To Russia, with love

Business Secretary Vince Cable has urged UK companies to export to Russia at a business summit.

Russia is already one of Britain’s fastest growing export markets. British exports have grown 39% in 2011 to £4.78bn and trade is expected to expand further in the coming years.

The UK-Russia Intergovernmental Steering Committee on trade and investment, held in London, saw a raft of commercial deals announced.

Construction firm Stoneguard will build a waste processing facility in Novosibirsk as part of a a £60m project.

Manufacturing firm Tensar is involved in a £12m project to construct a plant in St Petersburg. This will help safeguard more than 150 jobs in Blackburn, Lancashire.

A co-operation between UK Export Financehttp://www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk/ and Russia’s Export Credit Agency (EXIAR) has also been signed.

Russian economy opening up

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Britain’s trade with Russia is rapidly expanding and the opportunities will only continue to grow as its economy opens up further to trade and investment.

“Important steps like Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation earlier this year are making it easier for UK firms to do business there.

“We look forward to working closely with Russia to further develop new opportunities, delivering real economic results for both countries.”

During the summer, the British Business Embassy in London promoted business opportunities for UK firms at major upcoming sporting events including the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 World Cup, both to be hosted by Russia.

Trade already brisk

This year has already seen business boom between Russian and UK firms.

In September, Russia’s largest bank Sberbank was listed on the London Stock Exchange. This is the Exchange’s fourth largest ever international listing.

Shell also opened a lubricants oil blending plant in Tver. This was the first such plant built by an international oil company in Russia. The investment level was worth over £60m.

A collaborative research agreement was also signed between Imperial College London and the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, to develop a centre of applied research for heat exchange intensification. As part of this, Imperial Consultants, the College’s knowledge transfer and consultancy company, is coordinating an industry engagement programme to facilitate interaction between Russian businesses and the researchers.