No Black Monday for Black Country, say business bosses

Stock markets around the world have slumped in the wake of Shanghai's 'Black Monday', with billions wiped off the value of top company shares.

China is the West Midlands' biggest export market and there are worries that a slowdown in the world's second biggest economy could affect the global economy.

But Ninder Johal, president of the Black Country Chamber said today: "Black Country businesses do not need to fear a global recession: the West Midlands does more trade with China now than any other region and this will continue whilst the stock market goes through its restructuring."

He added: "Every country seems to go through its own boom and bust cycle and whatever attempts Beijing makes, we know the impact will be worldwide.

"It is a timely reminder that no market will ever serve as a golden goose. The Black Country's precision components suppliers need to spread the risk and look at uncontested markets in South America and Africa that are less likely to be affected by any downturn that results from changes in China."

The shares crisis is the latest symptom of China's slowdown, which has affected machinery making companies like JCB. The company said earlier this year that the construction equipment market in China had fallen by 17 per cent last year.

But spokesman Nigel Chell said yesterday that although there was an impact on JCB's Chinese factory, its impact on the wider business was 'minimal".

West Midlands-based car company Jaguar Land Rover has already been experiencing its own share of the pain, with sales in China down 33 per cent in the first three months of this year, despite opening its own factory there to serve the Chinese market.

But any crisis has failed to have an impact on the thousands of Chinese tourists that have flooded into the West Midlands this summer.

An expanded series of holiday charter flights from Shanghai have been landing at Birmingham Airport and spokeswoman Justine Howl said: "Every one of them has been full with 230 passengers on board. And they've been carrying a lot of shopping when they arrive for the return flights home. We think a lot of them are making a bee-line for Bicester Village for the shopping as part of their UK tours."

And the tour company is currently planning an even longer season of flights next summer.

The long term impact of the Chinese slowdown won't be clear until the next set of export figures from the Government, but last year exports from the West Midlands to China grew to trade surplus of almost £3 billion – almost double the figure in 2013.