OREANDA-NEWS. Small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) who want to trade with the emerging economies of the East are to get expert help in the form of a new tailored series of guides.

The guides, produced by Asia House supported by Heathrow, have been written in collaboration with trade bodies, associations and British Embassies to offer expert tips on business culture, language and market opportunities in eight Asian economies. They also provide first-hand accounts from British businesses which have succeeded in the region.

With the Eurozone struggling, UK businesses are increasingly looking to economically significant regions Asia to boost their prospects as they trade around the world. One such business is Novauris, a company which offers speech recognition technology for domestic electronics products. President and co-founder Melvyn Hunt, who contributed to the guides, said:

“Japan was where we first launched a commercial service in a foreign language – an iphone app to help travellers navigate their way round the underground system – and the prospect of doing business was daunting. Once we started we learned that despite the outward formality, personal relationships in business are more important than in the West and that socialising with business contacts, especially in the evening, is often where real business gets done. The shared knowledge offered by these guides will be invaluable helping companies feel confident in navigating a new market right from the outset.”

Heathrow is supportive of businesses trading with emerging markets, which is why it commissioned the guides with Asia House. There are certain aspects of business culture that each country shares, for example a strong cultural preference to develop personal connections to strengthen business ties and the importance of business cards, which are generally offered and accepted with both hands, studied for a few moments before being carefully put on the table. However, there are many more aspects of business etiquette which are specific to each country. For example:

The Japanese believe business people should invest in ‘nemawashi’ - the consensus and trust-building processes carried out at the working and middle management level which acts as a pre-requisite for establishing meaningful, top-level relationships.

In India, people generally prefer to have long-standing relationships with those they are doing business with, so mutual connections are often the best way to initiate contact.

In Vietnam, openly disagreeing with someone senior is considered the same as challenging their social status. It is common to avoid saying ‘no’, so anticipate ‘maybe’, ‘that would be difficult’, and sometimes even ‘yes’ as an alternative.

Sir John Boyd, Chairman of Asia House, said:

“Asia is vast and diverse. Each component has its own ethics, religions, languages, history and social culture. Some aspects are well understood in the West, others poorly. To work profitably in Asia, British players need to tackle a world of policy, regulation, etiquette and social structure that can be entirely foreign to British experience and habits. Cultural, security and social structures are inseparable from a viable market. Mastering the setting means a stronger chance to trade and succeed”.

Colin Matthews, Chief Executive, Heathrow, said:

“We have some of the best manufacturers and service companies in the world and we want Heathrow to play its part in supporting our country and firms, which is why we commissioned these guides. But whilst British firms can fly direct to many destinations in Asia, the lack of hub airport capacity in the UK means we are falling behind our European neighbours. At a time when Asia’s consumer class is expanding, UK firms’ ability to trade with them is being left behind. As the Prime Minister says, this is a global race – we cannot afford to lose.”