British minister seeks to reassure business, agree needs for new EU deal

[June 28, 2016]  By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's business secretary Sajid Javid will meet with company bosses and trade associations on Tuesday to seek guidance on what they need from a new deal with the European Union and to reassure them that Britain remains open for business.

Javid will meet with business groups, representatives from Britain's largest trade sectors and chief executives to discuss their demands after Britain's vote to leave the world's largest trading bloc sparked a meltdown in financial markets.

Javid, who had campaigned for Britain to remain in the 28-member bloc, is seen as a candidate to become the next finance minister in a future Conservative government after Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would step down by October.

"My objective now is to ensure that the negotiation of our future relationship with the EU is carried out in the interest of UK companies, investors, potential investors and workers," Javid said in a statement ahead of the meeting.

Business groups have urged the government to explain how the world's fifth largest economy will extricate itself from the group it joined in 1973. Economists have already warned that Britain could tip into recession, hitting the stock prices of sectors such as housebuilders, holiday groups and airlines.

"There are significant challenges ahead, but the economic success of the past few years means we're better able to withstand the current market turbulence and work towards a better future. The UK remains open for business," Javid said.

More than 20 representatives from some of Britain's largest sectors, including aerospace, defense, automotive, oil and gas, steel, rail, tourism and food and drink are due to attend, along with trade organizations including the Confederation of British Industry and British Chambers of Commerce.

"In its exit negotiations the government should aim to ensure that the trade benefits of the Single Market (i.e. the absence of customs duties) are replicated in the UK's new relationship with the EU," the British Retail Consortium said.

Britain's Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, leaves after a cabinet meeting in Downing Street in central London, Britain June 27, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Javid's department, which declined to name which company chief executives were due to attend, said the meeting would be the first in a series and the minister would urge business leaders to feed back concerns from investors, exporters and employers.

Britain's top share index, the FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, lost 5.6 percent in the two sessions following the referendum result early on Friday, wiping nearly 100 billion pounds ($132 billion) off its value.

The FTSE 100 rebounded to be up 2 percent in early trading on Tuesday.

Cameron told parliament on Monday that he would also be holding a meeting with business leaders later in the week to discuss the impact of the referendum result.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and William James; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Michael Holden)

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