Thaindian News

London, Dec 8 (IANS) Britain will soon launch a campaign to encourage more British companies to export to Asia’s emerging markets, including India, the Foreign Office said.

As part of the campaign, the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), a government department that helps Britain-based companies to succeed in the global economy, has joined forces with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to deliver a series of programmes that will demonstrate to British firms key business opportunities across 12 Asian markets, Xinhua reported citing a statement.

The events will be held February 2012-March 2013 and will focus on China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

In 2010, Britain’s export to the 12 markets involved in the campaign totalled 25 billion pounds (around $39 billion), which is “still well below potential”, said Vince Cable, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills and co-chair of the Asia Task Force.

He urged companies from all sectors to get involved in this campaign, and “see what opportunities Asia could hold for them”.

Foreign Secretary Willian Hague said that by 2030, Asian consumers’ spending is expected to be around $32 trillion annually or about 43 percent of worldwide consumption.

“So the economic compass of British businesses should be pointing firmly East, and we are determined to support them in their efforts,” Hague said.

The British government recently decided to allocate an additional 45 million pounds ($72 million) to international trade promotion to help more medium-sized exporters. It also doubled the number of small and medium-size enterprises supported by the UKTI from 25,000 to 50,000.