UK PLC encouraged to target Indian opportunities

UK Trade & Investment research presents a strong case for investment in India.

The research carried out by Leeds University Business School concludes that Asia and Eastern Europe will become better places for British companies to make money than Western Europe.

Between 2005 and 2007, the countries offering the best opportunities were - 1) United States; 2) Germany; 3) France; 4) Ireland; 5) the Netherlands; 6) Belgium; 7) Spain; 8) Italy; 9) China and 10) Japan.

Redrawing the global trade map

A major shift in the global economy is expected. In the future China, India and the US will dominate, with the top ten countries increasingly dominated by the emerging economies of Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa.

Between 2012 and 2014, the top ten is predicted to be - 1) China; 2) US; 3) India; 4) Libya; 5) Ukraine; 6) Russia; 7) Romania; 8) Korea; 9) Mexico and 10) Singapore.

"The patterns of trade are changing around the world and British businesses are having to adapt." - Lord Davies, Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business.

Head shift for UK PLC

While the USA proves the exception to the rule, the conclusions show that industrialised nations are likely to recover slowly from the global banking crisis, due to higher levels of debt and unemployment.

Consequently, British companies should be looking to developing nations like India for growth.

"Although many Asian economies are reliant on manufacturing exports and have been badly affected by slumps in global trade and external demand, many have also been insulated from the US subprime market This means that domestic demand in a number of Asian countries has largely been resilient to the global downturn." - Mark Robson of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).

The report, Global Market Attractiveness Post 'Credit Crunch', ranked the UK's 52 main trading partners using an index based on IMF data for past and projected gross domestic product, purchasing power parity growth levels, and share in British exports of those countries.

February 14, 2010 Add a comment