Clive Drinkwater is the regional director for UK Trade and Investment in the North West Region, responsible for helping North West businesses achieve success in overseas markets. Clive has taken up this role following extensive private sector experience in international trade, working in industry and selling to over 90 countries worldwide. Clive has particular experience in Asia, having gained first hand experience of the area during spells living and working in Indonesia, Malaysia and China
As I was scraping the car this morning before my drive to work and the dashboard temperature gauge had plummeted to -10˚c my mind wandered quite naturally to sunnier climes and the possibility of heading off for a winter break …
Why should I export? This is one of the commonest questions I am asked when I am out and about talking of the opportunities overseas in mature or emerging markets. I often answer “because you will increase your UK sales …
I’m sure that most of you will be aware of the importance of “guanxi” or relationships when doing business with China. Taking time to understand your potential business partner will reap real rewards in the long run. Often this means …
So a Qing vase has sold for a staggering £43m. Produced in the 18th century for the Qing emperor Qianlong or Qing Gao Zong it once held pride of place in the Chinese Royal Palace and was inevitably fired in …
I’ve not been able to blog for a little while as I have been spending more time than I would have liked visiting a relative in the brand new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. The hospital, which opened in June …
Today, unashamedly, I will be plugging two trade missions we’re taking to Asia in the coming months. But first, have you heard of CIVETS? Well, the Oxford English Dictionary definition is a genus of carnivorous musk producing quadrupeds, and if …
I’m just back from a great visit to Cumbria where I saw some fantastic advanced manufacturing companies. Cumbria is of course renowned for its tourism and, in my opinion, Wastwater in the Lake District was quite rightly voted Britain’s Favourite …
I lived and worked in Indonesia for some years during the 1990s and so I was delighted to help with the production of the new and extremely useful guide Doing Business in Indonesia published by UKTI last week. First, a …
I’ve been listening to the coverage afforded to the Prime Minister as he undertakes his first visit to India, and I’ve also been considering the issues that face companies now assessing their strategy for entry into that vibrant market. A …
As anybody who has read my blogs will know, I love airports. I’ve been thinking recently, however, that we’re also very lucky here in the North West of England to have great port facilities which move our goods efficiently and …
