OPINION CHAMBERLINK


THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF GREATER BIRMINGHAM CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE


EDITOR’S VIEW


BY JOHN LAMB


indications are that the economy, including that in Greater Birmingham, is on the turn although against-the-trend rising unemployment figures did bring us back down to earth. And while the West Midlands leads the UK outside London in export figures - largely on the back of Jaguar Land Rover’s incredible success – there is still much work to be done. We are told that the country must do more to push exports and all companies are being


C Connecting you to opportunity


FRONT COVER Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce annual dinner and awards - Pages 6-9


EDITOR John Lamb 0121 607 1781, 0797 1144064 j.lamb@birmingham-chamber.com


DEPUTY EDITOR Sue Cooke 0121 607 1782, 0797 1144059 s.cooke@birmingham-chamber.com


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urged to go out and seek global trade to help drive home the upward trend. And that is why Greater Birmingham Chambers’ international team has been asked to play a


key role in the biggest trade exhibition to be stage in the UK since the Festival of Britain in 1951. The International Festival for Business (IFB) in Liverpool will last for 50 days during June and


July (see page 20) and will feature more than 150 business-focused events. As part of the festival, the Chamber is joining forces with a number of partners to organise a


day devoted to India, the world’s second most populous country and one of its fastest growing economies. It’s highly appropriate that Birmingham Chamber has been asked to contribute to this part of


the exhibition, given the huge ethnic presence in the city and the numerous business contacts it develops through its Institute of Asian Businesses. As part of the festival, the Chamber is joining forces with a number of partners to organise a


day devoted to India, one of the fastest growing economies. The Chamber’s partners for the India event include the Confederation of Indian Industry, UK India Business Council and UK Trade and Investment. Jonathan Webber heads the Chamber’s UKTI-backed international team and he points out that the UK exports less to India than it should do. As part of a drive to urge firms to do more on exports, Birmingham is working closely with partners across the country to seek global trade. Like many foreign markets, India is huge and many firms will welcome the sort of support the Chamber can provide in opening up these new markets, with knowledge about local customs, payment conditions and trade opportunities. Emerging markets like India and China give huge opportunities for UK businesses to provide


the expertise these countries are crying out for. And, as the organisers of IFB highlight, the last thing we need is a talking shop. They regard


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the festival as a key part of the government’s target of rebalancing the economy and its aim to focus on creating new and meaningful international and domestic business-to-business relationships and commercial openings for all UK companies. Greater Birmingham Chambers’ first quarterly economic survey of 2014 shows companies brimming with confidence that profits and turnover will increase in the next 12 months. And as president Tim Pile pointed out at the annual dinner (see pages 6, 7, 8 and 9), the Chamber will help business to press home this success.


BIRMINGHAM CHAMBER PATRONS 2014


onfidence soaring, inflation down, stable interest rates – everything is looking rosy, apart from a little local difficulty in eastern Europe. While we all appreciate that we are starting from an extremely low starting point, all


4 CHAMBERLINK MAY 2014


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