Commenting on George Osborne’s speech at Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“In what was essentially a political speech, Osborne was right to state that the public services, like businesses, should be judged by what they deliver not how much they spend or how many they employ. Osborne was right to acknowledge that the country must face up to the challenge of global competitiveness through enterprise, effort, aspiration and a real sense of urgency. We face a choice of becoming a ruritanian museum or a dynamic and prosperous economy, which could be uncomfortable for some in the Conservative Party.
“The Chancellor’s announcement of a new form of business ownership, with individuals swapping greater employment flexibility for an equity stake in the company, could be a useful option for some new and fast-growing businesses. It is an innovative and imaginative proposal that deserves to be tried out, but it is unlikely to be a game-changer.
“His clear support for a British Business Bank and further investment in science will be viewed positively by companies, as will his resolve on deficit reduction. But business will want to see far more weight on the growth agenda in the coming months – to create a new model economy that’s fit to compete globally and for the long term.”
Foreign direct investment reforms to its consumer goods market – which will allow greater participation from foreign companies – have been approved by India’s parliament.
“Driven by the twin engines of economic growth and favourable demographics, the Indian consumer goods market continues to evolve rapidly, and is predicted to expand by a staggering 15-20% over the next five years to reach $1.3 trillion by 2020,” according to the UK India Business Council (UKIBC).
It explained: “The approved reforms now permit Indian states to allow FDI [foreign direct investment] of up to 51% in multi-brand retail, opening the way for Tesco’s and others to open supermarkets in India.
“The reforms also introduce new and welcome flexibility in the requirement that foreign-owned single brands must source 30% of their products from small Indian industries. International firms seeking a waiver on this sourcing provision now have the option of establishing their own factories in India. The UKIBC welcomes the outcome of the Parliamentary vote and expects that the reforms will, over time, be of significant benefit to the Indian consumer, as well as the industries that supply them with everything from food to fashion.
“According to Standard Chartered, there will be a five-fold increase in India’s per-capita income by 2030. However, despite a growing demand from India’s expanding consumerist middle-class, the Indian retail market suffers from major under-investment in its supply chains and back-end logistics. An upgrade of India’s retail infrastructure and supply chains will benefit everyone from consumers to local companies, including those in the unorganised retail sector.
“The reforms will also create fresh investment in the farming and food sector, which will dramatically bring down the burden of rising food prices and create a greater choice of consumer goods – and better service.”
Chris Perry, the Norfolk Chamber’s Membership Manager was part of the panel of judges assessing the Mayor’s Business Awards. The Mayor’s Business Awards are the King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council’s way of publicly acknowledging outstanding business achievement and the contribution that businesses make to the West Norfolk economy.
Established in 1989, by former mayor Cllr Les Daubney, the awards publicly recognise the achievements of local businesses and provide them with the perfect opportunity to showcase their success.
The awards are open to all sizes of companies and allow West Norfolk businesses to share their success stories, highlight new products, the conquering of new markets, training or developments in their staff. This year the three categories are:
Manufacturing Business of the Year
Service Business of the Year
Young Business of the Year
Judging took place on Tuesday, 15 January and the finalists will be were over 3 days. The results will be announced on 15 March 2013 at the prestigious Mayor’s Awards Ceremony in King’s Lynn.
Greater Anglia has completed work at North Walsham rail station to install environmentally friendly lighting.
The existing lighting at North Walsham has been replaced by more energy efficient LED lights which will provide the same level of light but consume far less energy in the process, as part of a carbon reduction scheme.
The work, which represents an investment of £8,000, is the second phase of a £50,000 investment by Norfolk County Council which has already seen voltage regulators installed at nine stations along the Norwich – Cromer / Sheringham Bittern Line railway line, which has reduced energy consumption at stations by between 8% and 20% (depending on the station) along the route.
New Customer Information Screens have also been installed at North Walsham for more energy efficient ones as the final phase of the scheme.
Both the lighting and enhanced Customer Information Screens emerged as priorities from the North Walsham Station Travel Plan which was drawn up in consultation with passengers and stakeholders.
Chris Wood, of Community Rail Norfolk, said, “The railway is already the most energy efficient form of motorised transport and the work at North Walsham station helps to extend this advantage. Taking the train instead of the car is a sure way of reducing your carbon footprint.”
At a recent West Norfolk Chamber Council meeting, a lively discussion was held on topics ranging from broadband and the regeneration of the town centre, to increasing Chamber engagement with the local business community.
The members agreed that more effort should be made to highlight the positive aspects of doing business in West Norfolk and discussed how to ensure the West Norfolk business voice is heard. They decided on a dialogue exercise with Chamber members based in West Norfolk. The Chamber Council will take a cross-section of West Norfolk Chamber members and hold one-to-one conversations with them as to what their main issues are, how the Chamber can engage further with these members, and what we can all do to create economic prosperity in West Norfolk.
