252 lines
8.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
252 lines
8.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sponsored
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motoring
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europa
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7651369
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-----
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# Hamburg offers so much for British business
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## British firms keen to do business in Germany will find everything to like
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in this thriving port.
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![Hamburg - Europa Cup - Seat][1]
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Grand scale: Hamburg is an attractive city of wide open spaces, parks and
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historic buildings
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Paul Bray 11:58AM BST 29 Apr 2010
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The thousands of Fulham fans flocking into Hamburg to witness their side's
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UEFA Europa League final against Atletico Madrid tonight will meet with a
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warmer welcome than they might expect. True, Fulham dashed the home team's
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championship hopes in the semi-finals. But Hamburg's trading links with
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England go back a long way (744 years to be precise), and Hamburgers have
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always had a soft spot for their Anglo-Saxon cousins.
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![Hamburg port - Europa Cup - Seat][2]
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Hamburg is built around a centuries-old port
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"Hamburg has very strong affinities with Britain, and if you're not a
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Hamburger the next best thing here is to be British," explains Wendy Sprock, a
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British chartered accountant and freelance translator who has lived in the
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city for 20 years.
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This special relationship translates into hard cash. In 2008 UK exports to the
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Hamburg area were worth £3.2bn, while trade in the opposite direction totalled
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£1.9bn. Hamburg is one of the world's top 10 ports and the largest in northern
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Europe, and a quarter of all Germany's sea trade with the UK passes through
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it.
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"Hamburg Metropolitan is one of the most competitive regions in Europe, and
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the port of Hamburg is the engine driving its success," says Malcolm Scott,
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director general of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in Germany.
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"Some 4.3 million people live and work in the region, at the interface of
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major European transport axes between Scandinavia, west, east and southern
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Europe. It has the best infrastructure, a skilled workforce, innovative
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companies and research institutes, and a high quality of life."
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## Related Articles
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* [Business opportunities in Madrid][3]
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12 May 2010
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* [Opportunities for UK companies in Lille][4]
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18 Mar 2010
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* [Business opportunities in Lisbon][5]
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08 Apr 2010
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* [Romania: A country that's fast off the Bloc][6]
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24 Feb 2010
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Aerospace is a major industry, with around 300 companies in the supply chain
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and Airbus alone employing 11,000 people, which means there are good
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opportunities for UK firms, says Mr Scott.
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Some of Hamburg's traditional industries, such as oil and media, are slowly
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migrating elsewhere. But others are taking their place, says Dr Rainer
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Giersch, the regional chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany
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(BCCG).
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"Hamburg is rapidly developing its life sciences cluster, and is the home of
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Norgenta, the north German life science agency," he says. "What's not so well
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known is that the city is also very focused on developing new media such as
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electronic gaming, and a lot of interesting new technology is coming out of
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this sector."
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Adds Mr Scott: "Gamecity Hamburg is a Germany-wide network with 1,600 members
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whose aim is to develop this sector -- rich in opportunities for UK firms with
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the right competencies."
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Back in the real world, Hafencity (harbour city), a multibillion-euro
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docklands redevelopment similar to those in London and Liverpool, offers great
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opportunities for British investors, says Mr Scott.
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Renewable energy is another important sector, says Dr Giersch. "Hamburg has
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ambitions to be the green capital of Europe by 2012, so UK companies in the
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renewable energy field should definitely be looking here."
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Physically speaking, Hamburg is already green. "Everybody expects a port to be
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ugly, but it's a very beautiful city, with lots of green space and water,"
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says Mrs Sprock (the city has more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice
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combined). "The atmosphere here is quite relaxed and Scandinavian, and the
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reasonable property prices mean people can afford to live quite close to the
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centre."
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About 120 UK firms have subsidiaries in Hamburg, including BP, Unilever and
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Cunard. English is widely spoken in business circles, and there's "a sort of
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Britishness" about the city, says Dr Giersch. But successful exporters may
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have to adapt to the German way of doing business.
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"Punctuality is very important, and if you say you're going to do something
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you'll be expected to do it," says Dr Giersch. "Don't raise expectations you
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can't meet, because if you mess up, the deal will fall through. And reputation
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is very important: if you damage your reputation it's often very difficult to
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get it back."
