A guest blog from Lord Davies of Abersoch, Chair of UK-ASEAN Business Council
I am writing this blog because I strongly believe that South East Asia is a region of exciting opportunity for British business. There is demand for British products but we must to do more to sell ourselves.
I have a long history of doing business in South East Asia – it has always been an exciting region. Before my appointment as Trade Minister (2009-10) I was Chairman of Standard Chartered PLC having joined the Board in 1997.
I have continued my association with South East Asia, and increasing British exports in my current role as Chairman of the UK-ASEAN Business Council is a priority.
Now is the time for British business to succeed in the South East Asian markets. Their economies continue to grow rapidly and there is great appetite for British expertise and products. We must seize these opportunities by spreading the message to more businesses and supporting them to develop in the region.
That is why the UK-ASEAN Business Council was created: to raise awareness, reaching out to as many companies as possible with practical advice and guidance. And that is why I agreed to Chair the UKABC – because I know, first hand, the benefits and challenges of doing business in South East Asia.
Since the start of the year many Ministers have travelled to South East Asia and all of them have been promoting the best that British business has to offer. The highlight of these visits was the Prime Minister’s tour in April 2012. During his trip the Prime Minister showed that Britain is serious about doing business in South East Asia with contracts worth almost £550m being signed.
Our next step is our Practical Toolkit event (The Practical Toolkit for Doing Business in South East Asia) next week, on 18 October, at which Lord Green and I will speak. I cannot encourage your strongly enough to come along. This is a free event where you will receive practical advice from business and political experts about how to do business in Southeast Asia. You can register at www.businessinasia.co.uk – I am confident that you will find it of great value.
About Lord Davies
Lord Davies of Abersoch, Chair of UK-ASEAN Business Council, is Vice Chairman of Corsair, serves as a member of the Investment Committees of Corsair III and Corsair IV, and is Chairman of the Corsair Advisory Board. He is based in London.
Lord Davies was U.K. Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business in 2009-2010. Prior to this appointment, he was Chairman of Standard Chartered PLC since 2006. He joined the Board of Standard Chartered PLC in 1997 and was Group Chief Executive from 2001 until 2006. He was a non-executive director at Tesco PLC from 2003 until 2008.
1 comment
Comment by Internet Marketing Company posted on
I am all for anything that will increase the prospects of British business.
But I must confess, I wonder if this plan could anyway be applied to small business?
When I think of doing business in Asia I think multimillion contracts, big corportations & the like.
The only way I can see any payoff for small UK business would be the growing Asian markets looking to expand over here!?
I may follow up on his links to learn more!
Thank you Lord Davies of Abersoch
A Mark