Liverpool leaders to attract Asian investment following new MoU deal

Liverpool is due to benefit from a major presence at one of the largest ever gatherings of Asian businesses.

The city region will operate a pavilion at the China-South Asia Expo 2017 next June after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the event’s host city Kunming this week (October 24).

Now in its fourth year, the expo will give the Liverpool City Region a platform for promoting investment opportunities to thousands of businesses from over 30 countries,

The MoU with Kunming includes the potential for the South China city to design and install a special garden as part of Liverpool’s plans to transform its Festival Gardens site into a cultural garden suburb.

The signing of the agreement came at the beginning of a two-week trade delegation to China, organised by inward investment agency Invest Liverpool and led by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson alongside Wirral Council Leader Cllr Phil Davies.

Companies from the property, marketing and tech sectors, as well as representatives of academia and Chambers of Commerce, are taking part in the visit.

As part of the MoU, the Liverpool City Region and Kunming, which is home to over 7m people, will work together to drive job creation and growth by improving business and cultural links.

Cllr Davies, the lead on economic development for the city region’s Combined Authority, said: “The new Memorandum with Kunming will see emerging opportunities for Wirral and city region businesses to connect with a flourishing region of China and we have already seen significant interest in Wirral’s strengths in such sectors as advanced manufacturing.

“This is the first time the city region has come together in this way and it’s a clear example of how we can offer a more compelling proposition as a combined region.”

Mayor Anderson commented: “There are clear opportunities for Liverpool City Region companies to win investment and contracts by engaging with this fast-growing area of China and the expo next year will be a great platform for businesses which want to connect with new markets in southeast Asia.”

Party Secretary Cheng Lianyuan, the most senior government official in Kunming, said of the agreement: “We are developing a special relationship with Liverpool City Region which I believe will benefit both cities for many years to come.”