APPENDIX 17
Memorandum by the Indo British Partnership
Network (IBPN)
BACKGROUND:
The origins of the IBPN date back to 1993 when
the creation of the Indo British Partnership Initiative was agreed
by the then-Prime Ministers of India and Britain, Narasimha Rao
and John Major. This entity subsequently evolved to be called
the Indo British Partnership (IBP). The IBP has always been supported
by the UK Government in Britain and the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) in India, with the UK and Indian Co-Chairmen of
the IBP being appointed at regular intervals by the UK Government
and the CII respectively. The Chairmen have always been Chief
Executives from the private sector. After a period of success,
the IBP stagnated and lost momentum. However, it was re-energised
with the appointment of Karan Bilimoria as the UK Co-Chair in
July 2003. During this rejuvenation the decision was made to incorporate
a private limited company, the Indo British Partnership Network
(IBPN), in April 2005 to act as the UK-based extension of the
IBP and to deliver on the goals of the UK-India Joint Economic
and Trade Committee (JETCO) initiative and the aspirations of
the original IBP Initiative.
A dynamic board of 24 directors was formed to
head the IBPN. The Board comprises leading industry figures from
companies representing a wide variety of sectors and interests—including
finance, healthcare, accountancy, IT services, tourism, and education—and
other affiliated organisations including UK Trade & Investment
(UKTI), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Business
Link. A number of IBPN Board Directors head up JETCO working groups,
including Accountancy, Healthcare, Legal Services and the Creative
Industries.
The IBP's principal mandate is to increase bilateral
trade, business and investment between the two countries. It is
backed by both governments and chaired by leading industry figures.
Current Co-Chairmen are Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal (Chief Executive,
Bharti Enterprises) and Mr Karan F. Bilimoria CBE DL (Founder
and Chief Executive of Cobra Beer), representing Indian and UK
industry respectively.
The IBPN is seed-funded by UKTI with a view
to becoming self-financing in three years (by 2008-09). The role
of UKTI in the workings the IBPN is considerable, with representation
on the Board and active daily involvement in the Network via the
Secretariat at Asia House. Wherever possible the IBPN supports
UKTI to assist in delivering its programme of regional events
in association with Regional Development Agencies and Business
Link. The IBPN also works closely with UKTI officials overseas,
the British High Commission in India, and the Indian High Commission
in the UK. Asia House, a leading pan-Asian organisation committed
to broadening business and cultural links between Asia and the
UK, was appointed to manage the Secretariat of the IBPN.
MISSION STATEMENT:
To increase bilateral trade, business and investment
between Britain and India both ways.
The objectives of the IBPN include:
— To establish an organisation and
networking forum open to all British companies and individuals
interested in furthering trade and investment between the UK and
India;
— To represent the views of British
business at the annual meeting of JETCO;
— To identify ways for British SMEs
to better access trade and investment opportunities in India;
— To be a first point of call for companies
interested in Indo-British trade, and a gateway to doing business
in India;
— To encourage and support Indian companies
to invest in the UK;
— To inform the British Government
of private sector views on Indo-British bilateral trade and investment
issues
DEVELOPMENTS IN
INDO-BRITISH
TRADE SINCE
THE CREATION
OF THE
IBP IN 1993 INCLUDE:
— UK-India bilateral trade of goods
and services growth by almost 120% to £6.3 billion;
— The UK is India's fourth largest
trading partner after the US, China and EAE;
— UK has achieved the third largest
share (9.8%) of inward investment approvals over this time;
— Over 2,000 new Indo-British joint
ventures have been approved;
— The UK is India's second largest
market for IT services ($1 billion)
GOVERNMENT BACKING
During the visit of Prime Minister Tony Blair
to India, 7-8 September 2005, Mr Blair remarked on the strong
business relationship between Britain and India and the role of
government in promoting and enabling such an environment: It's
also why UKTI has supported the establishment of Karan Bilimoria
of the Indo British Partnership Network, a membership and networking
organisation for British companies doing business with India,
and meeting a clear demand among UK companies.
