Vietnam has one of the fastest-growing, most vibrant economies in Asia. Over the past ten years, economic growth has been second only to China and GDP has been doubling every ten years since 1986.
Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation in 2007 and GDP growth in the four year period since has averaged 6.5%.
The UK/Vietnam relationship is strong – bilateral trade increased by over 26% in 2011, with UK exports of goods and services to Vietnam reaching £520m. Registered UK investments in Vietnam exceeded £1.6bn at the end of 2011.
There are considerable opportunities in the following sectors:
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
The UK is in South Africa’s ‘Premier League’ of trading partners, with an annual bilateral relationship over £9.6bn, set to double following challenging targets set by Ministers. UKTI is focusing on high value and infrastructure opportunities which form part of the South African Government’s agenda.
These include projects in healthcare and acid mine drainage, with work in the energy and water sectors to come. There are also other opportunities that exist for the UK’s innovative, world-class products, services in different sectors of the economy.
This visit is open to experienced exporters who are interested in doing business in South Africa, partnering with companies in South Africa, or looking to expand operations in South Africa.
Some of the sectors in which there are clear opportunities include:
Advanced engineering
Materials science and advanced materials
Oil and gas
Minerals and mining
Energy and energy efficiency
Construction and infrastructure development
ICT and communications technologies
For more information about this trade mission please click here.
Commenting on today’s speech on Europe by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, John Longworth, Director General at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The vast majority of businesses across the UK want to stay in the Single Market, but on the basis of a revised relationship with Europe that promotes trade and competitiveness. It is of critical importance to business and to Britain’s national interest that we have access to the European market, but not at any cost. On this basis, the Prime Minister’s determination to negotiate a new settlement for Britain is the right course of action.
“The Prime Minister must seek an ambitious and far-reaching settlement. We start with a strong negotiating position. We run a trade deficit with the EU, so it is not in Europe’s interest to see the UK go.
“Announcing plans for a referendum on British membership puts the onus on the rest of Europe to take the Prime Minister seriously, as they will now see that he is prepared to walk away from the table. However, the lengthy timescale for negotiation and referendum must be shortened, with the aim of securing a cross-party consensus and the outline of a deal during this Parliament.
“Although EU membership is not the biggest issue facing businesses in a world filled with uncertainty, the Prime Minister must be mindful of the need for pace and ambition. This would help firms across the UK remain confident while negotiations take place.”
2013 sees the Norfolk Chamber launch its campaign to ‘Unlock the Potential of Norfolk’s Young People’ .
Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:
“I have yet to come across a business that is not willing to be supportive in helping our young people to understand the world of work. However, with increasing economic pressures on the business community the Norfolk Chamber felt it important that the topic of young people and unlocking their potential stays in the forefront of everyone’s mind.
The idea of our theme is to find a variety of ways to profile the employment opportunities available within our businesses for our young people and to get the business community and young people to get to know each other better. It is essential that our young people do have a voice and we listen to them”
At all of the Norfolk Chamber’s 70+ events throughout 2013 young people will be invited to participate. Businesses are invited to bring their apprentices to networking events at a special rate, for them to see the business community in action and to participate in the discussions. At the Chamber’s annual MPs event this February the topic will be all about how the business community can help influence the support for our young people, and a number of them will be invited to take part in the round table discussions.
Norfolk Chamber members will be working with schools across Norfolk to help them to identify career opportunities available across all sectors. Young people form a crucial part of the business supply chain now and in the future.
Apprenticeships are increasingly being recognised as a tangible way for businesses to employ young people with the advantage of support from a training provider. The Norfolk Chamber has challenged its members to collectively employ 213 apprentices in 2013 and to share with others what worked and what did not work, in order to encourage more businesses to employ apprentices and get more young people employed.
Caroline Williams continued: ” Although only a small business ourselves, we employ two apprentices and although to start with additional resources is needed to get them up to speed, their enthusiasm and new ideas definitely makes up for it . Growing your own workforce has many advantages.
“We are very excited about this year’s theme as a greater involvement of young people in Norfolk’s business community can only make us all more successful”
A Chamber-led delegation will be travelling to Westminster on Wednesday 6 February to meet with the Energy Minister, John Hayes. They will be highlighting to the Minster the business case and the opportunities available in Norfolk and Suffolk from the offshore renewable industry and seeking clarification on key issues affecting Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
The delegation will include business members from Norfolk and Suffolk Chambers, the local MPs, Brandon Lewis, MP for Great Yarmouth and Peter Alldous, MP for Waveney and representatives from NSEA, EEEGR, Orbis Energy and the New Anglia LEP.
John Morse, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber Council, who will be attending on behalf of the Norfolk Chamber, said: “The Great Yarmouth Chamber Council during one of their regular meetings with Brandon Lewis MP identified key issues affecting local companies which they wanted to put directly to the Minister. We are delighted to have been invited to meet John Hayes and look forward to discussing effective ways to maximize Great Yarmouth’s potential to support the burgeoning offshore renewables industry.”
