Thirty years ago it took eight hours to drive the 150km from Beijing to Tianjin, China’s fourth city. A decade or so ago, motorway investment had cut the time to two hours. Today, by bullet train, the journey is barely 30 minutes.
When infrastructure investment is made in developing economies, the gains are dramatic and obvious. But Gerry Grimstone, the chairman of Standard Life, the UK insurer whose Chinese headquarters sits in Tianjin, is convinced that Britain and other developed nations can learn the lessons, too.
He is not alone. Legal & General has already made a big push into the area. In January, it announced a commitment to put ￡1.5bn into a projected ￡15bn scheme to promote housing and infrastructure regeneration. Nigel Wilson, L&G’s CEO, who has led a shift in investment allocation towards such assets, has been a vocal campaigner.