INTERVIEW

“IT IS HARD TO EXAGGERATE HOW IMPORTANT EXPORTS AND INWARD INVESTMENT ARE TO THE UK ECONOMY AT THIS POINT IN TIME”

Nick Baird, the relatively new chief executive of UK Trade & Investment, knows a thing or two about some of the UK’s most interesting and fastest- developing export markets. As well as being a former ambassador to Turkey, he has also worked in Brussels, Kuwait and Oman since he arrived at the Foreign Offi ce in 1983. That experience will prove vital in shaping new trading relationships for UK companies as UK Trade & Investment pursues a fi ve-year strategy to become more ‘entrepreneurial’ by increasing involvement with the private sector.

The urgent demands of growing overseas trade to boost the economy is at the top of Nick’s agenda. “It is hard to exaggerate how important exports and inward investment are to the UK economy at this point in time,” he says. “Because of the measures our Government has undertaken to deal with our debt situation, domestic demand is inevitably constrained. The route to robust, sustainable growth is actually through exports and inward investment.” Since taking on the role in September, Nick has had a chance not only to assess the size of the challenge, but also recognise the huge strengths of the UK’s unique position in the world. A multi-linguist who can speak French, German, Arabic and Turkish, Nick cites the big emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil and Mexico as key to UK export growth. “The big challenge for the UK is getting our companies working in those markets,” he states. “That is also fundamental to the rebalancing concept as well. A key part of what we mean

by rebalancing is moving away from domestic consumption driven by debt to becoming a great trading nation again.”

NEW OPPORTUNITIES Nick also cites Turkey as a huge opportunity for the UK, drawing on his close-hand experience of the country’s potential. He says that although not a full member of the European Union, Turkey does have a customs union with the EU, which means zero tariffs on many products. Its proximity also makes the Turkish market relatively easy to access. “There is a fast-growing middle class

in Turkey that consumes the sort of things that the UK produces and has comparative advantage in,” explains Nick. “They consume and need fi nancial services, so Aviva, through a joint venture, is the biggest provider of pensions and life insurance in Turkey. They need and want high-end retail, so Harvey Nichols is there.” Nick also points to Turkey’s wider reach as an example of how UK fi rms can participate in another country’s sphere of infl uence. He says Turkish construction companies that have developed powerful relationships in central Asia will look to UK design engineers and project managers to win contracts.

The Gulf states also feature prominently in Nick’s list of export prospects, as huge infrastructure deals look set to cash in on strong bilateral political relations. “If you take Saudi Arabia,” he says, “there are huge high-speed rail projects, such as the Medina to Mecca link in which Invensys has just won a big project for signalling. “We also have a major project called NHS Global which is designed to allow

the Saudis to develop a new health system based on the UK model, which of course presents a lot of commercial opportunity as well.” Nick’s involvement in the Foreign

Offi ce’s response to the Middle East uprisings gives him an insight into how opportunities can be nurtured in those countries. Libya, for example, represents a $200bn opportunity for UK companies, he says. “We are very well placed to help Libya unlock again its energy resources, repair and develop its infrastructure, educate its people, enhance its health services and develop its banking systems,” he asserts. “We can do that in partnership with the Libyan people, as we have a very good relationship with them.”

Nick suggests that with transition comes opportunity, but also political uncertainty. “Egypt has massive economic potential, but it does need stability and we are obviously working very closely with the country to achieve that,” he says.

HOME-GROWN TALENT

When it comes to assessing the potential strengths of the UK’s export sectors, Nick feels that advanced engineering is an ace card that has so far been underplayed. He says the most powerful evidence of the prowess of UK manufacturing is provided by major investments in the sector by companies from India, China, Germany and Japan. “There is a resurgent attitude to high- end engineering in the UK,” says Nick. Nobody thinks Airbus, for example, is British, but more than 50 per cent of

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