Heather Garrod, President of West Norfolk Chamber Council said “it is important that the business community plays an active part in helping to promote economic growth in West Norfolk. Engaging on a one-to-one basis with local businesses will contribute towards the ‘voice of West Norfolk business’ being heard at a local, regional and national level.”
The West Norfolk Chamber Council members also highlighted that improved broadband in West Norfolk is an essential tool to promote economic growth and will help level the playing field for SMEs. Currently, the larger organisations can afford to install fibre-optic cables to their business premises however, for smaller organisations this cost prohibitive. Over the next 12 to 18 months BT will be improving access to broadband and are currently rolling out fibre-optic cabling in Clenchwarton and West Lynn. West Norfolk Chamber Council members are keen to see that businesses throughout West Norfolk benefit from the anticipated broadband improvements.
The King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council’s Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) was debated. This initiative involves the regeneration of the town by linking the retail core with the historic town centre. This regeneration will be fundamental in improving what King’s Lynn has to offer and will help attract both tourism and business to the area and the West Norfolk Chamber Council is in full support of this project.
If you are a West Norfolk Chamber member and want to be involved in the dialogue exercise, please contact Nova Fairbank on Tel: 01603 729713 or Email: [email protected].
The East of England was the most represented UK region at last month’s Offshore Wind Energy event in Paris.
Those businesses now have the opportunity to capitalise on this success and follow up the leads and contacts made in Paris by attending THETIS. This is an international convention on Marine Renewable Energies that will take place in Brest, Brittany from 10 – 11 April 2013. (www.thetis-emr.com/uk).
Many of the French companies, who attended in Paris and had expressed a strong interest in partnering with UK, have already registered for THETIS, so this is an excellent opportunity to consolidate any gains, or simply to meet those companies that you did not quite manage to meet in Paris.
UKTI are subsidising a UK pavillion at THETIS and companies that are among the first to commit to THETIS will be able to have their own area to hang posters, put up pop up banners and run presentations/videos on laptops, as well being able to access a “meeting area” and set up one-to-one meetings within the UK pavilion.
Participation is via the OMIS programme @ £585 plus VAT per company, which is considerably less than it would cost independently for up to two delegates, including their entrance fee, two days exhibiting at the event, UKTI support and up to 20 one-to-one meetings during the event.
East of England businesses can register their interest in THETIS, by sending an email to the following email address: [email protected] which will gain them access to the support provided by UKTI in the East of England.
Space in the UKTI pavilion will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis and will depend on a combination of when you send your email and when you agree formally to the OMIS.
For more details of THETIS, please see the attached document.
The European Commission has announced that it is planning to hold a major trade conference later this year.
EU Trade Policy Day will take place in Brussels on 27 November 2018 under the banner title of In Defence of Fair and Open Trade – Rising to the Challenges, Tackling the Threats.
While new technologies promise to transform trade, the Commission notes, the post-1945 multilateral trading system is being questioned as never before: protectionism is raising its head and the benefits of open trade are increasingly being called into question.
Setting out the details of the proposed conference (available at trade.ec.europa.eu), the Commission highlights that already this year the EU has agreed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Japan and its trade deal with Canada (CETA) became operational.
It has also reached a political agreement with Mexico on a modernised trade agreement while continuing to make progress on its negotiations with the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).
In June, it also launched negotiations for trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand.
“Despite these and previous trade successes,” the Commission said, “the challenges continue to grow and the threats to the open-trading system to multiply. Policy makers and citizens ask themselves many questions, and seek answers and reassurances about the benefits of trade to all.”
Speakers at the conference will include EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevêdo.
During the UK’s heatwave 30 delegates joined us at Chambers Cocktail Company for an informal evening of networking. Based in the heart of Norwich, along Wensum Street, Chambers Cocktail Company opened its doors back in March with beautifully-crafted cocktails, including old favourites and a few flavours unique to them. As delegates arrived for the evening we collected a fresh order of pizza from Brick Pizza, located next to Norwich Market. Brick has built up a reputation in Norwich for their delicious menu with most of their toppings coming from Norfolk suppliers. Following some networking over pizza, our mocktail group were up to the bar first to learn how to make a non-alcoholic cocktail, using a secret ingredient known only by Chambers Cocktail Company. The mocktail group was then followed by smaller groups making the alcoholic cocktails. Matt Saunders was our expert barman for the evening, showing delegates first how to make the drink, then helping them to make their own. Our next evening networking event is Look the Business – an evening of fashion, beauty and networking! Find out more.
