British industry looks to India

As part of its efforts to deepen ties with existing trade partners to offset the impact of Brexit, the British industry is looking to have more Indian companies participate in the International Business Festival set to be held from June 12 to June 28 in Liverpool.

Britain will exit the European Union next year and its economy is expected to slow down due to this. “There are great opportunities for trade between UK and India post Brexit since there are possibilities of forging new free trade deal outside of the EU,” Ian Mccarthy, festival director, International Business Festival, noted.

“India and the UK have been enjoying a deep economic relationship for many years now,” said Mccarthy. “We are looking to get companies from health, medical technology, logistics, digital sector, skill development and education on board.”

Mccarthy added that the festival is expected to close deals worth £1 billion this year overall.

"The 2018 festival will provide a strong opportunity for startups, SMEs and larger corporations in India to develop import/export partnerships and generate new business. To date, the festival has secured £250 million worth of business deals, and in 2018 we predict that the total value of deals will reach £1 billion,” said Mccarthy.

Creating over 110,000 jobs in 2017, Indian companies are the second largest international job creator in Britain. Richard McCallum, managing director of UK-India Business Council, said that there are 800 Indian companies in Britain and there are about 600 British companies in India. “India is the third largest investor in the UK and we are the second largest G-20 investor in India. This goes on to show how strong our economic relations are.”