Hundreds of international business leaders to descend on Liverpool for IFB2016

Representatives of up to 687 companies from all over the world are coming to Liverpool for the International Festival for Business 2016 (IFB2016) next month.

A total of 94 international delegations from 87 countries are now confirmed to be attending IFB2016, with business leaders from as far afield as China, Japan and India jetting in for the three-week event.

One of the largest delegations, bringing 45 firms to Liverpool, is from Bangladesh. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), meanwhile, used its Overseas Export Opportunities Campaign competition to put together a multi-national delegation with MDs and CEOs of companies from Mexico, Brazil, Cyprus, Italy, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, India, UAE, Nigeria and Ghana.

Shih Cabestan from Hong Kong-based Microtech Medical, who is coming to the festival as part of the UKTI delegation, said: “I am thrilled to be able to participate in IFB2016 to represent booming Asia, and contribute to boosting biomedical and healthcare trade between the UK and Asia on this prestigious occasion.

“I am looking forward to establishing new contacts with creative UK healthcare companies and identifying innovative healthcare products to distribute in the Greater China area.”

Tomoaki Kato, medical division product manager with Japanese global trade firm Harada Corporation, is also visiting with the UKTI delegates.

He said: “I am honoured to be a competition winner from Asia-Pacific. I appreciate UKTI Japan’s support, and our existing UK suppliers with whom we have established long term mutual success. I am very much excited to find our next opportunity, and am looking forward to meeting with innovative British companies at IFB2016.”

Shailesh Jain, of Indian manufacturer Metaform Enterprise, is another winner of the competition.

Shailesh commented: “The International Festival for Business celebrates the ability to connect people, enterprises and ideas, it’s a common platform for everyone to reach out to the world.”

The festival’s international delegates are estimated to be travelling a collective two million miles in a bid to establish new trade links with British firms looking to tap into the power of exporting.

Chris Heyes, the head of international at IFB2016, said: “The number of international delegations that are coming to IFB2016 continues to grow, presenting a fantastic opportunity for UK businesses to meet a global audience at one festival.

“Connecting with businesses from around the world, whether to do deals, find suppliers or develop new partnerships is what the IFB2016 is all about.”

Chris added: “The IFB2016 is an unmissable festival for businesses wherever they are from and this is why delegations are travelling from every corner of the world to attend.”

IFB2016 is being delivered in partnership with the GREAT Britain Campaign and UKTI, and with support from the government.

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