Lord Mayor of London visits Australia
Charles Bowman leads a business delegation to Australia to boost financial and professional sector links.
Lord Mayor Bowman
The Lord Mayor of London, an ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services industry, is visiting Australia at the head of a business delegation next week with the aim of strengthening trade links with the City of London.
Charles Bowman, the Lord Mayor, will meet government and business leaders, regulators, and trade bodies in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. He will discuss how the City of London can work more closely with Australian companies as they invest for growth domestically and abroad.
Lord Mayor Bowman, the 690th incumbent of a role that dates back centuries, is the leader of London’s ‘Square Mile,’ or financial district. He has plans to visit 27 countries over the course of his year in office. Charles Bowman is an accountant by profession, and is a senior partner at PwC in London.
The Lord Mayor will be visiting Australia at the head of a business delegation of senior figures from industries such as asset management, cyber security, and fintech. The delegation will also include the Prime Minister’s Business Envoy for Financial Services, and entrepreneur Alastair Lukies. A number of the companies represented on the Lord Mayor’s business delegation are making investments in Australia, or are partnering with Australian companies as they expand into the APAC region.
He will also discuss how a potential free trade deal will look with senior Australian politicians, including the Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison MP.
Speaking ahead of his visit to Australia, Lord Mayor Charles Bowman said:
It is a great pleasure to be the first Lord Mayor in more than 3 years to be visiting Australia. I know that my visit will involve a packed and productive schedule, engaging with senior representatives from government, industry, and regulators.
There are many excellent opportunities for British companies to do business in Australia – not least in asset management, infrastructure finance, cyber and fintech – and I look forward to discussing this in Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne.
I will also be meeting innovative fintech businesses in Sydney and Melbourne to see how the City of London, as a financial centre full of creative energy, can help support their ideas and growth.
Following the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, it is more important than ever that we build our links with vibrant and growing markets across the world, and I know the UK’s relationship with Australia will go from strength-to-strength in the years to come.
International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:
The UK and Australia already have a strong economic and cultural relationship – based on our shared histories, language, and open liberal economies.
The Lord Mayor’s visit with a top business delegation, aims to further boost trade and investment ties, while making it easier for the City to work with their partners on the other side of the world.
The Prime Minister’s Business Envoy for Financial Services Alastair Lukies said:
The Lord Mayor’s visit to Australia comes at a time where the UK is rediscovering its place in the world as a great, global trading nation, and I am honoured to be a part of it.
The UK leads the world in financial services, and has also taken decisive, focused action over the past decade to evolve into the world’s leading financial technology hub.
I’m particularly excited to reconnect with innovative and growing fintech businesses in Sydney and Melbourne to continue the various alliances and trading partnership discussions already underway and to speak about why the UK is the perfect location for them to grow their businesses.
The Lord Mayor’s visit will have a strong focus on innovation, and how financial and professional services can support the growth of startups. The Lord Mayor will be touring the Commonwealth Bank Innovation Hub, and Stone and Chalk Fintech Hub in Sydney, as well as the York Butter Factory digital hub in Melbourne.
These visits will be balanced by meetings with established institutional investors, events with business representative bodies such as the Australian British Chamber of Commerce and Australian Bankers Association, and a number of events focused on Green Finance.
The Lord Mayor will be tweeting from @CityLordMayor during his visit.
Contact Annie Galea, Head of Communications, British Consulate General, Sydney for more information on the Lord Mayor and his visit on +61 (0) 407 190 867 or annie.galea@mobile.trade.gov.uk
About the City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation provides local government and policing services for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, the ‘Square Mile’. In addition, the City Corporation has 3 roles which include:
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supporting London’s communities by working in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on economic regeneration, education and skills. In addition, the City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, makes grants of around £20 million annually to tackle disadvantage across London
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helping to look after important London heritage and green spaces including Tower Bridge, the Museum of London, Barbican Arts Centre, City gardens, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and important commons in London
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supporting and promoting the ‘City’ as a world-leading financial and business hub, with outward and inward business delegations, high-profile civic events and research-driven policies, all reflecting a long-term approach
About the Lord Mayor of the City of London
The Lord Mayor:
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is head of the Square Mile’s City of London authority for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It’s an exceptionally demanding role. The Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year).
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represents City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a Cabinet Minister.
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meets several international heads of government and business each month to discuss financial services, often in conjunction with senior City business representatives. The Lord Mayor lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.
See www.cityoflondon.gov.uk for more details.