History
The WDA had four objectives:
- furthering the economic development of Wales
- promoting industrial efficiency and international competitiveness
- developing employment
- improving the environment.
The organisation worked to secure entrepreneurial growth in Wales by increasing the number of startup businesses and by persuading multinational companies to relocate or open subsidiary facilities in Wales. Finance Wales is a public limited company set up by the WDA and still providing funding to Welsh businesses.
Employing several hundred workers, the WDA was argued to be one of Wales's most important institutions with a network of offices worldwide and their headquarters in the former Bank of Wales building in Cardiff. In its 30-year history the WDA reports claim credit for helping to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and securing billions of pounds in investment. It even enjoyed the praise of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who claimed it was doing a marvellous job. The WDA had an annual budget of approximately £70 million per year.
The WDA ceased to exist on 1 April 2006, when it and two other ASPBs - the Wales Tourist Board and ELWa - were merged into the Welsh Government. The current Welsh Government Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science is Edwina Hart, although Ieuan W Jones was the Minister for the Economy and Transport at the time of the merger.
Read more about this topic: Welsh Development Agency
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