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Germans definitely don't deserve their reputation for humourlessness, says Mrs
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Sprock (although they've heard all the hamburger jokes). "But here in the
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north people can be quite reserved and it can be difficult to break the ice,"
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she says. "They're not keen on small talk and they like to get down to
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business. But they're very straight, and although legal contracts can be
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detailed there's very much a 'gentleman's agreement' culture."
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There is plenty of help and encouragement for UK firms interested in sharing
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Hamburg's prosperity, from bodies such as the Hamburg Business Development
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Corporation (HWF) and the local chamber of commerce as well as UKTI and the
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BCCG.
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Yet despite this, and the city's centuries-old ties with Britain, its
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potential as an export market remains unfulfilled. "I still don't think UK
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firms realise just how much trade they could do with the region," says Mr
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Scott.
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**_The Seat Exeo - Driving green ambitions_**
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Hamburg aims to establish itself as the green capital of Europe in just two
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years' time, making it the focus for British companies in the field of
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renewable energy.
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Concern for the environment makes an attractive choice of the stylish new SEAT
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Exeo too. Advances in both petrol and diesel engines have produced a powerful
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yet highly efficient car. Diesel models (120PS and 143PS), for example, give
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combined fuel economy of 53.3mpg.
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Offering an exhilarating performance across trim levels S, SE, Sport and SE
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Lux, the quality-build Exeo takes affordable executive-class motoring in a
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thrilling new direction.
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Challenging every aspect of traditional car design, SEAT has produced a saloon
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and an estate that are both handsomely fit for purpose -- and, with prices
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from £18,765, great value for money. Better still, residual values are a
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robust 30pc after 60,000 miles, according to CAP.
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Standard equipment includes dual-zone climate control, as well as integrated
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Bluetooth and cruise control. One of many reasons why the SEAT Exeo is firmly
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in the lead.
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**[The SEAT Exeo ][7]**
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**[SEAT Fleet and Business Sales][8] **
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**[The SEAT Exeo ST ][9]**
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[X][10] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][11]
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* Share: [Share][10] [ ][12] [ ][13]
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[Tweet][14]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/europa/7651369/Hamburg-offers-
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so-much-for-British-business.html
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Telegraph
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## [Europa][15]
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* ### [Sponsored »][16]
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* ### [Motoring »][17]
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[X][10] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][11]
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Share:
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* [ ][10]
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* [ ][12]
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* [ ][13]
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* [Tweet][14]
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* ![SEAT autoemocion][18]
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[1]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01635/Hamburg-
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square_1635105c.jpg
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[2]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01635/Hamburg-
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docks_1635107f.jpg
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[3]: /sponsored/motoring/europa/7714654/Business-opportunities-in-
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Madrid.html
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[4]: /sponsored/motoring/europa/7472592/Business-in-France-European-
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opportunities-for-UK-companies-in-Lille.html
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[5]: /sponsored/motoring/europa/7566879/Business-in-Lisbon-opportunities-
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for-British-companies-in-Portugal.html
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[6]: /sponsored/motoring/europa/7306099/Business-in-Romania-a-country-
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thats-fast-off-the-Bloc.html
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[7]: http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;222586669;46310051;f
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[8]: http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;222586672;46310053;b
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[9]: http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;222766003;46516938;j
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[10]: #
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[11]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4590190/Share-this-
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article-What-are-these.html
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[12]: mailto:?subject=A Telegraph reader thought you would be interested in
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this article&body=Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on
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the link in the email. Alternatively, you may have to open a web browser, such
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as Firefox or Internet Explorer, and copy the link over into the address bar.
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%0A%0Ahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/europa/7651369/Hamburg-
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offers-so-much-for-British-business.html %0A%0AFor the best content online,
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visit www.telegraph.co.uk
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[13]: javascript:print()
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[14]: http://twitter.com/share?via=Telegraph
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[15]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/europa/
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[16]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/
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[17]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/
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[18]:
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http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01583/sponsor_SEAT_1583338a.jpg
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