London - Chancellor
of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is heading to South Africa, South Korea and
Japan to scout for new markets as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.
The trip
begins on Wednesday in South Africa, where Hammond is due to meet officials at
the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, business representatives and financial
technology start-ups this week, the Treasury said in a statement. South Africa
is the continent’s biggest buyer of British goods.
In Japan,
the chancellor will meet with Softbank Group Corp. Chief Executive Officer and
founder Masayoshi Son, who was due to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald
Trump in New York on Tuesday. Softbank bought British chip designer Arm
Holdings Plc in July. Hammond will also meet with Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko
Kuroda and Japanese investors, before heading to South Korea for talks with
central bank chief, Lee Ju-Yeol, and government ministers.
Read also: What are bosses saying about Brexit?
It marks
the latest diplomatic push as the government attempts to lay the foundations
for bilateral trade ties once the Britain leaves the EU. Theresa May has
visited China and India since becoming prime minister in July and International
Trade Secretary Liam Fox is due to travel to Australia early next year.
“As we
leave the EU, Britain’s future prosperity depends on maintaining the strongest
possible economic links with our European neighbors, while building on the
already strong economic partnerships we have with the world beyond Europe,”
Hammond said in a statement.
May is
currently on a visit to Bahrain, a trip opposition lawmakers called the “shabby
face of Brexit” because of the Gulf state’s human-rights record.
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