Businesses urged to look to India for work opportunities

Speaking via a video link, Bill Susinski, the director of international business, commercial banking, at HSBC, in India, told entrepreneurs visiting the World Trade Centre Hull & Humber that India was on the brink of rapid expansion.

The video link was set up to mark the launch of a 24-hour translation service at the centre, which is based in Queen Street in Hull.

Run by translation company Language is Everything, the Talkback service is staffed through the night.

Businesses from abroad and across the UK will be able to talk to staff at the centre, who will connect the caller to an interpreter, creating a three-way conference call.

Mr Susinski, who lived in Leeds for three years earlier in his career, said there were a number of sectors that offered opportunities for Yorkshire businesses.

He added: “Education would be high on the list. Businesses in Leeds and the rest of the UK have a lot to offer on the educational front.”

Around 200,000 Indians were currently studying overseas, and over time, more campuses would be established in India for local students, Mr Susinski predicted.

“The UK and Leeds have underlying strengths in infrastructure and manufacturing,’’ he said.

India also needed other countries’ expertise in road building, Mr Susinski added.

India’s manufacturing industry is expected to grow quickly, which also offers opportunities for Yorkshire firms of all sizes, he said.

Mr Susinski said that more than 1 trillion dollars was due to be spent on infrastructure over the next 10 years, as India improves the quality of its roads, airports and infrastructure.

“India is the world’s top location for non-financial services investment,’’ Mr Susinski said.

The World Trade Centre was taken over by a private consortium in December 2010 and is run as a not-for-profit limited company by its partners, Andrew Jackson, Neill & Brown Global Logistics, Garthwest Creative, Henderson Insurance Brokers, HSBC, Language is Everything, Mapa and Select Group.

It is also home to a team of trade advisers from UK Trade & Investment, the Renewables Network and Team Humber Marine Alliance.