On April 13, 2024, the UK Day will focus on the following:
● The pound fell to 9.01 against the yuan, and the exchange rate fell below 1.25 against the dollar, hitting a five-month low
● Singapore property company acquires student accommodation in the UK and Germany for £1 billion
● Since Kate announced that he had cancer, William George and his son made their first public appearance
● The deputy leader of the Labour Party was investigated for allegedly violating the Election Law, and I said that I would resign if I violated the law
● The British passport application fee has increased again for the first time in 14 months
The pound fell to 9.01 against the yuan, and fell below 1.25 against the dollar, hitting a five-month low
In the past 24 hours (April 12-13), the pound fell below 1.2500 against the dollar, hitting a new five-month low.
Demand for the dollar remains strong as U.S. inflation data stubbornly higher in March forced traders to rule out market expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) at its June and July meetings, according to Reuters analysis. In the UK, despite positive factory data and expected GDP growth in February, the pound has not been able to find a buy.
Next week, US consumer price index (CPI) and labor market data will have a significant impact on speculation that the Bank of England (BOE) will start cutting interest rates, and financial markets are now expecting the Bank of England to start cutting interest rates from August.
As a result of the above data, the pound is currently trading at 1.245 against the dollar, the lowest since November 2023.
At the same time, the GBP/CNY exchange rate also fell to 8.996 in the past 24 hours, and the latest exchange rate is currently 9.01.
As of this time (April 13), the latest exchange rate of the British pound is as follows:
Singaporean property company buys UK and German student accommodation for £1 billion
On April 12, local time, Mapletree Investments, a Singaporean real estate company, announced the acquisition of Cuscaden Peak Investments, a student apartment operation platform, for 1 billion pounds, whose assets are mainly 31 student apartments in 19 cities in the United Kingdom and Germany, with a total of 8,192 beds.
Mapletree Investments said in a statement that the newly acquired student accommodation is located in major UK university cities such as Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Oxford and York, as well as Bremen in Germany.
The acquisition brings the group's portfolio in the UK to more than 17,000 beds, making it one of the largest owners of student accommodation assets in the UK, the statement said.
"This acquisition is part of a strategy to expand the student accommodation industry in the UK, US, Europe and Australia, where quality student accommodation remains insufficient," said Qiu Yunkang, president of Mapletree Investments. Due to its basic imbalance between supply and demand and defensive character, student accommodation is one of the core focus areas of the Group's real estate. We will leverage the newly acquired operating platform to support our strategic vision to grow and improve operational performance in the UK. ”
Since Kate was declared cancerous, William George and his son made their first public appearance
On April 12, local time, Prince William and 10-year-old Prince George watched the Aston Villa club football match in Birmingham, making their first public appearance since Princess Kate announced that she had cancer.
In the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, the duo watched Aston Villa beat Lille 2-1 and applauded.
The deputy leader of the Labour Party was investigated on suspicion of violating the Election Law, and he said that he would resign if he violated the law
On April 12, local time, the Greater Manchester District Police announced that according to the latest information provided by James Daly, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner (Angela Rayner), will reopen an investigation into allegations of violating the "Election Law", although the police force had previously decided to drop the investigation into the case.
Daley's allegation alleges that Renner allegedly misrepresented his election registration information. She claimed her address was on Vicarage Road in the north-west England town of Stockport, but her former neighbours claimed that Reyna and her husband actually lived on Lowndes Lane, one mile away.
In addition, Rena was also accused of allegedly failing to pay capital gains tax (VAT) under the tax regulations when he sold his house on Vicarage Road in 2015.
In response, Reyna issued a statement saying that he has always been law-abiding and confident in the results of the police investigation. She also said she would resign from the party if the police investigation determined that she had violated the law.
The British passport application fee has increased again for the first time in 14 months
According to British media reports, from April 9 local time, the British passport application fee will rise by 7%, the cost of applying for or renewing an adult passport online will rise from £82.50 to £88.50, and the price of a mail-in application will rise from £93 to £100.
It is understood that this is the second increase in British passports in 14 months, and the last price increase was in February 2023, when the increase was 9%.
At the same time, the cost of applying for a children's passport online has risen from £53.5 to £57.50, and the price of a postal application has risen from £64 to £69.
According to statistics, after the fee increase, the application price of a British passport will surpass Iceland and become the fourth most expensive passport fee in Europe, after Switzerland (£122), Denmark (£103) and Italy (£99.50).