UK to secure £750m Asian trade deals

David Cameron says business deals worth more than £750m ($1.2bn) will be made during his tour of South East Asia.
Mr Cameron is to be accompanied by 31 British business leaders on the trade mission, which starts in Indonesia.
The UK prime minister says he wants to forge links with the area’s rapidly growing markets for British goods and services during his four-day trip.
He will also discuss the threat of the self-styled Islamic State group and climate change during his trip.
The BBC’s Jon Donnison said the case of British woman Lindsay Sandiford – who has been on death row in Indonesia since 2013 for smuggling cocaine with a street value of £1.6m – was potentially awkward for the PM.
Any pressure to spare her life “will probably be applied discreetly and behind the scenes”, our correspondent added.
Business Secretary Sajid Javid is leading a separate delegation to the region from the north of England.
The prime minister’s crammed itinerary will take in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore on a whistle-stop trade mission, the first of this Parliament.
While the EU remains Britain’s biggest trading partner, Mr Cameron has been clear the UK needs to look beyond Europe, an ambition mirrored by frustration at the EU’s level of competitiveness and regulation.
Last week, he said Britain needed to go “to the ends of the earth” to sell its wares.
The prime minster is sending a clear signal Britain must look east.
Not just to India and China, but to the largely untapped potential of South East Asia as well. By 2030, the region is expected to be the fourth-largest single market in the world.
The prime minister said: “Over the next 20 years, 90% of global growth is expected to come from outside Europe, and Britain must be poised to take advantage.
“That’s why I’m delighted to be taking British businesses to this vast and dynamic market, securing deals worth over £750m and creating opportunities for hard-working people back at home.
“We can also open up more markets for British businesses by leveraging the power of the EU’s single market with 500 million consumers to secure bold, ambitious trade deals with these fastest, growing economies.”
During the trip, the prime minister is expected to push for progress on a free trade deal between the European Union and South East Asian trading bloc, Asean, which Downing Street believes could provide £3bn a year to the British economy.
Mr Cameron said he would be making the case for an EU-Asean deal in talks with the group’s secretary general Le Luong Minh.