Council website translated into Chinese to attract investors

Jan 4 2012 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

WIRRAL Council’s investment website is to be translated into Chinese – in a bid to capitalise on potential investors from the Far East.

The move follows a sharp increase in the number of “hits” on the council’s website from China, as well as other countries, in the wake of publicity about the £4.5bn Peel plans for Wirral Waters development in Birkenhead dockland.

The revamp of the council’s investment website comes after experts in the authority had noticed significant spikes in people from the Far East visiting the website whenever any major news about the Peel plans hit the headlines.

As the council’s inward investment website nears a total of 6m hits, the local authority is now putting the finishing touches to the revamp of the site aimed at maintaining its position as one of the country’s best.

Cllr Phil Davies, cabinet member for regeneration and planning strategy, said: “International links have already been developed with China and Korea, and, because of that, the new website will feature a Chinese language homepage to maximise our links with Asia.

“We are determined to do all we can to show the world that Wirral has a lot to offer as an inward investment location.”

The www.investwirral.com website was originally launched in the summer of 2007, and, in the time since, Wirral has seen Peel Holdings’ vision for the Wirral Waters site gain full outline planning permission and be awarded Enterprise Zone status by the Government.

The visitor numbers to the website and the countries they come from reflect the international interest in Wirral, with the US accounting for the most hits on the site, followed by the UK in second and Norway, China and Japan completing the top five.

The website receives an average of 1,546 views per day, and both the average page views per visitor (3.86) and the average visitors per day (400) have continued to grow throughout 2011.

The re-launched site will include more information on Wirral Waters and the Peel International Trade Centre, as well as other industry sectors that are “thriving or are ripe for development”.

Cllr Davies said: “The website plays a vital role as a first point of contact for potential investors and the latest traffic figures show that there is significant interest in the borough.

“While Wirral Waters is an undoubted investment draw, we are also blessed with a geography and infrastructure that makes us the ideal location for offshore energy and Cammell Laird’s profile in this industry is growing rapidly.

“Norway, Sweden and Germany are in the top 10 countries list of visitors to the site, and, as leaders in the world of renewable energy, I am not surprised they are interested in what Wirral has to offer as an investment location.

“We are determined to build on this interest and are using this data to inform how we revamp the website. For example, we will be including more information on industry sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing, Low Carbon and Bio Medical and the companies that already operate in these fields in Wirral.”

THE new look www.investwirral.com website is due to launch this month.