The IBPN was officially launched at Asia House
on 5 December 2005 by Minister of State for Trade and Investment
Ian Pearson MP and Shri Kamalesh Sharma, the Indian High Commissioner,
on the eve of the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP signing the UK-India
Film Co-Production Treaty. At the launch, the IBPN also unveiled
its co-branded IBPN/UKTI/Virgin Atlantic Doing Business in
India guide.
Minister for Trade Ian Pearson at the launch
of the IBPN in December 2005: Let's be clear about one thing—India
means business. And we must ensure that the UK also means business
when it comes to India.
IBPN ACHIEVEMENTS
SINCE APRIL
2005
— Incorporated the Indo British Partnership
Network as a private limited company;
— Successfully re-branded as the IBPN
and formed an IBPN Board of Directors;
— Designed and launched a successful
website (www.ibpn.co.uk) which has had well over 70,000 hits since
17 October 2005;
— IBPN membership is totally inclusive
and open at no cost to all companies, individuals and entrepreneurs
in both Britain and India who are interested in trade, business
and investment both ways;
— Hosted the CII CEO Business Delegation
for a roundtable meeting at the London Stock Exchange in June
2005;
— Published the IBPN Doing Business
in India guide, jointly branded IBPN/UKTI/Virgin Atlantic;
— Formed IBPN Working Groups that are
already delivering on JETCO goals;
— Board Directors and the IBPN Chairman
have been keynote speakers at trade and investment events on India
throughout the UK in 2005-06;
— The IBPN is a major voice for the
UK private sector to the British and Indian governments;
— Regularly meet with the Indian High
Commissioner to the UK, Shri Kamalesh Sharma, the Deputy High
Commissioner and the Commercial team;
— The IBPN were asked to put together
the official business delegation accompanying the Minister of
State for Trade, Ian Pearson MP, on his ministerial delegation
to India and visit to the CII Partnership Summit in January 2006.
The majority of the delegation was made up of IBPN Board Directors,
and the business delegation was chaired by the IBPN Chairman,
Karan Bilimoria;
— The IBPN Board participated in the
annual JETCO meeting in London on 31 January 2006 and hosted the
official IBPN JETCO Dinner on 30 January 2006;
— IBP UK Chairman will be attending
British High Commission Commercial Officers' Conference in India
in February 2006 ;
— IBP UK Chairman sits on the UK-India
Round Table;
— IBP UK Chairman is a member of Chancellor
Gordon Brown's Asia Task Force;
— IBP UK Chairman advised the Governor
of the Bank of England in preparation for his official visit to
India in February/March 2006;
— IBPN Board and Chairman are advising
the Lord Mayor of London for his visit to India in March 2006.
The IBPN will be represented by a Board Director accompanying
the Lord Mayor as part of his official business delegation;
— IBPN Board will host the Confederation
of Indian Industry CEO delegation's annual visit to London in
June 2006. The second bilateral roundtable meeting of the IBP
will take place during this visit;
— IBPN will play a major role in the
first UK-India Investment Conference, to be held in London in
June 2006
— IBP UK Chairman and the Chief Executive
of the IBPN Secretariat at Asia House attend the Mayor of London's
Delhi-London Round Table, held twice annually;
— IBP UK Chairman is Chairman-elect
of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Asian Business
Association, and reports on the IBPN at each bi-monthly meeting;
— IBPN holds Board meetings (two hours)
bi-monthly with visiting expert speakers. These meetings are held
at Asia House, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London Stock
Exchange and the DTI/UKTI offices;
— The IBPN proposes to hold an annual
dinner for 500 people, with the Prime Minister of India as proposed
guest of honour and speaker, in London during September or October
2006;
— A programme of proposed forthcoming
events includes regional business seminars in Birmingham, Manchester
and Glasgow/Edinburgh and a half-day seminar in London in association
with the CII, the Indian High Commission and the CBI.
