The United Kingdom - Economy by sector:
Automotive:
Thanks to its competitive business environment, many of the world's leading automotive companies have chosen to locate their manufacturing facilities in the UK. Over three quarters of Europe's top 20 automotive component suppliers have also found that it is an excellent base from which to build export volume. Employing around 850,000 people the UK automotive industry is worth approximately £40 billion - around 8 per cent of the global industry. It contributes in the region of 3 per cent of gross domestic product and 9 per cent of the UK's total exports. Despite the closure of Ford's Dagenham plant and Vauxhall's Luton plant, with the loss of 3,000 jobs in the early part of 2002 the sector has recently seen significant investment by Peugeot, BMW, Nissan and Honda.

In addition to a healthy and diverse local market, component manufacturers in the UK find themselves within easy reach of much of continental Europe's automotive market. Through direct investment or strategic alliances with UK companies many European companies have established bases of operations in the UK.

The Automotive Directorate, based within the Engineering Industries Directorate, is a government body within the DTI which aims to work in partnership with industry to explore and exploit opportunities for the expansion of business activity in Europe and globally and to improve competitiveness.

Its responsibilities include all aspects of the automotive sector from vehicle and component manufacturing to car distribution, retailing and the after-market. By understanding the industry and the challenges it faces; acting as a conduit to UK government the European Commission and WTO to address issues of concern; the Automotive Directorate aims to deliver a wide range of initiatives and programmes to promote the industry, improve on existing performance and ensure future success.

The UK government recently unveiled the "Powering Future Vehicles" strategy designed to promote new vehicle technologies and fuels. It sets out ambitious Government targets to ensure that by 2012, ten per cent of new cars sold in the UK will be low carbon vehicles and that 600 or more new buses coming into operation each year will be low carbon.

The strategy presents a variety of opportunities for the industry in terms of R&D and innovation and the Chancellor has already announced significant tax changes designed to achieve environmental benefits. The aim is to continue to use tax policy to deliver environmental benefits over the coming years. To help take the strategy forward, the Government is backing a Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, which will involve vehicle and fuel industries, consumer, environmental and other stakeholders to promote development, production and take up of greener vehicles by industry and consumers.

Biotechnology & Medicine:
With recent developments in cloning and bioengineering, the increasing importance of biotechnology on the world stage has seen it become one of the growth areas for investment.

Distinguished by over 20 Nobel prizes in the life sciences, the UK has a world class reputation in this field, making it an increasingly attractive location for biotech companies looking for a European base of operations, be it in research and development or marketing and distribution.

UK regulations in the field place emphasis on consumer and environmental safety, whilst encouraging research and innovation. UK Government policy is geared around partnerships with the, industry and the finance community designed to allow biotechnology companies to reach their full potential. As a consequence, in the region of 300 dedicated biotech companies and over 460 companies involved in related activities currently operate from the UK.

The UK's medical systems industry has attracted extensive investment from overseas companies with over 50 per cent of the companies in this sector benefiting from such. This is thanks in large part to its competitiveness and ability to deliver leading edge design and development as well as high quality end products and is amply assisted by the UK's proximity to the wider European market.

A global reputation for scientific academic excellence and an extensive pool of highly qualified specialists and skilled technicians, has helped to make the UK the location of choice for many pharmaceutical companies.

With around 20 per cent of all university graduates with degrees in biological, chemical and molecular sciences, overseas companies have a growing and world-class skills base with which to work. With significant investment and favourable government regulations, there are currently more products in development in the UK than in any other country in the world and the sector employs over 300,000 people.

The UK's popularity with overseas companies in these areas owes much to the support of its strong scientific and technological traditions, particularly in areas such as IT, materials and biotechnology. Recognition of this fact is evident in the recent government commitment to continued investment in the science and technology sector in support of further productive collaborations between industry and the clinical community.

Call Centres:
With the global boom in service based industries, the establishment and management of customer contact, or "Call Centres" has firmly established itself as an industry in its own right. In recent years the call centre industry has seen enormous growth thanks to an increasing number of businesses recognising the advantages of outsourcing this aspect of their business. Increased efficiency and significant reductions in operating costs are among the more attractive benefits.

Currently, the UK is home to almost half the total number of Call Centres, in Europe - over 5,000. Companies benefit from centres equipped with the latest technology fully integrated with their own in-house IT systems, flexible staffing at low costs and flexible contracts. Almost 40 per cent of these centres undertake international business and collectively handle over 30 million calls a week.

Digital Broadcasting:
As the first country to use digital services via satellite, cable and terrestrial broadcasting, the UK has established itself as a world leader in the field of digital broadcasting. This position is reflected in the number of overseas companies choosing the UK as the location for their research and development operations. Many Japanese companies already have centres here as well as joint ventures with British companies and universities. One of the most significant UK developments was the introduction of the world's first multi-broadcaster, multiplexed DVB-based digital terrestrial broadcasting services.

