New Business Development (Hansard, 13 January 1993)

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment his Department has made of the relative potential for new business development by British firms in each of the countries of the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe; and what comparisons he has made with similar assessments of other regions of the world.

§ Mr. Needham
Within the whole area to which my hon. Friend refers we take the view that the best prospects for British exporters in most sectors other than oil and gas are to be found in Poland, Hungary and the Czech lands, although worthwhile opportunities are also being found in most of the other markets. In oil and gas we see the best prospects in Kasakhstan, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation. Within the world as a whole we see the best all-round prospects in western Europe, north America and Asian parts of the Pacific rim.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what measures his Department is taking to encourage British firms to take the opportunities for new business developments in the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe.

§ Mr. Needham
My Department provides a comprehensive range of services to assist United Kingdom exporters and investors who are interested in the region, including support for outward missions—sometimes led ministerially—and participation in overseas trade fairs as well as the provision of general and specific information about the markets and opportunities. Information about export and consultancy projects under bilateral, EC and multilateral funded assistance programmes is also available and my Department encourages United Kingdom companies to exploit such opportunities.
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These services are available from the former Soviet Union, central and east Europe branch of my Department whose resources have been increased in response to the growing interest in these markets. Similarly, the British Overseas Trade Board's area advisory group, the East European Trade Council, has also had its resources augmented.

§ Mr. Elletson
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what importance his Department attaches to the further development of commercial and economic relations with the countries of the Pacific rim; and what measures his Department is taking to encourage British firms to develop new business there.

§ Mr. Needham
The Asia Pacific rim, like Europe and north America, is a top priority for my Department's trade promotion and market opening work. The region offers the best prospects worldwide for rapid, large-scale and sustained growth of imports and investment. United Kingdom business has a strong position in parts of the region but needs to do much more particularly in such large, growth markets as Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand. The region accounts for 8 per cent. of our exports and 6.5 per cent. of our overseas investment. It is the Department's objective to raise this substantially. To that end, 18 per cent. of our overseas trade staff are allocated to work on the region, as well as a substantial proportion of our promotional budget. I have visited the region three times in the past nine months. My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, the chairman of the British Overseas Trade Board and I plan more visits to the region this year, mainly with groups of business men. We continue to make a special drive on the Japanese market, through the Priority Japan campaign. We have just held the largest-ever United Kingdom trade promotion in China, involving over 90 business men, and are following it up vigorously. We are also running intensive trade promotion campaigns to pursue opportunities in the other promising markets of the region.
This promotional work is led by business men active in these markets who give their time voluntarily. To focus their contributions more effectively the BOTB has set up a new promotional body covering most of the region's markets, the Asia Pacific Advisory Group, and the equivalent bodies for Japan and China have reorganised. Details of their work are published in the annual forward plan of the BOTB.
In summary, in the financial year 1993–94 we are planning some 68 outward and inward VIP visits, 50 promotional events in the United Kingdom, 217 DTI-supported missions, exhibitions, technical seminars and store promotions in the region and expect to deal with about 23,000 inquiries from British business. In the next few months we will be intensifying this drive through the full-time secondment of experienced business men to the Department as export promoters. We are also working vigorously through multilateral and bilateral channels to improve business conditions in the region, particularly by working for the successful completion of the GATT Uruguay round.
I should be glad to consider additional proposals for intensifying our efforts in these markets, within the resources available to my Department.