Hammond travels to Africa for post-Brexit trade

Philip Hammond

Philip Hammond

Published Dec 7, 2016

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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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