❝What we are desperately short of is long-term thinking.❞ the property enhanced by all the new infrastructure. Asking the landowners in the House of Lords what they thought of a Land Value Tax was a bit like asking a turkey what it thinks of Christmas, and, not surprisingly, they vetoed the bill – the first time this had happened in 200 years. That caused a constitutional crisis in this very place that led to the Lords powers being permanently reduced in the 1911 Parliament Act. Think about the impact that Crossrail is having on property prices, land values and rents in the towns that benefit from the new stations. One Belt One Road is Crossrail on a global scale. Now, let’s not be niaive about this, China is not some global charity overcome by a fit of Mark Zuckerberglike philanthropy. This is as much about stimulating domestic growth by helping Chinese companies become global brands as it is about helping developing countries to build twenty-first century infrastructure. But make no mistake. There’s a big and growing infrastructure gap in the developed West – we are in no position to be complacent. There’s always a healthy tension between business and government. To succeed, a business needs laser focus on its goals and acts in the interests of its shareholders. A government has to consider bigger issues like health, education and defence. As Sir Vince will know far better than me, the art of politics is in the allocation of scarce resources to achieve the best overall outcome for the country. A couple of elections ago the
outgoing chief secretary to the treasury left a note on the desk for his successor – it said ‘Sorry, there’s no money left. It’s all gone…’ Infrastucture has always been a driver of business growth and economic success. Study the history of Britain or America and the impact of canals, railways and roads has been immeasurable. Ironically, the railways were built by private companies whose investors lost all their money when revenues fell short of expectations. Mind you, the landowners did okay. A century later, we saw the same bubble and bust in the technology world as the internet exploded into a global phenomenon. And yet the very infrastructure that saw early investors wiped out is now the backbone of the digital economy with Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook as its poster boys. One Belt One Road has the potential to make as big an impact on the global economy as the internet or the birth of the railways. It’s the world’s biggest project that you’ve probably never heard of. The business opportunities that infrastructure on this scale can open up are almost limitless. Savvy entrepreneurs are already finding ways to exploit the project in order to grow their business. One of my own Elite Investor Club members, Guy Weaver, sent his apologies that he couldn’t join us today because he’s at a trade fair in Guangzhou buying kitchen goods that he will then export to America to sell on a TV shopping channel. Siemens already has a $1 billion order for a power plant in Saudi Arabia as part
of OBOR, while General Electric has targeted billions of dollars in new revenue from OBOR projects. We can’t have a debate in the Palace of Westminster without mentioning the B word. Last year, I stood in these same august surroundings to discuss the shock result of the EU referendum. Although it feels like we’re stuck in the slow lane, we appear to be on the road towards Brexit and a return to British independence. For the business community, this is exciting and worrying in equal measure. When we’re making long-term investment and growth plans, the last thing we need is uncertainty on this scale. But it brings One Belt One Road into focus as a massive opportunity for UK business to steal a march on Europe and America by embracing the initiative and finding the opportunities within it. Frankly, we need all the friends we can get and we need them now. I’ve been working on ways of connecting Chinese and UK investors for 3 or 4 years now and we’re making some real headway. Like all business relationships, it needs trust, commitment, the right connections and delivering on your promises to make the partnership bloom and grow. One Belt One Road can be the catalyst for countless new partnerships in the next three decades. My advice to entrepreneurs is – don’t wait for a political lead. Don’t wait for official permission. Get involved now and see what you can build on the back of the largest infrastructure investment the world has ever seen.” ◗
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