BARRIERS AND
ASPIRATIONS FOR
INDO-BRITISH
TRADE, BUSINESS
AND INVESTMENT
Following the rejuvenation of the IBP on the
UK side, the IBP in India has appointed a new dynamic young Chairman,
Mr Sunil Mittal, and put together a Board. The first bilateral
roundtable meeting of the Indo British Partnership took place
in Kolkata on 18th January 2006 in the presence of Minister for
Trade Ian Pearson, Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, British
High Commissioner Sir Michael Arthur and Indian High Commissioner
Shri Kamalesh Sharma. During this meeting IBP UK Chairman Karan
Bilimoria asked the roundtable, made up of the British and Indian
IBP Boards, to offer their wish list for doing business in India.
The following barriers and aspirations for
Indo-British business were suggested by the official IBPN business
delegation that accompanied Minister Ian Pearson to India and
participated in this roundtable meeting:
1. The removal of all barriers to listing
Indian companies on the London Stock Exchange/international markets.
Following a recent change in Indian legislation (31 August 2005),
Indian companies must list on markets in India before they can
do so elsewhere. In order to be listed in India a company needs
a three-year profitable track record, which makes listing difficult
for start-up/early stage companies or companies involved in exploration
and significant R&D. Such a situation prevents these Indian
companies from listing in the UK—on the London Stock Exchange's
Alternative Investment Market (AIM), for example.
2. Perceptions of India are not changing
as fast as India is changing. UK plc as represented by the IBPN
Board is committed to open dialogue with India and seriously values
this relationship. The IBPN is working hard to address this and
engage the wider UK press and public.
3. The allowing of responsible foreign retailers
into India as long as they employ locally and provide training
schemes for workers. British retailers with values and vision
should have access to the Indian market. Since the meeting in
Kolkata the Indian Cabinet has announced FDI relaxation in retail;
however, this applies only to single-brand retailers.
4. Liberalisation of the Indian legal sector
to allow foreign firms into the Indian market for advisory work,
not advocacy. UK law firms stress that they want access to business
and not courts.
5. The National Highways Authority of India
and federal authorities need to consult UK plc on issues of road
safety, vehicle licensing, vehicle insurance and maintenance.
With India anticipated to have more vehicles on roads than the
United States of America by 2025 these issues must be addressed
(Goldman Sachs BRICs Report, October 2005).
6. India needs to establish independent,
self-regulating dispute resolution arbitration courts, similar
to the British model—courts not focused on archaic codes
of practice but on fast, efficient dispute resolution.
7. Comprehensive reform of counter-productive
customs and excise regulations, high tariffs/inter-state duties
and widespread regulatory inconsistencies.
8. The message that Britain means business
for Indian companies needs to penetrate India. Private sector
industry leaders and governments need to convey the message that
Britain is pro-business, international, and encourages an environment
conducive to entrepreneurialism for young, new Indian businesses.
9. Since the incorporation of patent protection
policy for pharmaceuticals in 2005, patented international products
are moving into the India market. However, India still needs to
create a pricing structure that recognises and rewards innovation.
India has a unique opportunity to create a fair system, which
will help healthcare services to become more efficient.
10. An infrastructure overhaul with greater
publicity given to tendering opportunities for international firms,
perhaps utilising the network of the IBPN to get such opportunities
press in the UK.
11. Regeneration and re-development opportunities
for British architects, including the opportunity presented by
the Commonwealth Games and burgeoning metros.
12. Removal of regulatory barriers in banking
and financial services, including the use of an international
trading name. There should be no question of national origin in
business in order for India to become truly globalised.
13. India as a viable and more conducive
business destination than China. The mutual heritage, common business
language and existing partnerships between India and Britain are
strong foundations for further business and investment; they should
be celebrated and strengthened further.
14. The removal of excessive bureaucracy
and red tape, particularly in business transactions with the public
sector. Together with a lack of transparency these barriers deter
prospective investors.