Currently, around 1 in 3 of all UK homes have digital receivers and the UK government is dedicated to working closely with both consumer and industry representatives to ensure that the full benefits of digital broadcasting are realised. Further development of the industry will include video-on-demand and a variety of interactive consumer services.

E-Business & ICT:
According to the 2002 IDC/World Times Information Society Index (ISI) assessing 55 countries in their ability to access and absorb information and IT, and to take full advantage of the information revolution, the UK was ranked sixth in Europe with Scandinavian countries dominating the rest of the field.

Whilst the UK may have some catching up to do in the race for IT supremacy, in terms of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) uptake and usage, it is currently among the most advanced of the major European nations and still boasts the most deregulated telecommunications market in Europe.

As one of the fastest-growing sectors in the UK economy the software industry constitutes more than 30,000 companies. Numbered amongst these are multinationals like Microsoft and Oracle and wide variety of small UK companies.

Over 600,000 of the UK workforce have computer-related jobs and thanks to considered efforts to meet the demands of the knowledge based economy, an increasing number of graduates and postgraduates from UK universities have qualifications in software-related skills.

Side by side with additional investment in science and technology research, government regulatory policy in the sector is, "to provide an effective light touch regulatory regime in which those in the UK may engage in e-commerce and use the Internet safely and securely". The government's commitment to making the UK one of the world's leading knowledge economies has encouraged the likes of Intel, Cisco and Charles Schwab to invest in the UK and according to Bill Gates, the UK is the best place to do business electronically.

There are currently over 250 companies in the UK with national or international telecommunications licences. The UK is seen by many of the world's leading telecommunications companies as the business centre of Europe. As a whole, the telecommunications sector is among the most competitive in Europe, coupled with leading edge technology and comprehensive deregulation the sector attracts all the major operators, services providers and manufacturers.

3G is the generic term used to describe the latest generation of mobile communication technologies. Whilst the first 3G networks launched in Japan in 2001 have already proven many of the possibilities, the industry is still yet to fully realise its potential. It will be some time before watching your favourite TV programme on the train or video conferencing in a taxi becomes the norm. The UK Government has nonetheless prioritised early deployment of 3G technology and aims to fully exploit its position as a world-leading centre of excellence for 3G research and development. This fact is evidenced by Motorola and Cisco deciding to locate their joint venture, "Invisix" 3G technology infrastructure research centre in the UK.

In line with global trends, internet access services are also on the increase with many of the world's largest communication companies creating backbone IP infrastructure in the UK.

Electronics:
In terms of production; employing some 400,000 people in manufacturing and 130,000 in the software and services sector, the UK's electronics industry is the fifth largest in the world. Much of this activity is thanks to overseas companies that have chosen to manufacture complete products or components in the UK. This ensures that the UK is a world leader in many key areas of electronics development and application.

The UK's extensive history of engineering innovation and existing proactive government policy has made the UK an attractive location for many of the world's leading information technology companies and many have chosen the UK as their base of European operations. Major electronics companies with UK manufacturing plants include Compaq, Samsung, Sharp, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Sony and Toshiba. The UK's advanced high technology infrastructure and excellent track record in R&D attracts semiconductor design companies from around the world looking to take advantage of joint research and development projects with one of the most well-respected academic communities in the world.

Oil, Gas and Chemicals:
The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) oil and gas industry has sustained an impressive output for over 35 years. It is estimated that both directly and indirectly, the industry supports in the region of 200,000 jobs across the economy.

Designed to tackle fundamental industry issues such as the continued reduction of operating costs on the UKCS, supply chain improvements, speed-up of the technology flow into the industry and enhancement of its skills base, the government introduced the PILOT initiative in partnership with the industry in 1998. This has achieved some measure of success and is hoped will contribute to securing the long-term future of this vital economic resource.

In recognition of the fact that there is still considerable potential for further activity, despite the maturity of the UKCS, the government is keen to maximise the economic level of exploration and development thereby providing additional oil and gas reserves to replace those that are currently being depleted.

Close links to local customer industries and rapid, easy access to international markets for pharmaceuticals, textiles, paper, coatings and water treatment has seen particularly rapid growth in the speciality chemicals sector, averaging around 6 per cent pa. As one of the two principal chemicals markets in the world, the EU accounts for around 60 per cent of the UK's chemical exports. This has helped make this sector one of the UK's top industries, generating a trade surplus in the region of £4550m.

With the sixth largest chemicals industry in the world, the UK is home to over 200 international chemical companies many of whom are involved in a wide range of collaborative research and development projects with some of the UK's top universities.