Lord Sassoon, chairman of CBBC, gives a speech at The China Outbound Conference 2014. Photo: Courtesy of CBBC

Over 60 UK investment opportunities were unveiled at The China Outbound Conference 2014 in Beijing on October 22, organized by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).

Industry leaders and Chinese investors in the UK shared their first-hand experience of how Chinese companies could invest in overseas ventures and how to navigate the UK market.

"The conference was a unique opportunity to present high-quality UK investment opportunities to Chinese investors," said Stephen Phillips, chief executive of CBBC.

At the conference, UK Trade & Investment, London & Partners, UK Invest, Scottish Development International and the Welsh Government showcased opportunities to investors.

Public-private partnerships (PPP) were examined on one panel. Through PPP ventures, the powerful combination of Britain's expertise in financing and China's experience of delivering large-scale construction projects could provide win-win opportunities for collaboration.

At the conference, CBBC also announced the details of its new website designed specifically to help Chinese investors identify investment opportunities in the UK or third markets around the globe. It was designed to help British companies and investment promotion agencies present opportunities directly to Chinese companies in their own language.

The website includes case studies of recent Chinese investments in the UK, such as the successful ventures involving Huawei, ABP, Dalian Wanda and Sanpower. Chinese companies have directly invested over $4 billion in the UK in 2014.

Website users will be able to find the most up-to-date projects in key sectors such as advanced technology, retail, urban regeneration, property and infrastructure, among many others.

Meanwhile, UK Visas & Immigration on October 20 announced a new scheme which will simplify the process of inviting the Chinese partners of British companies to the UK.

The "Select Business Scheme UK" will be available to the Chinese partners of members of CBBC and the British Chamber of Commerce in China as well as the Confederation of British Industry and companies referred by UK Trade & Investment.

"The introduction of the scheme demonstrates a further strengthening of the relationship between UK Visas & Immigration, CBBC and the British Chamber of Commerce in China," said Dominique Hardy, regional manager of China and DPRK, UK Visas & Immigration.

Global Times