India and the United Kingdom have great scope to build on their bilateral trade relations, opined Trade & Investment India Director at the British High Commission, New Delhi, Barry Lowen, as he addressed delegates on the subject of “India - UK Bilateral Trade Relations”, as part of the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s (BCIC) 35th Annual General Meeting.

“My message is that Britain is open to business with India and we want to be India’s partner of choice,” Lowen said. India and the UK’s bilateral trade in goods increased by about 20 per cent last year to about 16.4 billion pounds and with UK’s exports up by about 40 per cent, Lowen informed, claiming that the UK is and continues to be one of India’s largest investors. “We want to double trade and investment,” he said.

In Bangalore alone, there are over 120 British companies... in the ICT, financial services and aerospace sectors among others, he pointed out.

He also said that more Indian companies invest in the UK than in the rest of the EU put together; adding that Indian companies employ around 90,000 staff in the UK.

Lowen said that his country is a great base for supporting entrepreneurial Indian companies, wherein one can register a company in 24 hours, and boasts of an internationally competitive tax environment for foreign investors, with corporate tax to be reduced to 23 per cent by 2014. “Besides, we have a favourable visa regime that supports business,” he mentioned.