(OTTAWA) – April 21, 2009 – Export Development Canada (EDC) today announced its combined financing and insurance volumes reached $17.4 billion for the first fiscal quarter of this year, an increase of nearly $1 billion over the same period in 2008.
Already this year, EDC has taken on 728 new customers for an average of $275 million of new business every single business day,
said EDC President and CEO Eric Siegel of the increased business activity in the first three months of this fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2009.
Mr. Siegel attributed the escalating demand for EDC’s services to the current global economic slowdown, which has resulted in a significant credit crunch.
“The strong market demand for EDC’s financing and insurance continues despite a decline in Canada’s overall export trade, meaning that EDC is doing more, with more companies, than ever before,” said Mr. Siegel.
He added the current demand for EDC’s programs and services is likely to continue given market conditions.
Mr. Siegel said EDC’s export trade business volume in emerging markets reached nearly $4.4 billion in the first three months of this year. More than $1.54 billion was undertaken in the high growth markets of Brazil ($252 million), Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) ($195 million), India ($553 million),
China ($334 million) and Mexico ($210 million), all of which are priority markets for Canadian companies.
“Canadian exporters and investors are now diversifying their export markets at a greater pace than EDC has seen before, largely as a response to the slowdown in the U.S. EDC believes that this continued diversification will help Canadian companies capitalize on the eventual recovery faster than in previous downturns, and faster than their competitors in other countries.”
Broken down by sector, EDC’s business volumes were most concentrated in the extractive sector ($5.5 billion), infrastructure and environment sector ($3 billion) and the transportation sector ($2.8 billion).
EDC’s efforts in the auto sector have been significant, having underwritten more than
$1.025 billion in business volume in the auto sector overall in the first quarter of 2009. The primary EDC product used by the auto sector is Accounts Receivables Insurance (ARI), which totaled $706 million through March 31, 2009.
Since mid-December 2008 through March 31, 2009, EDC has provided an additional
$287 million in coverage to Canadian parts suppliers who sell directly to the Detroit Three: Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. This increase in coverage facilitates approximately $1.15 billion in sales volume by auto parts suppliers.
EDC is also a key player in providing credit insurance to the forestry sector, with active relationships with approximately 80 per cent of the major exporters of the industry. EDC served 446 forestry companies for a total business volume of $2.06 billion in the first quarter of 2009.
EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC’s knowledge and partnerships are used by more than 8,300 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining, a recognized leader in financial reporting and economic analysis, and has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for eight consecutive years.
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Media contact:
Phil Taylor
Export Development Canada
Tel: (613) 598-2904
Blackberry:ptaylor@edc.ca
