House of Fraser boss wants “definite signal” for Brexit

The House of Fraser boss has said that Prime Minister Theresa May needs to give a “definite signal” about the Brexit scenario she will pursue. 

Yuan Yafei, who is a billionaire department store owner from China, spoke to the BBC and said it was important to have some idea of the future of Brexit and UK trade.

Yuan took control of House of Fraser four years ago and has 17,000 members of staff in the UK.

The Chinese billionaire said Brexit might “not be too bad” for the UK economy but there was a definite need for a strong signal from someone at the top of the UK economy.

Speaking on the eve of May’s visit to China, Yuan rejected the idea that China restricted access to its markets for various foreign firms, whilst taking advantage of more open economies including the UK.

“Many countries have policies to protect their economy,” he said. Yuan was also confident that China’s Communist Party-led government will “open up more” soon.

Theresa May will arrive in China on Wednesday, with plans to visit Wuhan, Beijing and Shanghai.

“My visit will intensify the golden era in UK-China relations,” said May, ahead of her trip.

“We are working together to tackle global and regional security challenges such as North Korea, climate change and environmental pollution and to develop our strong bilateral trade, investment and cultural links.

“There are huge trade opportunities in China that we want to help British businesses take advantage of.”

Trade between the UK and China has increased by 60 percent since 2010. The UK government is hoping China will remain a key trading partner once Britain leaves the EU.

Britain said earlier this year that it does not plan to rule out joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade zone. Members of the trading group include Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.