I am writing to seek your inputs into an important initiative that the UK India Business Council is working on with the Sheffield City Region to develop trade and investment links between the city region and India. We want to see more export to India and more investment and students coming from India. And there is certianly an opportunity for us to achieve this.
The Indian economy is growing at 7.5% - faster than China. By 2050, it is already the worlds 3rd largest economy in PPP terms and is predicted to be number 3 in real terms by 2050. The existing UK trade and investment relationship is strong. The UK is the largest G20 investor in India, India is the third largest investor in the UK, and India is already an important export market for UK goods and services. With the UK preparing to leave the European Union, the importance of strengthening the trade and investment relationship with emerging markets such as India has become more significant.
Across the SCR, India represents an important, if under-exploited, overseas market of significance. In terms of investment, FDI indicator flows show that investment coming out of India into Western Europe is growing in significance and scale, whilst exports from the SCR continue to grow. In July 2016 India entered the top 5 export markets for the Yorkshire & Humber region and the top 3 for target markets for the SCR based on export intelligence, whilst quarterly export data provided by our Chambers of Commerce shows India consistently being in the top 3 export markets by export documentation requirements. In our higher education sector, a significant export industry of the Sheffield City Region, forecasts show that India will continue to remain a major overseas market. Figures provided by South Yorkshire International Trade Centre show that between January 2015 and 2016 Sheffield businesses exported around £6m worth of goods to India. Products included petroleum coke and steel to name a couple. In addition, UKTI estimates that total exports for goods and services grew between 2013-2014 from £49.3m to £51.6m.
A critical part of this initiative is to gather views from businesses on: current engagement with India; perceptions or experiences of doing business in India; and the opportunities businesses in the Sheffield City Regions see.
We would therefore invite you to complete the survey below. The results will be used to inform this important initiative to grow the trade and investment between the Sheffield City Region and India, and we would very much welcome you taking 5 minutes to complete the survey.