Davina Garrod, Jasper Helder Quoted by IFLR on CFIUS and NSI

Akin Gump international trade partners Davina Garrod and Jasper Helder were quoted by IFLR for its article “CFIUS v the UK NSI: how similar are they really?”

The article looks at the U.K.’s draft National Security and Investment Bill (NSI) and compares it to the U.S.’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Discussing factors that could affect the number of cases brought under the NSI in the U.K., the article points to U.K. attitudes toward perceived hostile states, which it notes as including China and Russia. On China, Helder said, “Given the UK’s decision in respect of Huawei’s participation in 5G, it seems that China doesn’t currently rank number one on the UK government’s friend list.”

For her part, Garrod noted the damage wrought by the pandemic on the U.K.’s economy, and the country’s resulting need for foreign investment to drive growth. She said, “Some funds have Chinese money and a little bit of Chinese influence, but at the end of the day, the UK needs the finance and so will adopt workarounds. So, I don’t think the UK will be as aggressive about Chinese investors as CFIUS has been over the past few years.”

The article describes a gamut where allies and Commonwealth countries are on one end, relatively unaffected by NSI, and perceived hostile states on the other, cognizant of the challenges to foreign investment. Garrod said, however, “Those two poles sit higher up the acquirer risk pyramid, but there is quite a big universe in the middle where it is not entirely clear how the UK will treat those investors.”