Lynch issues competitive call
The economic recovery will be "slow and choppy" – that's the message from Ron Lynch, the Institute of Directors' East Midlands regional director. Speaking at Insider’s Directors Forum at Nottingham Trent University, Lynch also urged East Midlands companies to remain competitive to ensure the region climbs out of the economic slump.
Lynch said: "Things like the Japanese earthquake and high commodity prices - we can't do anything about. But we can be competitive. The government says that there have been 400,000 private sector jobs created over the last year and manufacturing output is up by five per cent, so there are positive signs."
Lynch also thought that the economic situation is not as bad as some had initially feared.
"We're nearly halfway through the year, and what I'm hearing is that businesses aren't finding it as tough as they thought they would – that's a good sign. Also, we have the Olympics coming up next year, and that should give a huge boost to businesses."
At the same event, Colin Muir, director of commercial banking at NatWest in Nottingham, was in stoical mood.
He said: "We’ve had ten to 15 years of good times, so any small growth now will feel like bumping along the bottom. Our bank is still targeting growth, though. It seems manufacturing is now flavour of the month, but many manufacturers who are doing well don’t want to shout about it."
Malcolm Prowle, professor of business performance at Nottingham Business School thought that businesses should be made aware of the benefits of exporting.
He said: "What we need to ensure is that companies are looking to export their goods. We need to re-emphasise the important of exports to the bottom line and to the local economy."
