Chancellor woos Japan's Softbank to list chip designer Arm in London

2022-09-16

Kwasi Kwarteng woos Japan’s SoftBank to list chip designer Arm in London as Chancellor shrugs off backlash at plans to ditch City bonus cap

PM and Chancellor set to renew push to convince SoftBank to list Arm in UK
Government wants Japanese giant to list British-based chip designer in London
It would boost Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s hopes of re-energising City

Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng are set to renew a push to convince Japan’s SoftBank to list a British-based chip designer in London.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor are hopeful that a fresh charm offensive could persuade SoftBank to list Arm – whose technology is at the heart of most smartphones and smart devices worldwide – in the UK.

The Cambridge-based company was bought by SoftBank for $32billion (£28billion) in 2016.

The Japanese giant is now planning to take Arm public after a $40billion (£35billion) takeover attempt by American multinational Nvidia collapsed earlier this year.

Arm licences its tech to phone giants such as Apple, Samsung and Huawei with the firm boasting that it powers 95 per cent of premium smartphones across the world.

According to the Financial Times, the Government will push for high-level talks with SoftBank bosses after the national period of the mourning for the Queen ends next week.

The newspaper reported that SoftBank executives had previously begun talks with UK officials about a possible rare dual listing in both London and New York.

The PM and Chancellor are hopeful that a fresh charm offensive could persuade SoftBank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, to list Arm in the UK

Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng are ready to push for high-level talks with SoftBank bosses after the national period of the mourning for the Queen ends next week

The Government is plotting a bonfire of red tape in the City of London, dubbed ‘Big Bang 2.0’, including the possible scrapping of the banker bonus cap

Former PM Boris Johnson had spearheaded the lobbying effort to convince SoftBank to list Arm in London earlier this year, prior to his ousting from Number 10.

Mr Johnson’s administration had previously intervened in the proposed Nvidia takeover of Arm on national security grounds.

Should Arm end up being listed in London, it would provide a huge boost to Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng’s hopes of re-energising the City of London as they aim to revive economic growth.

They are plotting a bonfire of red tape, dubbed ‘Big Bang 2.0’, including the possible scrapping of the banker bonus cap.

Mr Kwarteng has so far stood firm amid a backlash at the suggestion he could drop the rules – which mean bonuses cannot be more than twice salaries – to boost the City.

There are concerns that the cap, which the UK signed up to as an EU member after the 2008 financial crash, is hampering London’s ability to compete with other major financial centres.

The Bank of England has signalled its support for scrapping the cap after it pointed out it had never supported the policy when it was introduced.

‘The Senior Managers Regime and remuneration rules requiring deferral of bonus payments are more effective tools for ensuring bankers take proper account of risks,’ a spokesperson said.

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