Anglia Tonight presenter Emma Baker will be opening the Norfolk Chamber’s B2B Autumn 2012 free to attend business exhibition on 18 October then judging the exhibition stands. She will be joined during the day by Formula One and 2012 Olympic Games presenter Jake Humphrey and Norwich City Football Chief Executive David McNally who are lending their support to this important event.
Emma Baker is an experienced broadcast journalist. She got her first taste of the industry, working for The Independent and the BBC in Paris. She went on to secure sponsorship from ITV to study a Broadcast Journalism postgraduate degree at City University, later working at ITV London, and then ITV Anglia. She’s covered a range of stories both for ITV national news and regional news, including the 7/7 London bombings, the Suffolk murders, and the Olympic torch relay.
She has been nominated for a number of television journalism awards and most recently won an award for ITV News Group Feature of the Year. She is currently presenting Anglia Tonight on weekday evenings.
Emma said: “I’m very much looking forward to hosting this year’s Norfolk Autumn B2B exhibition. It’ll be great to see the wide range of innovation and business expertise that I know Norfolk has to offer.” Emma will open the event at 10.00am.
B2B Autumn 2012 will be held at Norwich city football Club on 18 October between 10am and 5pm. For more information or to book a stand, go here
Mexico is a country of huge potential that has demonstrated predictable, stable economic growth. It is a dynamic market and analysts predict that its economy will be larger than the UK’s by 2040.
It covers an area about the same size as the whole of Western Europe and occupies a strategic global position, being the natural bridge between Latin America to the south and the United States and Canada to the north.
Mexico is the largest trading nation in Latin America and one of the world’s top 15. As the economy has grown so has the demand for imports. UK exports of sophisticated goods and services have grown due to that demand.
There are business opportunities in the following sectors:
Aerospace
Automotive
Consumer Goods
Creative and Media
Education and Training
Environment
Financial Services
Food and Drink
Healthcare
Infrastructure
Mining and Steel
Oil and Gas
Power and Energy
Security
ICT
Leisure, Tourism Sports and Leisure Marine
For more information about this mission, please click here
Businesses looking to secure investment to grow will be able to benefit from up to 50 hours of intensive support thanks to a successful funding bid.
Norfolk County Council, alongside Suffolk County Council, University of East Anglia (UEA) – Adapt and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, has secured £0.9m of European Regional Development Funding to contribute to ‘Invest East’ – an intensive support programme for high growth businesses.
Councillor Barry Stone, Chair of Norfolk County Council’s Business and Property Committee, said: “Invest East is a great initiative that I hope will benefit a good number of growing Norfolk and Suffolk businesses. “This strong partnership across both counties will achieve a collective impact towards a vision for a healthy investment landscape that will highlight the best we all have to offer.”
Invest East will make up part of the business support offer from the well-established New Anglia Growth Hub and comprises three distinctive work streams:
Investment readiness support: Delivering investment readiness workshops, training and guidance. UEA (Adapt) will lead across both counties supporting small to medium businesses targeting any form of investment funding to grow. Business can expect up to 50 hours of intensive support to develop a fully worked investment offer. The support will be include contact with expert consultants and experienced entrepreneurs to help businesses overcome any barriers they have in taking forward their plans
Investor support programme: Landing and account managing external investors and existing companies, as well as supporting and developing external promotion offers with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils will lead in their respective counties to help provide the best offer to small to medium businesses wanting to invest and grow
External promotion, profile raising and lead generation: External promotion on a national and international forum to draw in leads, investment and talent into Norfolk and Suffolk. New Anglia LEP will lead on campaigns, working alongside their local sector groups to help transform the way our local area is seen.
Starting on 1 September 2018 and running to August 2021, Invest East will enable businesses to access professional, specialist support to explore investment options and help them to expand and grow. Interested businesses should register their interest at https://www.newangliagrowthhub.co.uk/contact/
Julian Munson, Head of Inward Investment at New Anglia LEP, said: “One of the key priorities of the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk is to work with local partners to deliver increased investment into our area, making it a business destination of choice for innovation, knowledge and expertise. This includes increasing the area’s share of global exports and attracting skilled talent.
“This Invest East funding will help us to deliver innovative and targeted campaigns to help our region’s businesses and economy grow.”
Professor Fiona Lettice, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation at University of East Anglia said: “Invest East will play a vital role in supporting our local economy and I’m delighted that the University’s innovation, enterprise and investment expertise will be making an impact through this project.” Saffron Myhill-Hunt, Innovation Funding Manager at Adapt adds;
“There are so many great businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk that just need the right information, advice and contacts to be able to raise the funds they need to grow. We’re very pleased to able to offer this support and look forward to working with the next generation of successful companies.”