Category: 5 United Kingdom

London Mayor Sadiq Khan

London Economic Development Strategy

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G5x1: London, U.K.
London ranks first in GDP among UK top level territories, and is positioned at the 5×1 slot within the G8x8. In 2015, it achieved a GDP of 378.4 billion £ (507.1 billion $) and a share of 22.7 percent of the national total. Its GDP was slightly lower than that of Sweden.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched on 13 December 2017 his new Economic Development Strategy as a draft for consultation. This draft is open for discussion for three months until 13 March 2018. Sadiq Khan is “keen for London to remain the best place to do business, but wants to put more emphasis on the general wellbeing, health and happiness of Londoners”. He invites Londoners and other informed stakeholders to tell him what they think of his plans.

His website at https://www.london.gov.uk includes a survey and discussion forums on

  • Would you like to be involved in the development of new technology?
  • What sectors do you think are most important to London’s economy and why?
  • What do you think the risks are to London’s economy in the coming years?
  • How can technology be used to make London a better city to live in?
  • What do businesses need to thrive in London? What are the challenges they face?
  • How do you feel about the idea of having a Good Work Standard in London?
  • How able do you feel to achieve your career goals in London?

Sadiq Khan unveiled his draft Economic Development Strategy at the Federation of Small Business’ Winter Reception. He explained how he wants to build on his manifesto pledge to be London’s most pro-business Mayor ever. “I want to create an economy that delivers for everyone and leaves none of London’s communities behind.”

London is one of the richest cities in the world, but also home to some of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country. The strategy sets out measures to address this fact.

Innovative Solutions for London

The Mayor has also challenged tech start-ups and medium-sized businesses to develop innovative solutions that address some of the big issues facing Londoners. These issues range from inequality to air quality and health challenges of an ageing population.  Using funding from the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), 15 companies will be selected to receive business support. Up to three of them will receive £15,000 to further develop their ideas. He will set out the exact terms of this initiative, known as the Mayor’s Civic Innovation Challenge, next year.

The overarching goal of the Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy is to boost competitiveness and create a business environment that is not only friendly – in terms of helping investment and growth – but also fair, where all companies play by the rules and where all Londoners stand to benefit.

By channelling investment into key areas, equipping Londoners with the skills, education and training they need to participate in the modern economy, and by investing in infrastructure and offering targeted support to certain sectors – such as tech, life-sciences, and the capital’s creative industries – the Mayor believes he can deliver on this vision at the same time as helping London’s businesses go from strength-to-strength.

Source: Mayor’s Website

Image source: City A. M.

London ranks first in GDP among UK top level territories, and is positioned at the 5×1 slot within the G8x8. In 2015, it achieved a GDP of 378.4 billion £ (507.1 billion $) and a share of 22.7 percent of the national total. Its GDP was slightly lower than that of Sweden.

Tokyo

Tokyo – London Collaboration

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Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, and Charles Bowman, Lord Mayor of London, have signed and concluded the Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of London Corporation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, on 4 December 2017. The Lord Mayor works closely with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, although they have distinct and separate responsibilities.

The two cities have a long history of collaboration across many sectors which have contributed to the economic development and prosperity in their respective countries and in the world. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), which is the administrative body of the metro area, and the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO), are already working together on an agenda to revitalise Tokyo’s financial sector. The Financial Services sector is one of the key areas that continues to undergo transformation at an international level. In recognition of this the City of London Corporation (CoLC) and the TMG will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further deepen their exchange and collaboration in financial services, so that the two international financial centres can mutually prosper and grow. In addition, TheCityUK, as the industry body for UK-based financial and related professional services, has launched a Japan Market Advisory Group (MAG) of industry experts and is taking forward a programme to strengthen collaboration between financial and related professional services in the UK and Japan and this practitioner activity will complement cooperation between the two cities.

Collaboration Objectives

Working toward this goal, while the CoLC and TMG will deepen their examination of concrete actions, both parties hereby agree to commence consideration on their cooperation in the following
areas:

  • Cooperation in financial sector meetings, forums and information sharing between both cities.
  • Cooperation in building a wider alliance programme in the education sector.
  • Cooperation in developing and promoting Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) investment and green finance.
  • Cooperation in conducting promotional activities as international financial centres.

Tokyo has sister city relationships with many capitals of the world, including

  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Cairo
  • London
  • Moscow
  • New York
  • Paris
  • Rome
  • Seoul

Information Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Image Source: Bureau of Port and Harbor, Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Tokyo and London are both G8x8 territories. The former is ranking first in GDP among Japanese prefectures, placing it at the 3×1 position. London ranks first among top level areas of the United Kingdom to take the 5×1 field on the board. Tokyo takes a share of 18.3% of the total GDP of Japan. London posted a GDP share of 22.7 percent of the UK national total.

Scotland

Scotland’s Space Sector is Soaring

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In the last two years, Glasgow has built more satellites than any other city in Europe.

Scotland punches above its weight when it comes to the space industry, particularly around the NewSpace area of small satellite systems (smallsats) and space data solutions companies.

It is estimated that more than 250 smallsats will be launched into space in 2017 across the global industry – four times the number of all other satellites combined.

NewSpace companies in Scotland include:

  • Orbital Access – horizontal launch provision
  • Clyde Space – design and build of cubesats
  • Spire Global – inward investor focusing on the development/operation of cubesat constellations and providing data products across marine-based sectors
  • Ecometrica – end-to-end environmental software as a service
  • Astrosat – data software service working across earth observation and satellite communications

Scotland ranks 5th in GDP among the top-level administrative territories of the United Kingdom, placing it at the 5×5 spot of the G8x8. In 2015, the scottish GDP amounted to 127.3 billion €. This was about 7.6 percent of the UK total and just about the same as that of the State of Qatar.