INTERNATIONAL TRADE
INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN BRIEF
HELPING COMPANIES EXPLOIT OVERSEAS TRADE OPPORTUNITIES
Companies interested in business opportunities in the Caribbean are invited to take part in an outward mission to Barbados. The mission, organised by the UKTI Aid-
Funded Business Service in liaison with Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, will take place next year on 29 January. The mission will target development aid
organisations and also the Caribbean Development Bank (CBD). This visit will provide the opportunity to find out more about the Bank’s future strategy and what opportunities exist for UK firms to win contracts in the Caribbean.
UKTI aid-funded business service has organised a one-day workshop to help companies interested in securing business from the international development and humanitarian aid agencies The event takes place at Villa Park on 29
November and will include an explanation of who the main agencies are, and how their procurement procedures operate. Among specialists giving advice on the
day will be Nigel Peters, director of the UK Trade & Investment aid-funded business service.
A trade mission focusing on the ‘green’ energy sector is heading to Washington DC in early November. Organised by the UK Trade & Industry
(UKTI) aid-funded business service in liaison with Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, the mission will take place on 7 to 10 November. The trip will include two days of
presentations from experts in the major international finance institutes based in Washington, the World Bank and Inter- American Development Bank and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. For further information, contact Cheryl Boxall on 0845 6030084
The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), the European Commission’s official business support service for SMEs, is expanding its sphere of influence. The EEN is establishing a presence in the
fast expanding markets of Asia and Latin America, in order to help SMEs in the European Union exploit further opportunities. Some 13 branches have also been added
to the Chinese network, which now covers some 14 cities. For further information, visit
www.een-midlands.org.uk
28 CHAMBERLINK NOVEMBER 2011 Doha, Qatar’s capital
Qatar-based businessman Bill Almen, who also has a UK trading office, has attacked UK companies for their apparent lack of interest in exporting to the Middle East.
Birmingham maintains European city ranking
survey. The survey – Cushman & Wakefield’s European Cities Monitor (ECM) 2011– saw the city ranked 18th ‘best city to locate a business’, the same position it held a year ago. Only three UK cities feature in the survey’s top
B
20 – London retains its top spot at the head of the rankings, while Manchester has slipped to 16th, a drop of four places since 2010. The ECM survey is based on the views of more than 500 senior executives from Europe’s largest companies. It provides an overview of the perceptions that corporate occupiers have about the various cities of Europe. Interestingly, the top 20 cities in the survey
are the same ones as last year, with only Stockholm (13th) and Zurich (10th) managing to improve their rankings. The ECM data produces various other
Scott Rutherford: transport is everything
rankings, and in several of these, Birmingham’s performance has improved considerably. In ‘best cities in terms of freedom from pollution’, the city has shot up from 27th last year to 22nd in 2011. And in the list of ‘best cities in terms of external transport links’, the Midlands city has zoomed up to 6th, from last year’s 10th place. London, in first place, is the only other UK city in the top 10 of this list, which is based on perceptions of how cities perform in terms of transport links with other cities and internationally. Birmingham has also maintained its performance in ‘best city in terms of availability of office
‘If you are going to be good at anything, then make it transport links’
irmingham is still among the best cities in Europe in which to do business, according to a major new
space’, where it is fourth equal with Leeds, the same position it was in a year ago. Scott Rutherford, head of the Birmingham office of Cushman & Wakefield, said that it was significant
that people’s perception of the city with regard to transport links had improved so dramatically. “Transport is everything – it reflects a location, and it is one of the key criteria for it,” he said. “If you
are going to be good at anything, then make it transport links.” He added that the perception that Birmingham had good transport links would have been boosted
by Chiltern’s new fast service to London Marylebone, and by the introduction of the new London Midland class 172 trains.
UK export reluctance attacked Mr Almen, whose business Al Fereej Trading
UK Ltd encourages the growth of trade between the UK and the Middle East, said he was “surprised and disappointed” at the attitude of Midlands companies to exporting. He said: “We continually hear how the UK will use the export market to trade itself back to better times. But even though we are offering to assist with payments, documentation and shipping, it seems that UK manufacturers are reluctant to take the opportunity to do business. “In Qatar there is a huge window of opportunity for products from across all sectors and this growth is set to continue, aided by the additional work created by the country hosting the 2022 World Cup.” Mr Almen was speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event in Tamworth.
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