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London Firms Can Help Make Enhanced Partnership With India A Reality
29/07/2010
By Bob Northgate
Prime Minister David Cameron is leading a historic mission of cabinet ministers and leaders from the worlds of business, academia, culture and sports to India this week to forge a new enhanced partnership that will bring jobs and prosperity to both countries.
Accompanying the Prime Minister are Chancellor George Osborne, Foreign Secretary William Hague, Business Secretary Dr Vince Cable, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Minister for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker, Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts, and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Chief Executive Sir Andrew Cahn.
They have taken with them a business delegation that includes the chief executives of major British companies, but also SMEs and sporting and cultural figures such as Olympic medal winners Lord Coe and Sir Steve Redgrave, academics from universities including Cambridge and Imperial College, and cultural leaders such as the director of the British Museum and the British Library.
Business Secretary Dr Vince Cable said:
*For far too long, the UK has been focused on the markets closest to home. Trade and investment will be the engine that will get the economy moving, and we need to plan our future strategically.
*Look around the world at where the growth is. While the Eurozone and the US are slowly coming out of recession, India is forecast to grow at
8 to10 per cent this year.
*In the last year, London exported goods valued at £882 million to India, the world*s fourth largest economy. But we are nowhere near our full potential.
*There are firms in London that are winning sales in India. They know what this huge market can offer. Exporting can make a huge difference, not just to a firm*s bottom line right now, but to its long-term prosperity. There is help on offer via UK Trade & Investment to explore this enormous market.*
Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said:
*The UK and India already have good co-operation in science and education and we can strengthen this further still. Universities such as Imperial College are active in India. We welcome Indian students to the UK and we want to see more UK students on courses in India. We want to see this relationship expand.*
UKTI assisted around 2,500 companies last year to plan their export strategy for India. Statistics show that firms that export increase their levels of innovation, raise their competitive game and experience a productivity boost of about a third in the first year alone.
In London, companies assisted by UKI include award-winning international architectural firm Benoy, which has won three major projects (two in Bangalore and one in Mumbai) worth over £1.6 million.
The projects include the first major retail venture for RMZ in Bangalore; GKW Residences, an exclusive 195,000m* luxury residential development, also in Bangalore; and High Street Phoenix Mumbai, the urban regeneration of a 270,000m2 prime mixed-use site that will become an iconic central landmark for the city. Around 75 per cent of Benoy*s workforce of over 100 people in the UK are employed on international projects.
Another London-based company, business processing services provider Xchanging plc, has signed an agreement with the Indian State Government of Karnataka to build a 2,000-seat processing centre on a 6-acre site in a new Special Economic Zone. Xchanging is the first multinational company to set up such a centre in a Tier-3 location in India. This will also be a first for *green technology*-based centres.
Do you want to celebrate your overseas success?
Now entering its fourth year, the 2010 International Trade Awards, sponsored by Santander Corporate Banking, is the only UK wide business awards to exclusively recognise the excellence achieved by the UK’s leading exporters and importers. The prestigious UK Grand Final will be held at the House of Lords in spring 2011.
Applications for the 2010 International Trade Awards are now open for entry, you can apply online or email awards@internationaltrade.co.uk to request an application form.
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