Great Yarmouth businesses will also be able to talk directly to John Hayes MP and follow up on this meeting at a special lunch he had agreed to attend after he has delivered a keynote speech at the Chamber’s Sustainability 2013 Conference on 8 May at the John Innes Centre.
Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said “It is essential that Government Ministers hear directly from local businesses about their needs and concerns and it is great that we have these opportunities to talk, one to one, with John Hayes as Energy Minister and influence his thinking and hopefully his actions”.
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 recommended to the EU Council of Ministers that the Union should vote in favour of renewing two long-standing trade agreements: the International Sugar Agreement and the Grains Trade Convention.
It is seeking the Council’s authorisation for Commission representatives to vote, on behalf of the Union, in favour of renewal at the forthcoming meetings of the governing bodies of these two agreements.
The Grains Trade Convention 1995 was concluded by the EU by Council Decision 96/88/EC until 30 June 1998 and, since then, it has been regularly extended.
Last considered in June 2011, it remains into force until 30 June 2013. A further extension of the Convention by up to two years is seen by the Commission as being in the EU’s best interest.
Similarly, the International Sugar Agreement 1992 was concluded by the EU by Decision 92/580/EEC and entered into force on 1 January 1993 for a period of three years until 31 December 1995.
Since then, it too has been regularly renewed for further two-year periods.
The Agreement was last extended in June 2011 and remains into force until 31 December 2013. The Commission has said that it would be in the interest of the Union to vote for an extension of the Agreement to 31 December 2015.
It is intended to facilitate trade by collecting and providing information on the world sugar market and other sweeteners and provides a forum for intergovernmental consultations on sugar and on ways to improve the world sugar economy.
The Convention exists to further international co-operation in all aspects of trade in grains and to promote the expansion of international trade.
Healthcare UK, the new organisation set up to promote Britain’s healthcare sector to international customers, will be launched in the Middle East at a major international trade show this month.
In a joint initiative between the Department of Health, NHS Commissioning Board and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), Health Minister Lord Howe will launch the organisation at the Arab Health Congress in Dubai on 29 January.
He will be joined by UK Business Ambassador Lord Darzi and the newly appointed Healthcare UK Managing Director, Howard Lyons.
Lord Howe described the UK as a world leader in healthcare, with unrivalled experience and expertise in meeting the health needs of a diverse population.
“Healthcare UK is good news for the UK economy, which will benefit from the extra jobs and revenue created by our highly successful healthcare industries as they trade more across the globe,” he went on. “It also means more money for the NHS across the UK.”
The aim is to provide a single gateway to the UK’s capabilities in healthcare – private, public and academic – to help international customers access the UK’s expertise.
UKTI Chief Executive Nick Baird said that Mr Lyons brought a great deal of international commercial healthcare experience to his new job, having worked in the NHS and the private health sector in Britain and overseas.
One of the tasks of Healthcare UK will be to facilitate the formation of consortia of UK organisations to provide complete solutions to major healthcare challenges.
Qatar Customs Authorities, have issued a new ruling with regard to goods being directly shipped to Qatar from the UK with an EC Certificate of Origin. It is causing some confusion and problems so please be aware of this.
The Notice states that it is the responsibility of the UK Exporter who is exporting the goods, to raise the relevant EC Certificate of Origin in the UK
What is actually happening in practice is that the Qatari Customs are refusing to accept EC Certificates of Origin issued in the UK which contain goods of foreign origin. In effect, they are not accepting foreign origin goods from the UK.
Norfolk Chamber has contacted the British Chambers of Commerce for clarification, as we know this will affect many exporters in our region.
They suggest that BEFORE SHIPPING YOUR GOODS, you should raise your EC Certificate of Origin and scan/email to your client and ask them “will this be accepted by your Customs Authority?”
If your client says no, you should then raise an Arab Certificate of Origin but this will cost a lot more to process so please be aware of this. Prices for Arab Certificates can be obtained by calling the International Trade Team on 01603 729712.
For those of you who ship to Qatar by air, please see the Documentation Procedure for Air which outlines everything you need to show on the Invoice and other documents.
As and when we receive any further news on this matter, we will update our website accordingly
The government finally published its response to the Sickness Absence Review last Thursday. The response committed government to introduce an independent health advisory and assessment service that will provide an independent assessment of employees who have; been off work for four weeks; retain tax relief on Employee Assistance Programmes; reduce record requirements for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and look at removing tax disincentives for employers who want to pay for medical interventions for sick members of staff. The Percentage Threshold Scheme for claiming-back SSP will be scrapped.
On last Monday the Pensions Minister confirmed that the government will introduce a single-tier state pension from April 2017. This will reduce complexity and offer a higher state pension for the self-employed but may reduce the state pension for higher earners; this will also eliminate ‘contracting out’ and associated national insurance rebates. The government will explore the possibility for defined benefit schemes to change scheme rules to compensate for this loss without trustees’ permission.