The British business community is concerned about the business climate in London. The government must take more action to attract multinational companies to the UK. Former UK correspondent Peter de Waard tells us how the business climate is going three years after Brexit. “There have been complaints and rightly so, the UK has self-isolated after leaving the EU.”

Many companies are dissatisfied with the rules previously imposed by the EU. In order to trade certain securities, you must be incorporated within the EU. This resulted in a number of trading platforms moving from London to Amsterdam. Companies are also unhappy with the current state of the British pound.

Oversight and rules are constantly changing

On the other hand, large companies, including Shell and Unilever, have moved their headquarters to London, but according to De Waard, this has not yet been fulfilled. “They’re complaining that the number of listings is dropping on the London stock exchange, but you’re also seeing that on the Amsterdam stock exchange.” Also, there are stricter rules about this in the UK Special Purpose Acquisition CompanyS. These are companies that go to the stock exchange to raise capital to finance a takeover or merger within two years. ‘And then the business climate in the Netherlands is more attractive.’

Not only the British regulator Financial Conduct Commission be tighter. Financial controls are being tightened around the world. “That goes for America, France, and also the Netherlands because AFM has more to say,” said De Waard.

Read also | US inflation seems to be stagnant, Fed intervention is unnecessary

The British government took various steps to improve the business climate. According to De Waard, a lot has happened since the Conservative Party ruled for fifteen years. ‘The Tories are probably the most business-friendly party in the world.’ The corporate income tax has been reduced to nineteen percent and is therefore lower than in the Netherlands. Also, there is no dividend tax in the UK like in all EU countries.

‘That was of course the reason why Unilever and Shell went to London’, said De Waard. Moreover, he does not expect any additional action from the current government. “The Conservative Party is in close competition with the Labor Party. The Left is doing well in the polls and the Conservatives will have to pull out all the stops to stay in office.

Read also | ING benefits greatly from high interest rates and rewards to shareholders