15. Comprehensive patent legislation is
coming into effect in terms of Intellectual Property Rights but
there remains poor infrastructure for the proper implementation
of this protection.
16. BRICs Global Economics Paper No: 134
How solid are the BRICs? (December 2005): India scores
lowest out of all the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China)
in terms of long-term growth environments. These projections are
very useful in highlighting the strengths and weaknesses. Goldman
Sachs finds that "India scores relatively well in terms of
rule of law, external debt and inflation, but quite poorly in
terms of levels of secondary education, technology adoption, fiscal
position and openness". In conclusion, although the findings
are encouraging, India needs to address its institutional and
political infrastructure in order to provide favourable conditions
for growth over a longer period of time.
CONCLUSION
Britain must get the trade relationship right
with India; this is of vital importance to the future of the UK
economy. Trade with India still represents only 1% of total UK
trade and every effort needs to be made to ensure that this figure
is increased exponentially over the next few years. The UK and
India are barely scratching the surface at the moment, and there
is a great deal of work left to do. The UK has woken up to the
great potential India presents, but only just in time, and complacency
in this area will result in a weakening of the UK's global trading
position and will be a missed opportunity of considerable magnitude.
We are witnessing a generational change in global trading patterns
and the UK must be at the forefront of this change.
The IBPN works hard to address common misconceptions
that exist about doing business in India, to assist SMEs who want
to access the Indian market, and to feeds the views of the private
sector into the highest levels of government in both Britain and
India. The traffic through our website, the growing awareness
in the British press of business opportunities in India, and our
rapidly growing IBPN membership base illustrates the strong foundations
for further growth between our two countries both ways.
17 February 2006
THE BOARD
DIRECTORS (AS
AT FEBRUARY
2006)
| Chairman |
|
| Karan Bilimoria CBE DL, Founder and Chief Executive
| Cobra Beer |
| UK Chairman | Indo British Partnership
|
| Board Directors | |
| The Hon Apurv Bagri, Managing Director |
Metdist Ltd |
| Chris Baker, Vice President and Head of Consulting
| Oracle Corporation UK |
| Sandra Brusby, Chief Executive Officer |
Business Link Cheshire and Warrington |
| Gautam Dalal, Partner | KPMG
|
| Chris Francis, Chief Executive | Cardionetics
|
| Anthony Good, Chairman | Cox and Kings Ltd
|
| Martin Graham, Director of Market Services/Head of Aim
| London Stock Exchange |
| Toby Greenbury, Partner | Olswang
|
| Martin Harman, Partner | Pinsent Masons
|
| Barry Humphreys, Head of Government Affairs
| Virgin Atlantic Airways |
| Ken Hunt, Business Advisor | UKTI
|
| Sid Khanna, Global Managing Partner | Accenture
|
| Richard Meddings, Group Executive Director |
Standard Chartered Bank |
| Frances Moffett-Kouadio, Head South Asia Unit
| UKTI |
| Alpesh Patel, Managing Director | Agile Partners Asset Management Limited
|
| Roopa Purushothaman, Global Economist | Goldman Sachs
|
| Andy Scott, Director, International | Confederation of British Industry
|
| Julian Stretch OBE, India Consultant | UKTI
|
| Judith Unwin OBE, Head of UK and Nordic Export
| BNP Paribas |
| Parminder Vir OBE, Business Ambassador |
Creative Industries |
| Shailendra Vyakarnam, Director, Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning
| University of Cambridge |
| Graham Ward CBE, Senior Partner, Global Energy and Utilities
| PricewaterhouseCoopers |
| Richard Wolff, Director, International and UK Outlets
| Marks & Spencer |
| UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) |
|
| Asif Ahmad, Director, Asia Pacific International Group
Rob Kelly, Deputy Head South Asia Unit
Matthew Southwell, Deputy Head South Asia Unit
| |
| Secretariat—Asia House |
|
| Stefan Kosciuszko, Chief Executive
Kitty Parkes, Programme Coordinator
| |
| |
|
