The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Alan Yarrow, is to visit Singapore this week (21-23 May) helping ensure that the City of London and the UK remains the regional partner of choice when it comes to financial and professional services.

The Lord Mayor, acting as ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services, will be meeting with senior members of the government, investment authorities, regulators and business leaders. He we also speak at an insurance panel hosted by Lloyd’s of London, give an address at a British Chambers of Commerce reception and open a CBRE real estate investment event.

The visit will be followed by three days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (24-26 May) having already travelled to Sir Lanka and Indonesia in recent days.

Speaking ahead of his trip, Lord Mayor Yarrow said:

“The roles of Singapore and the UK in the global economy each have a major strand in common: acting act as a gateway for a key trading bloc in their respective regions. They also face similar opportunities and challenges in growing and sustaining their economies.

“My visit comes at an opportune time, following up President Tan’s recent State Visit to the UK, where I will look to forge even closer links between our two nations. Only through partnership can we compete on the global stage and maintain our positions as unique and versatile economies.”

Notes to editors

About the Lord Mayor of the City of London

• The Lord Mayor is head of the Square Mile’s City of London authority for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It is an exceptionally demanding role. The Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year). The Lord Mayor represents City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the Government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a Cabinet Minister. The Lord Mayor meets several international Heads of Government and Business each month to discuss financial services, often in conjunction with senior City business representatives. The Lord Mayor lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.