£16 billion of investment announced at Wales investment summit
Amelia Jones
Wales is set for a major economic boost with more than 10,000 jobs and billions of pounds invested in projects from 5G networks to green energy.
The announcements come as part of the Wales Investment Summit in Newport, which has attracted more than 300 business leaders and investors from 27 countries.
The latest investment pledges bring the total since the summit’s launch to around £16 billion.
They were joined by Prince William, who will tour Welsh businesses before joining the main conference, where he will deliver a speech.
It has been announced that Vodafone is investing £600 million to expand 5G coverage to 99% of Wales, potentially benefiting an additional 2 million people. GE Aerospace is modernising its Nantgarw facility, which employs over 1,350 engineers and technical specialists.
RWE also plans a £200 million battery energy storage facility in Pembroke to help stabilise the UK electricity grid.
Energy company Eni is investing hundreds of millions in carbon capture and storage at the former colliery site in Point of Ayr, Flintshire, expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.
Media company Bad Wolf will produce two high-end TV projects, contributing £30 million to the Welsh economy.
Meanwhile, Vantage Data Centers plans a £10 billion development across south Wales, including the former Ford Bridgend Engine Plant, which is set to generate thousands of construction and operational roles.
First Minister Eluned Morgan described the announcements as “a huge vote of confidence in Wales.”
She added: “The next step is building on these major investments to ensure the jobs and economic benefits reach each and every part of Wales.”
These new pledges follow £4.6 billion in inward investment announced last week, including £2.5 billion from Wylfa and additional funding from companies such as Rolls Royce, Vishay, Stena Line, Boccard, and Bute Energy.
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It sounds good for jobs, but where do the profits of these foreign investors go?
Well it might be good for jobs if most of these promises get delivered. As you say the destination of profits is another matter altogether. Colonialism is good for someone well away from here.
There is an echo here of the coal industry, where labour was cheap and the profits went elsewhere. We do have an abundance of water which is attractive, and a lower average wage compared to the rest of the UK. Our dependence on foreign investment in the past has made us vulnerable to ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ capital that can shift its interest elsewhere at the drop of a hat.
There are lots of relatively small organisations in Wales such as bedigital based on Cardiff with London clients who are expanding.
I’ve been supporting Cardiff Universitys research into using procurement to create lots of well-paid roles in Wales. Jemma is doing excellent work https://wiserd.ac.uk/people/jemma-bridgeman/ and since devolution, Wales has created well-paid roles; but this will take decades to reach the status of a mature economy such as France.
Economies need a mixture of foreign investment and developing own organisations – which start off small.
Profits will be off-shored in locations such as Dublin. This is not the case in Europe – if organisation is not based in-country they are stopped automatically from tendering; so finance roles / profits are in-country. Westminster / UK govt consistently only meets Microsoft, Apple etc and so they keep getting contracts. Wales was promised a net zero railway http://www.gcre.wales not funded yet and chief executive recently resigned. In 1990s money was spent on a South Korean chip manufacturer opening in Newport – never came. Amazon warehouse in Swansea – low paid jobs, expensive products and lots of low paid… Read more »
Can you see a reason for companies to invest in the UK now , let alone Wales ? There are so many headwinds against business they will look elsewhere first .
No longer being a gateway to the largest and richest single market in the world has indeed make the UK less attractive to investors.
So how would this help a start-up in Coed-y Brenin, which incidentally was the first purpose built mountain biking centre in the UK, to move on. Say a corporate team building company’s field station…
Can’t believe some of the negative comments on here . The point is people will be employed, pay their mortgage or get on the housing ladder and be able to spend money in their local communities and therefore help local businesses. It’s good news for Wales for a change and should be shouted from the rooftops, good things do happen here you know . Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth and with an election coming up in May the more positive things we can say about Wales the more chance we have of keeping the likes of Farage… Read more »
The announcements will result in a consultants bonanza of fees.
Construction companies will create jobs.
Then the data centers will pay staff at or just above minimum wage.
Basic economics is that you need jobs of the highest economic multipliers created for long-term growth.
Are the Rolls-Royce plc jobs in research and development or administrative functions?
The Boeing expansion is excellent news.
Yes, we can all welcome the short term promise of job creation, my issue is for the long term economic benefit for Wales.
Oh well , should we kick all those jobs into touch then ? It’s a start, from little acorns and all that .
Turning away inward investment doesn’t do anything to boost indigenous businesses and jobs. It simply results in fewer jobs.
I genuinely think many in Wales, or this forum, would be at their happiest with purely negative news.
If you had paid attention over recent decades you would have noticed the proliferation of “good news” stories that don’t come to anything or severely underachieve when compared to the P.R junk. That experience conditions us to greet such announcements with a degree of cynicism and to reserve the rejoicing for later when the jobs get created.
You have a point. Inward investment is to be welcomed (when it happens); but the government script is 25 years out of date. Brexit, labour costs and creaking infrastructure make Wales and the UK a far less attractive option. The focus should be on small to medium sized businesses who account for some two thirds of employment. However it’s not sexy enough for politicians.
Judging by some of the comments and the grinding negativity it’s little wonder that the UK government generally works more closely with, say, Scotland, on major renewables projects etc. New jobs = colonialism apparently. Hilarious. None of this is perfect but, considering how little business nous we bring to the table I’ll take anything that is sent our way…
This must be an annual event.
Gosh, where was Jo the Brit? Our little viceroy missing?