Business Advice

Firms Are Guaranteed ‘Soft Landing’ In Middle East State

By Claire West

Coventry University is providing the gateway for businesses to the oil-rich Sultanate of Oman.

A VIP delegation from the Oman met at the University Technocentre on Tuesday 6 November to sign a historic free trade agreement for a ‘Soft Landing Zone’ in the Middle Eastern country — meaning access to office space, and free advice and support on building business. In return the Coventry University Technocentre will host companies from Oman who are interested in developing their business operations in the UK.

The UK Soft Landing Zone programme has been set up by Coventry University Enterprises in partnership with government body UK Trade and Investment in order to establish a network of British incubator offices around the globe. The offices, located on key university science...

...parks, will be open to UK companies who are either considering or are at the early stages of undertaking international business.

In addition to desk space in a dedicated office — complete with IT services, telephone answering and post forwarding - businesses signing up to the programme will also be able to take advantage of a number of support services. Each company will be allocated a dedicated business support officer to advise or call in expertise on all legal, financial, cultural and practical issues of doing business in a particular country. In addition, the partnership with UK Trade and Investment will give participants the opportunity to benefit from subsidies on travel and accommodation.

Tim Luft, UK Soft Landing Zone Director at Coventry University said: “Under the rule of Sultan Qaboos the Oman has successfully transformed its economy, developing the oil industry and encouraging private sector business. One of its next goals is to diversify its economy and ensure the country is not entirely dependent on oil prices. This means efforts to globalise the economy, upgrade the skills of its workforce, and find new partners.

“The unique agreement will lead to exciting opportunities for firms both regionally and across the UK to enter a dynamic and prosperous business environment — and to do so alongside expert local guides.”

The other key locations for the Soft Landing Zone programme include Malaysia, India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Poland, Romania and Sweden.

Further details about UK Soft Landing Zone can be obtained by calling Sophie Bauer on 024 7623 6107, emailing s.bauer@cad.coventry.ac.uk or visiting the website www.ukbasepoint.com

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