GETTING IT RIGHT IN OVERSEAS PROMOTION
March 9, 2010
In this most international of industries, overseas promotion has to be at, or very near, the top of the priority list for government and industry alike. Later this week the new financial services body, TheCityUK, holds the first meeting of its Overseas Promotion Committee in London. Overseas promotion is one of the 3 main strands of work for the new body, the others being regulation and explaining and promoting financial services to the domestic audience. I was pleased that SFE was asked to join the OPC, not least because Scotland is the second largest centre for financial services outside London and, I believe, a major part of the overall UK ‘sell', internationally. I am looking forward to joining forces with industry figures from across the UK in planning our approach to the challenges we can expect coming from Asia over the next few years. I'll report back on this and no doubt be in touch with a number of SFE members as the work progresses. On a related theme, the Scottish Parliament's Economy, Enterprise and Tourism Committee has launched an inquiry into the public sector's support for exporters, international trade and the attraction of inward investment. This week SFE submitted a letter to this inquiry, underlining the importance of industry and government working together, and raising the question of whether public resource should be prioritised to markets where government has more influence. We also highlighted the importance for SFE of working with government at a range of levels, and of combining our efforts with other UK bodies where we believe that it will help us deliver more. Owen
