The representatives of the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) participated at the discussion forum called "An automotive insight into the Slovak Market - Supply Chain and Opportunities", held in London on the 24th of November.The event was organized by the British Chamber of Commerce in the Slovak Republic (BCCSR) in cooperation with Squire Patton Boggs and was directly linked to a previous successful event, "The Automotive Scoping Mission of British Suppliers", which took place in the beginning of October in Slovakia.The aim of this event was to present and discuss the investment opportunities that Slovakia has to offer to potential British automotive investors.Chris Plant, CEO of the BCCSR, moderated the entire event and introduced UKTI and the activities of his Chamber. The opening speech was delivered by H.E. Ľubomir Rehák, the Ambassador of the Slovak republic to the UK, which was followed by the presentation of Milan Gavlák, the Head of strategic projects at SARIO.The sector specific presentation of SARIO included the biggest advantages of the Slovak business environment and its automotive supplier network, as well as the role of the Agency in attracting new investments.The next presentation belonged to VUB Banka, where Marco Maria Lucini, Head of the Group Client Desk, introduced the participants to the financing opportunities offered by his institution.This was followed by the presentation of successful British case studies and experts, who shared their positive experience with doing business in Slovakia, namely Graham Copland from BAE Systems, Martin Kitching from LDP Online and Chris Baumann from Aktrion Group. To support the possibilities of the Slovak automotive industry, the presentations panel was rounded up by John Leech and Quentin Crossley from KPMG and Jana Pagáčová from Squire Patton Boggs, which then led to the final Q&A session, closing thus the almost 4 hour long intensive, professional and pleasantly informal event.The discussion forum had 23 participants, including automotive manufacturers such as Lear Corporation, Lander Autmotive and C2i.The participants were then later invited to join the annual, 99th gala dinner organized by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which this year attracted more than 1000 participants with direct business links to the British automotive industry.
