Sport meets export

Mike Summerbee and Philomena Chen, Head of Asia Pacific Business at UKTI North West, taken at the residence of British High Commission, Malaysia/UKTI Kuala Lumpur - Director of Trade & Investment, Tony Collingridge where they met for a trade briefing cum supper on the evening, Sunday, 29 July

Companies on the UKTI North West market visit in China this week were delighted to have a surprise guest at the reception - Manchester City legend and Club Ambassador Mike Summerbee.

North West companies including Love Creative, Manchester Business School, EA Technology, EDM Ltd, Liverpool Vision and UClan were attending a visit organised by UKTI in co-operation with the British Consulate in Shanghai, British Embassy in Beijing, China-Britain Business Council and the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Timed to coincide with both Manchester City and Manchester United’s pre-season tours, as well as the Olympics, delegates visited Shanghai, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur from 21 to 31 July.

The market visit has taken advantage of the raised profile created for the North West from the pre-season football tours, and delegates were delighted to watch City win the showcase match against Arsenal 2-0 at the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing on the same day as the opening ceremony of London 2012.

Earlier in the week delegates were in Shanghai when Manchester United competed in the Chevrolet China Cup against Shanghai Shenhua.

The final leg of the market visit has seen delegates link up again with Manchester City in Kuala Lumpur. City CEO John MacBeath, Club Ambassador Mike Summerbee, Head of Event Promotion Nick Becker and legal Counsel Nick Carter all joined delegates and invited guests at the residence of the UKTI Director of Trade & Investment.

Tony Collingwood welcomed the City delegation who delighted the UKTI party by bringing the Premier League Club Trophy accompanied by 2 security guards.

Meanwhile, back in Manchester, UKTI held a free event Doing Business in China at MediaCityUK – also on the opening day of the Olympic Games – offering more of the region’s companies a chance to find out more about successfully trading in the Chinese market.

The event was part of UKTI North West’s Olympic Programme which also included events on the UAE and Brazil. Delegates heard from companies Mach-Aire Ltd and Fairhursts Design Group who spoke about their own journeys to China and participated in a panel discussion moderated by UKTI North West’s Regional Director Clive Drinkwater and featuring experts from UKTI, China Britain Business Council and several local businesses who are already active in the market.