International Business Opportunities

According to a survey carried out by Credit Management Research Centre (CMRC), only 20.3% of businesses in United Kingdom seek trade finance advice from their banks.
The survey also reveals that 9.7% of companies never seek any trade finance advice.

These figures, when compared to the 2002 survey findings, clearly show a trend away from banks as sources of export trade finance advice. In 2002, 34% of exporters sought advice from their bank and only 7% never did so.
….Interestingly, SMEs were more likely to seek bank advice, with more than half of companies with a turnover of less than £10 million reporting they do so regularly. However, these companies also make up the majority of the 38% of companies that had experienced difficulties in raising finance from their bank.

(source)

A study by KPMG found that Singapore is the cheapest country, among the major industrialised nations, to run a business.
The bi-annual study is based on the costs of setting up and running businesses across different industries over a 10-year cycle.

The research - which covers 128 cities in nine countries, takes into account key factors such as wages, business taxes, rent, and energy costs.

Average wages lower in Singapore than in the other nations included in the study, pushed the Asian country at the top of this cost-competitiveness league, as labour costs are the most important factor for businesses when deciding where to locate their operations, the KPMG report explained.

Below the cost-competitiveness league (Source: KPMG-2006)
1- Singapore
2- Canada
3- France
4- Netherlands
5- Italy
6- United Kingdom
7- United States
8- Japan
9- Germany