Memorandum submitted by UK India Business
Council
BACKGROUND TO
UKIBC—AN EVOLUTION
OF THE
INDO BRITISH
PARTNERSHIP NETWORK
UKIBC is providing this supplementary memorandum,
building on the IBPN's earlier submission to the Committee. This
paper sets out the background to the evolution of the UKIBC from
the IBPN.
The origins of the UKIBC date back to 1993,
two years after India began liberalising its economy, and the
creation of the Indo-British Partnership Initiative, agreed by
the prime ministers of both countries.
The UK and India, of course, have a long and
close relationship, but with liberalisation, changing and enlightening
of policy by the Indian Government and the dawn of globalisation,
the opportunities for joint trade began to accelerate.
Our shared language and most importantly our
shared values—democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech
and a free and vibrant press in both countries—helped nurture
and grow many business relationships.
And it was the IBP, picking up on this new and
invigorating economic landscape, which paved the way for many
UK companies to enter the Indian market.
As the global economy changed and the Indian
market changed, so too did the IBP, evolving into the Indo-British
Partnership Network (IBPN), which was ultimately incorporated
as a private limited company in April 2005.
The IBPN offered membership regardless of size
and industry, to all British based and Indian companies, entrepreneurs
and individuals who were interested in trade, business and investment
between the UK and India.
Membership interest came from varied sources
including creative industries, banks, law firms, SMEs and Indian
companies visiting to do business in the UK and swelled to more
than 700.
Shortly after the IBPN becoming a limited company,
the governments of both the UK and India took another great step
forward together when they launched—in New Delhi—the
India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).
At that time, annual bilateral trade between
our two countries had grown to more than 10 billion US dollars.
JETCO was to build on that and open up even more opportunities.
The IBPN would channel these opportunities through
to its membership and facilitate ways in which their potential
could be fulfilled.
In June 2006 the House of Commons Trade &
Industry Select Committee (TISC) report on India confirmed the
Government's recognition of the IBPN as the UK's lead body in
promoting and developing Indo-British trade relations.
TISC recommended: " . . . that a decision
[be] taken to position the IBPN as the leading player for the
private sector in the UK; it should become the de facto Indo-British
Chamber of Commerce and so the natural voice of commerce in relation
to Indian Trade and Investment issues"
And in October last year, Lord Karan Bilimoria,
Chairman of the IBPN, chaired the UK-India Prime Ministerial summit
that, for the first time, brought together top tiers of Government,
business and partner organisations to develop further the countries'
two-way investment relationship.
Last November the IBPN Board met for its first
ever "away day" to discuss a strategy to take the IBPN
forward. A business plan was produced as a result of this meeting
and an application for increased funding was made to Government.
In January this year, former Chancellor, Gordon
Brown, announced that the Government intended to boost its annual
funding of the IBPN to £1 million, a significant increase
on its previous level of £75,000.
And bringing the story right up to date, the
IBPN has now evolved into the UKIBC with a much more ambitious
and direct set of objectives and a clear role as the focal point
for all bilateral trade opportunities. It is intended that this
new level of Government funding will be matched by private sector
sponsorship, membership fees and the provision of charged services,
so that more and better opportunities can be researched and presented.
UK INDIA BUSINESS
COUNCIL
The UK India Business Council opened its offices
at Millbank on 21 September 2007. The UKIBC has hired its first
Chief Executive, Sharon Bamford, and is in the process of restructuring
its board. It will provide consultancy services for all British
companies wishing to trade with India and for Indian companies
wishing to invest in the UK. It will continue to contribute to
policy formation at the highest level and to the Joint Economic
and Trade Committee (JETCO) process. The UKIBC will also continue
to operate as a membership organisation for companies, organisations
and individuals interested in working with India.
UKIBC'S Mission statement is as follows:
The UK INDIA Business Council ("UKIBC")
is the lead organisation supporting the British Government in
the promotion of bilateral trade, business and investment between
the two countries.
UKIBC will seek to play an influential role
in creating and sustaining an environment in which free-trade
and investment flourishes. A key objective in this regard will
be the highlighting, and dismantling, of bureaucratic and regulatory
barriers to entry.
Through the facilitation of partnerships, and
with the support of an extensive network of influential corporate
and individual members, UKIBC will provide the resource, knowledge
and infrastructure support vital for UK companies to make the
most of emerging opportunities in India.
In addition to the invaluable networking role
played by IBPN set out in the earlier submission, in order to
strengthen and develop trade relations we believe that our increased
funding will allow us to establish an organisation that provides
leadership in Indo-UK relations.
An element of this leadership will be to understand
and develop the somewhat complex and inconsistent support mechanisms
throughout the UK. Early discussions have already taken place
to provide strategic leadership for intermediaries throughout
the UK.
In this financial year, we will be focusing
on the few key areas set out in the IBPN's submission (please
see that paper for further detail)
1. Integrated Support Services.
2. "Next Generation" India.
3. Research in order to deepen the understanding
of UK India trade relations and promote new thinking in the area.
We believe that through thought leadership,
the building of new models of engagement and practical business
assistance we will be able to bring focus to UK's India engagement
and greatly enhance trade and investment between these two great
nations.
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