Export Deal offers Eastern Promise
The Sussex Innovation Centre (SInC), backed by Sussex University has secured links with a modern business centre in Ningbo.
Announced on Friday 26th March 2004, the agreement will help developing tech firms in Sussex enter the Chinese market by opening up export links.
Ningbo is one of the biggest commercial centres in China and will offer financial and binsess support to emerging SInC companies, based at Falmer. A virtual tenancy scheme will enable companies to enjoy the benefits of both centres without having a full time in China
Collaboration
China is the fastest- growing big economy and this partnership will speed up UK companies’ time to market. The agreement supports recommendations under the recent Treasury commissioned Lambert Report into industrial research and development in Britain. It called for increased collaboration between business and universities to bring significant economic benefits to the UK.
The first SInC-based UK firm to enter the Chinese market will be Summit Solutions, which provides IT service. Its Yetiserver, am small business server with automated back up will adapted for the Chinese market.
Mike Herd, executive director of SInC, said “SInC is delighted to be the first innovation centre to offer this kind of international business support to UK companies. “Through the exporting of our intellectual property we are ensuring the UK is regarded as a research and development powerhouse”. To ensure the success of this agreement, SInC has a network of bankers, accountants, lawyers, patent attorneys and other consultants in the UK and China.
Danny Knapp, a partner at business advisers Baker Tilly said, “China is becoming an increasingly important part of the global economy, driving demand for other countries’ products. “This international agreement provides a massive opportunity for early stage UK companies to expand.
