London has disclosed an ambitious new Growth Plan’ which aims to provide an estimated GBP 27 billion extra tax revenue to fund vital public services across the country. Interestingly, India has been pegged as its number one source market in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI). Mayor of London Sadiq Khan along with growth agency London & Partners unveiled the plan recently. The plan aims to restore productivity growth to an average of 2 per cent a year in the next decade. This move is expected to make London’s economy GBP 107 billion larger by 2035.
India has overtaken the United States as London’s single-largest FDI source market in 2022-23 and continuing through 2023-24. The country has been on a growth curve for the last three years.
CEO of London & Partners, Laura Citron said, “The Foreign direct investment (FDI) from India has been the fastest growing and has been our number one market for the last two years.”
“So, it’s Indian tech companies setting up operations in London. Equally, if we look at it as a student market, post-Brexit, India has really rapidly grown as a student market. It’s now the number two source market for London after China. It’s also a fast-growing tourism market for London; India is just a really critical, top market for London, she added.
Notably, London hosted 38,625 Indian students, according to an official data for 2023-24. Over the past 10 years, it has shown significant growth, with the country’s share of all international students in London rising from less than 5 percent to more than 20 percent.
Mark Hertlien, Head of Global Engagement at City St George’s University and Chair of the International Network at London Higher stated, “It is positive that London’s quantity of Indian students has increased in the past decade, with Indian students now accounting for over 20 per cent of international students enrolled at a London university.”
Meanwhile, Ashish Devalekar, Executive Vice President and Head of Europe at Indian IT major Mphasis, appreciated London’s attractiveness as an innovation powerhouse and a global hub for world-leading businesses and talent.
“At Mphasis, we have steadily expanded our presence in the region over the past years, and we are now on the trajectory to double the headcount through our London Innovation Hub which we opened late last year,” said Devalekar.
The London Growth Plan, developed with London & Partners in collaboration with businesses, trade unions and London’s communities, sets out a blueprint to set in motion the capital’s productivity.
“This growth plan provides a golden opportunity to turbocharge growth and unlock London’s full potential for the benefit of all Londoners and the whole country,” added Sadiq Khan.
Moreover, the plan also seeks to increase the weekly household income by 20 percent for the lowest-earning 20 percent of Londoners. This would result in over a million households in London having an additional GBP 50 to spend each week, on average, after covering housing costs.
