If you’ve ever been on a conference call, you’ll appreciate the importance of the ‘mute’ button – just because you can’t see the people on the other end of the call it doesn’t mean you can’t hear them, or that they can’t hear you.
And so the mute button comes in handy to mask everything from eating during a lunchtime conference call to an unavoidable coughing fit. It can also help to mask the myriad of other things you could be doing while on a conference call.
Global warming could be a more pressing problem than initially thought. A long-term forecasts from the Met Office have revealed that temperatures could temporarily reach 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time between now and 2023 – levels we weren’t expected to reach until between 2030 and 2052.
It’s a problem we all need to tackle, and here’s how conference calling can help fight climate.
India and the UK have strong cultural and trade links – but trade has deteriorated over recent years and the two countries are no longer strong trade partners, and many big businesses have been put off trading with the country following billion pound tax rows and unpaid fees.
Even so, India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and the UK has a lot to offer India as far as universities, infrastructure and engineering goes, so if you’re not already trading with India, it could be time to start thinking about it.
Sat over 4,000 miles to the east though and keeping in touch could be a problem – but not if you do so via teleconference, or conference call, and ConferenceCall.co.uk is one of the few operators offering low-cost dial-in numbers to India.
And a conference call can be set up in a few simple steps, here’s how…
Europe’s most westerly country, Portugal is has ties to its former, Portuguese-speaking colonies such as Angola, Brazil and Mozambique, opening up a market in excess of 250 million people. It also has strong links with the UK, not only as a popular tourist destination, but as home to around 80,000 ex-pats.
The UK is currently the fourth largest investor in Portugal, and its sixth largest supplier, with services worth €1.3 billion, and goods exports totaling €1.8 billion, most of which were accounted for by:
Services exports were in travel, transport and other business services.
Here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Portugal.
Although only about a sixth of the size of the UK, the Netherlands is the world’s fourth most densely populated country, with around 17 million people packed on to 41,543 sq km of northern European soil. It also has a very healthy economy, which weighs in a the EU’s sixth largest and the world’s 16th largest.
The nation currently houses over 400 British companies, and is the UK’s fourth largest bilateral trading partner. UK goods exports to the Netherlands are worth around £27 billion, and the top five exports are:
If you want to take advantage of the plentiful business opportunities, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to the Netherlands.
Conference calling is convenient and cost effective way to conduct meetings and keep colleagues in the loop when it’s impossible, or at least impractical, to get everyone in the same room at once.
You can set up a conference call with up to 100 people in just three simple steps:
And setting up an international conference call is as easy as organizing an local teleconference. You can invite participants from any country you wish, and ConferenceCall.co.uk provides dial-in numbers across 72 countries, more than any other conference call provider in the UK.
New Zealand is a rapidly expanding nation, with an economy that’s embraced a number of new sectors over the last decade or so – where its earnings were once dominated by farm products, namely wool, meat and dairy, it’s now supported by burgeoning tourism, film production and wine-making industries.
Trade between the UK and New Zealand is worth a healthy £1.1 billion a year, and the top UK exports to New Zealand include:
If you’re thinking of doing business on the other side of the world, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to New Zealand…
Those in the know see Mexico growing as an economic power over the next couple of decades, and making the leap from being the world’s 15th largest economy (where it’s currently ranked), to the fifth.
And the Mexican economy has continued to grow despite other Latin American countries seeing their’s shrink.
Trade between the UK and Mexico is worth around£1.1 billion, and the top five UK exports to Mexico are:
Here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Mexico.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic society of 28.4 million and the country has remained in a strong economic position in spite of the economic downturn and it aims to achieve Developed Nation status by 2020. It’s also one of the world’s best spots for offshore manufacturing and service-based ventures.
And, much like Singapore, it’s strategic position between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea makes it popular with investors.
Trade between the UK and Malaysia is worth around £8 billion, making it the UK’s second largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). If you’re interested in doing business in Malaysia, the top five sectors for trade are:
Here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Malaysia…
Lithuania is one of the EU’s fastest-growing economies – a quick exit from recession has seen its economy grow by an average of about 2.5% over the last few years.
The largest of the Baltic nations, Lithuania offers a gateway to Russia, where almost a quarter (21%) of its exports end up. If you plan to use the country as an entry point to Russia though, bear in mind relationships are tense between the two countries (Lithuania only regained independence as recently as 1990), and the Russian government is not averse to banning certain goods, imposing temporary embargoes, and making life difficult for anyone looking to cross the border.
On the plus side, this doesn’t appear to have had too great an impact on trade with the UK, which has a 4.2% market share in Lithuania and exports around €1 million of goods there each year – this is definitely a growing market with a lot of potential.
The top UK exports to Lithuania include:
If you’re looking to tap this growing market, here’s everything you need to know about exporting to Lithuania…