Business activity between the UK and India has flourished in 2024, according to latest data from HSBC UK.
The bank, active within the corridor, said its data on payments and client referrals show year-on-year growth for the nine months to October 2024:
· The value of payments made by HSBC UK business clients to India rose by 32 per cent
· The value of payments received by UK clients from the India rose by 121 per cent
· HSBC UK received 36 per cent more new business client referrals from HSBC India
Cora McLaren, Head of International Subsidiary Banking at HSBC UK, said: “Our data shows that business between the UK and India is not only strong, it’s getting even stronger, and the opportunities for expanding businesses in India are huge.
“India’s population is not only a vast number of potential customers, within it there is a growing middle class, creating opportunities for UK businesses selling high quality products and services. In addition, India is increasingly seen as a hub for Global Capability Centres – from which multinational corporates run multiple strategic functions – due to the level of language and technology skills.
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“This is a relationship that is working both ways. We’ve also seen Indian businesses increasingly doing business in the UK, particularly those in the pharmaceutical sector in which India is a global leader. HSBC has ties to India which go back more than 100 years. We’re very proud to be able to help ambitious UK businesses expand there and likewise welcome Indian firms operating on these shores.”
It marks a high point for the year, which saw Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi relaunching the election-stalled Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations – expected to kick off in the New Year. It followed a visit by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy to the New Delhi within weeks of the July general election and more recently, a visit by his Indo-Pacific Minister Catherine West.
