LANCASHIRE is expected to benefit from investment and job creation by going Dutch.

UK subsidiaries of Dutch companies will generate hundreds of new jobs by the year 2000, predicts a survey for leading accountants and business advisers, KPMG.

Almost 120 Dutch-owned companies currently employ about 16,000 people in the North West - including more than 2,000 in East Lancashire at Philips Components of Blackburn and Akzo Nobel Decorative Coatings of Darwen.

The KPMG survey examined cross-border investments between UK and the Netherlands by polling a total of 544 companies. The results provide insights into future performance levels and staffing, plus business issues and developments.

Dutch companies set up in the UK primarily for access to the UK market, whereas the Netherlands is used as a gateway to Europe by UK companies.

Respondents confirmed that regulatory and tax environments in both countries are primed to start-ups by foreign parents.

KPMG Managing Consulting partner Richard Allison said: "In 1997 total Anglo-Dutch trade amounted to $30 billion; the countries are each other's fourth largest trading partners.

"Both countries have significant impact on each other's economies, providing employment for thousands of people.

"It is believed the cultures of the British and Dutch have largely similar profiles.

"If brought together in combined business, they could enjoy a distinct advantage against competition in the market places of Europe and the rest of the world."

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