Global Economy – Do Coface Country Risk Conference delegates see recovery in sight?

PRLog (Press Release) - Jul 17, 2009 -
Research conducted at the recent Country Risk Conference hosted by Coface (http://www.cofaceuk.com), a leading provider of credit solutions for business in the UK and Ireland, found that delegates were relatively optimistic about the global economy, with 50% of respondents believing that it will begin to recover in 12 months and only 8% saying it will be 2 years.

Nearly half of delegates (49%) said that domestic demand for their products and services has not reduced over the last 12 months, which may suggest that the weaker pound may have encouraged businesses to source locally first.

On the export side, 40% of delegates say that demand in their key export markets has not reduced over the last 12 months, with 35% saying that it has. This would suggest that demand varies according to sector and country. Delegates from some sectors have even started to see their international trade pick up. This should provide some respite for UK exporters who choose their markets carefully.

The latest Coface Country Ratings were discussed at the Conference by Coface Chairman François David and Chief Economist Yves Zlotowski. Recent changes to ratings have seen 47 countries either downgraded or placed on negative watch - including the UK, Ireland and Spain. In fact, only a few countries (India, Brazil, and most of the Middle East countries) are maintaining their previous risk levels. Coface provides trading information by country and sector which can be accessed free of charge at www.trading-safely.com.  

Coface’s 5th UK & Ireland Country Risk Conference was designed to help exporters, credit professionals and business advisers assess how to trade more effectively and securely at home and overseas. Speakers included representatives from HSBC Bank, Oxford Analytica and the China-Britain Business Council. Delegates were presented with an analysis of the economic and trade conditions in the UK and its traditional and emerging export markets, with a special focus on China.

Speakers also gave practical advice on how to trade with these countries more effectively and securely and delegates took advantage of the Open Forum at the end of the Conference to ask the experts questions that were specifically relevant to their experience. It seems that trading safely is important to a majority of the participants – 60% of delegates have had to strengthen their credit management in light of the economic climate.

The conference was attended by almost 150 delegates, 84 of whom completed a topical export questionnaire produced by Coface.

Xavier Denecker, Managing Director of Coface in the UK and Ireland, comments: “There was a sense of optimism at the Conference regarding the global economy as delegates see recovery in sight. However, difficult times still lie ahead and we strove to create an event that would provide our business partners with macro-economic and practical information that can be used to assist in their business decisions. Furthermore, with three-fifths of delegates having had to strengthen their credit management in the current environment, Coface’s mission is to support businesses in managing their risks, providing them with information, collecting payments, protecting them from bad debts and providing receivables finance.“

ENDS

For information about Coface in the UK & Ireland and press enquiries, please contact:
Trevor Byrne
Tel: +44 (0)1923 478393;
Email: trevor_byrne@cofaceuk.com
Website: www.cofaceuk.com


About Coface
Coface's mission is to facilitate global business-to-business trade by offering its 130,000 customers four business lines to fully or partly outsource trade relationship management and to finance and protect their receivables: credit insurance, factoring, ratings and business information and receivables management. Thanks to the worldwide local service delivered by 7,000 staff in 65 countries, over 45% of the world's 500 largest corporate groups are already customers of Coface. Coface is a subsidiary of Natixis whose share capital (Tier 1) was 13.4 billion euros as at the end of December 2008.
www.coface.com



In the UK and Republic of Ireland Coface has been a leading provider of credit management services since 1993, it’s objective being to enable businesses to trade securely at home and overseas. Operating from offices in London, Dublin, Watford, Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff allows Coface to provide a local service. The company’s credit insurance offer integrates credit assessment, collection services and cover for unpaid debts. Multinational businesses can protect their worldwide subsidiaries through Coface’s international network. Coface provides working capital and off balance sheet facilities to complement its product line. The company also provides access to domestic and international business information and a collection network at home and overseas. Coface is also a recognised operator in the London political risk market and a provider of surety bonds and guarantees.
http://www.cofaceuk.com and http://www.coface.ie