Rush to Leave UK Amid COVID-19 and Brexit Uncertainty

by Jo Youjin

Published 18 Feb.2021 15:20(KST)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The economic downturn caused by COVID-19 has increased uncertainty surrounding Brexit (the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union), leading to a continued trend of companies leaving the UK.

Major foreign media outlets reported that since the UK left the EU single market in December last year, companies relocating to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, have expanded from finance and trade to fields such as medicine, agriculture, logistics, and distribution.

Last year, 78 British companies moved to the Netherlands, and currently, 550 companies are considering relocating their headquarters or expanding branches in the Netherlands.

Due to this wave of corporate relocations, Amsterdam in the Netherlands is emerging as the largest European stock trading hub by market capitalization, replacing London, UK.

According to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), which operates in both cities, stock exchanges in Amsterdam such as Euronext and CBOE recorded an average daily trading volume of 9.2 billion euros (approximately 12.3 trillion won) last month.

In contrast, London’s average daily trading volume last month fell to 8.6 billion euros (approximately 11.5 trillion won). In the previous year, London had an average daily trading volume of 17.5 billion euros (approximately 23.5 trillion won), while Amsterdam was sixth with 2.6 billion euros (approximately 3.5 trillion won), according to CBOE.