Dutch government says in talks with 250 companies about Brexit move

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on Saturday it was in talks with 250 companies about moving operations to the Netherlands from Britain ahead of Britain's exit from the European Union, scheduled for March 29.

The Economic Affairs Ministry said in a report that a recruitment programme had brought 42 companies or branch offices and 1,923 jobs from Britain to the Netherlands in 2018.

The report named Japanese investment bank Norinchukin, media company TVT Media, financial services providers MarketAxess and Azimo, and maritime insurer UK P&I Club among movers.

"In 2019, several companies, including Discovery and Bloomberg have already announced their intention to invest in the Netherlands because of Brexit," the ministry said.

"Additionally, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency is talking with more than 250 foreign companies considering setting up operations in the Netherlands following Brexit."

It said most were British, but some were American or Asian firms reconsidering their European branch structures.

"These include companies in the financial sector, media and advertising, life sciences & health and logistics," it said.

Companies that have moved some operations to the Netherlands or signalled an intention to do so also include Chicago's Cboe Global Markets, the London Stock Exchange Group, Tradeweb, Panasonic and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

The European Medicines Agency, which is already operating from a temporary space in Amsterdam, is moving 900 staff to the Netherlands from London by the end of this year.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Catherine Evans)