 19 (Reuters) - This year's "Choose France" business summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron is expected to secure 20 billion euros ($22.47 billion) of new investment, his office said on Monday, announcing projects in the defence, energy and industrial sectors. Macron's personal efforts to woo international business leaders, making the Choose France summits at the opulent Palace of Versailles a must-attend for the global corporate elite, have been credited for a turnaround in past investor perceptions of France as a high-tax, sclerotic economy. Last year's gathering raised 15 billion euros. An additional 17 billion euros worth of projects have already been pledged ahead of the start of 2025's event later on Monday, Finance Minister Eric Lombard said on RTL radio. U.S. logistics giant Prologis is set to invest 6.4 billion euros in four data centres in the Ile-de-France while London-based fintech Revolut plans to invest 1 billion euros over the next three years on expanding in France and will apply for a French banking licence. Announcements are also expected from companies ranging from Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab to the United Arab Emirates' MGX and Britain's Less Common Metals Limited in the rare earth sector. Portuguese company Tekever will build a drone assembly factory in the southwest, a 100 million euro investment, the Elysee said. Macron's government is under pressure to stem a wave of job cuts in industry, as upheaval fuelled by U.S. President Trump's trade policies puts further pressure on Europe's flagging economy. "Amid worldwide competition, France shows it has weapons, France is on the offensive to attract investments," Lombard said, reiterating that the government should be able to meet a 2025 target for economic growth of 0.7%. France has been the leading recipient of international investments for the past six years, according to EY's European Investment Monitor, an annual survey of thousands of business leaders that Macron's advisers have seized on as evidence his cocktail of supply-side reforms have been bearing fruit. However, this year's edition shows the number of investment projects has declined for the second consecutive year across Europe, while those in the United States rose by a fifth between 2023 and 2024, which EY said reflected the appeal of the Inflation Reduction Act subsidy package and Trump's pro-business promises. Despite the foreign investment flows into France, Macron has failed to stop French companies from making huge investments abroad, with Sanofi's ( opens new tab plan to spend at least $20 billion to boost manufacturing in the United States angering French politicians. ($1 = 0.8899 euros)
