Osborne at Airbus

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has been at Airbus Broughton today, he was joined Stephen Crabb MP the Secretary of State for Wales.

The Chancellor and Mr Crabb took a tour of the brand new Beluga Line Station in Broughton, a facility that has just opened and which marks the latest in over £2 billion investment in manufacturing at Broughton, securing the future of thousands of jobs in Wales.

Fixing new wings with apprentices @Airbus in Broughton with brilliant Secretary of State for Wales @scrabbmp pic.twitter.com/rv66NtUCpM

— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) July 17, 2015

While on his a visit to Broughton, the Chancellor welcomed news that UK Export Finance’s recent move to add the Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB) to its list of supported currencies has immediately paid off, enabling the purchase of a single Airbus A330 aircraft by China Southern Airways.

The historic deal is the first by an export credit agency anywhere in the world for a loan in Chinese offshore RMB and paves the way for enormous opportunities for UK exporters and companies in the supply chain.

Mr Osborne said:

This is a truly historic deal which paves the way for the best British companies to export much more easily to the Chinese market. The UK is a world leader in financial innovation and I am determined that we become a centre for renminbi business so that many more of our brilliant exporters can benefit.

At the Summer Budget I set out the next steps to boost business and reward working people in Wales. I was delighted to talk about how our plans, as a one nation government, will help not just large successful businesses like Airbus but businesses of all sizes right across Wales to grow and create jobs.

Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb said:

The UK government is making it easier for big employers like Airbus to do business in China, and that is great news for the economy of North Wales. Employers know that this country is business-friendly and the kind of innovative arrangement put forward by UK Export Finance is proof of that.

It is particularly impressive to see the indoor facilities that have just been completed for the Beluga Aircraft at Broughton. These huge craft can now be loaded in all weathers, and I hope that leads to ever busier order books for Airbus.

The Chancellor then made his way to Hawarden’s historic Gladstone’s Library, he found time to tweet: “Visited lovely Gladstone Library in Hawarden – thanks to dedicated team there for showing me Grand Old Man’s annotated books firsthand”

One #Chancellor of the #Exchequer surveys the legacy of another! #politics #economy #GeorgeOsborne #Hawarden #library pic.twitter.com/49duVnFxOE

— Gladstone's Library (@gladlib) July 17, 2015