London — UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is heading to SA, South Korea and Japan to scout for new markets as Britain prepares to leave the EU. The trip began on Wednesday in SA, where Hammond was due to meet officials at the JSE, business representatives and financial technology start-ups this week, the Treasury said in a statement. SA is Africa’s biggest buyer of British goods. In Japan, the chancellor will meet with Softbank Group Corporation CEO and founder Masayoshi Son, who was due to meet US president-elect Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday. Softbank bought British chip designer Arm Holdings in July. Hammond will also meet Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Japanese investors, before heading to South Korea for talks with central bank chief, Lee Ju-Yeol, and government ministers. It marks the latest diplomatic push as the government attempts to lay the foundations for bilateral trade ties once Britain leaves the EU. Theresa May has visited China an...
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