South East: UKTI welcomes Commonwealth boost, as the Games commence

New figures reveal that South East businesses have reported an expected £661 million of overseas business in Commonwealth countries over the past 15 months, as a result of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) support.

Lewis Scott, South East director for UKTI, said: “Trade within the Commonwealth is estimated at £300 billion a year, and we hope the Games will provide a further opportunity to boost these sales.

Latest HMRC statistics demonstrated that the South East is experiencing healthy growing sales to the Commonwealth, with markets including India, New Zealand, Malta and emerging African markets such as Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania, proving particularly lucrative for local exporters.

Lewis continued: “The historic links we share with Commonwealth markets remain important in helping local companies boost their sales overseas, and the Games are expected to provide yet further opportunities to increase our exports and enable us to showcase the high-quality products and services we can offer.

“Our role at UKTI is to help companies export and develop their capability to trade internationally and we will offer the expert advice and guidance needed so companies are able to take advantage of the opportunities presented.”

The announcement was made as the Commonwealth Games Business Conference in Glasgow got started. The event aims to  showcase to the world’s business and political leaders all that the UK has to offer.

It will be the first of two events dedicated to promoting UK businesses during the high-profile sporting events. The British Business House, run by UKTI, is a three-day conference dedicated to showcasing to business and political leaders the ‘Best of British’. It will also provide a base for businesses, ministers and industry leaders to take part in roundtable discussions, sector-themed seminars hosted by ministers, and networking opportunities.

On Sunday, UKTI published record-breaking Foreign Direct Investment results for 2013/14, with 1,773 projects spread across the UK and 14% more than the previous year, creating 66,390 jobs – the highest in over a decade – and safeguarding 44,971.