British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed plans by US finance firms, including PayPal Inc and Citigroup Inc, to invest ￡1.25 billion (US$1.7 billion) in the UK, which were announced days ahead of US President Donald Trump’s state visit.
The investments by leading US companies, which also include Bank of America Corp and S&P Global Inc, would create 1,800 jobs in London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, the government said.
The announcement came as the UK prepares to welcome Trump tomorrow for a historic second state visit, having been hosted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 during his first term in office.
Photo: Reuters
“By working with our allies, we are creating jobs here,” said Starmer, who is enduring a domestic political crisis following this week’s sacking of British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson over his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The investments confirm “Britain’s place as a leader in global finance,” he said.
As part of the plans, Bank of America would create up to 1,000 new jobs in Belfast in its first-ever operation in Northern Ireland.
Citigroup would invest ￡1.1 billion across its UK operations, including growing its presence in Northern Ireland, where the bank is already one of Belfast’s top employers, now employing more than 4,000 people.
The British government said the twin investments were “firmly establishing Belfast as a major technology powerhouse.”
Meanwhile, S&P Global is set to plough more than ￡4 million into its offices in Manchester, England, which would support 200 permanent jobs to boost their nearly 3,000-strong UK workforce.
In addition, PayPal is to invest ￡150 million in “product innovations and growth,” the government said.
BlackRock Inc, which opened a new office in the Edinburgh this week, was also expected to allocate ￡7 billion to the UK market next year on behalf of clients, while investing ￡500 million in UK enterprise data centers.
Trump’s visit, which would see him feted Wednesday by King Charles III and other royals in Windsor before he meets Starmer the following day, is expected to focus on boosting transatlantic economic ties.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
RSS