On Wednesday, German newspaper Handelsblatt said the bank is considering moving 1,000 jobs to Frankfurt to deal with Britain's exit from the European Union.

The Alibaba deal comes as Asia prepares to host three consecutive games, with South Korea's Pyeongchang staging the 2018 winter games, Tokyo the 2020 summer Olympics and Beijing the 2022 winter games.

Ms May called upon the world to engage with each other to ensure globalisation and free trade works for all and benefits everyone.