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AM Best affirms A (Excellent) rating to Coface North America Insurance Company, with stable outlook

Rating agency AM Best, on 17 December 2019, has affirmed Coface North America Insurance Company’s ‘A’ (Excellent) Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating, with a stable outlook.
Coface North America Insurance Company (CNAIC) is a major credit-insurance operating entity of the Coface Group and its main vehicle to access the large North American market.
In its press release, AM Best highlights that this rating reflects “Coface’s balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorises as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management”.

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The global automotive industry and enhanced regulations: a very steep path ahead

Hit by increasingly stringent regulations, particularly for environmental purposes, the global automotive industry is facing a downturn and is being forced to reinvent itself.
In a gloomy global economic context, the automotive sector faces several very specific challenges, including stronger and stricter environmental regulations. As a result, car sales are experiencing negative growth not seen since the Great Recession of 2008 and there is an uncertainty prevail in the sector.

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Business failures in France are less frequent, but of a larger size.

While the number of companies facing corporate insolvency has decreased since the beginning of the year, their cost has increased, both financially and in terms of the number of jobs affected.
After a difficult first quarter, marked by the repercussions of the “yellow vests” movement, the number of corporate insolvencies since the beginning of the year in France is set to decline for the fourth consecutive year. However, Coface expects a slight rebound in insolvencies in 2020 (+0.9%), mainly due to the expected slowdown in the construction sector, which was largely driven by public works in 2019 in the run-up to the municipal elections.

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Broker Portal, Coface’s new digital interface for its brokers

Coface launches its new portal for brokers, offering a new experience to its partners in the development of their business around the world.
Available in 42 of the countries covered by the Coface group, the Broker Portal is a digital platform for Coface’s brokers. Modern and intuitive, the portal allows brokers to optimize the management of their activity. The tool portal was developed by Coface, whose ambition was to provide brokers with a high level of service and optimal satisfaction.

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Coface Study: Dairy and Cheese Manufacturing Sector-negative revenue evolution in 2018, with a 5% decrease compared to 2017

A new study by Coface Romania on the sector of "Dairy products and cheese manufacturing" indicates a negative evolution of revenues in 2018, which decreased with approximately 5% compared to 2017, with a slightly increased profitability. The study aggregated the data of 448 companies that submitted their financial situation for 2018 and generated a consolidated turnover of RON 3.8 billion. The weight of the cumulative market share held by the most important 10 players is 58%, which indicates a high degree of concentration.

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Meat Processing and Preservation Sector: negative evolution of revenues in 2018, with 19% decrease compared to previous year

A new study by Coface Romania on the Meat Processing and Preservation Sector indicates a negative evolution of revenues for 2018, with a decrease of approx. 19% compared to the previous year. Thus, the African swine fever (ASF) lead to cuts of over RON 1 billion in the turnover of these companies, the consolidated revenues at sectoral level decreasing from RON 6.13 billion (2017) to only RON 4.96 billion (2018), the minimum in the last 5 years. According to NSVFSA (National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority), almost 1.000 outbreaks of African swine fever are registered in Romania, just two months before Christmas. The Coface study aggregated the data of 507 companies that submitted their financial statements for the year 2018 and generated a consolidated turnover of RON 4.96 billion.

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2019 survey on company payments in Germany: turn of the tide

85% of companies report longer payment terms in 2019 vs 2017
According to Coface's 2019 Germany payment survey of 442 companies, the country is in a phase of change. The pressure on companies from international competition is increasing. This is one of the reasons why the pressure on their cash flow continues to increase. On average, German companies saw their payment terms increase from 29.8 days in 2017 to 35.9 days in 2019.
Even if credit risks are insured, companies' confidence in their customers has declined. Short- and medium-term credit periods still dominate the market. 87% of companies request that payments be made within 60 days – a very short time in terms of international comparison. Clients missing payment deadlines now affects 85% of German companies, compared to 78% two years ago.

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Agri-food sector outlook: in a global economy marked by protectionist tensions, what does the future hold?

Central to the current trade tensions, notably between the USA and China, the global agri-food sector is impacted by knock on effects, notably via downward trends on the prices of key agri-food commodities, such as soybean. Coface has conducted an in-depth analysis of future trends in this market.
A particularly strategic sector, agri-food (along with ICT) is one of the sectors key to the current trade war between the United States and China. Recently, Chinese authorities have taken steps to ban all agri-food imports from the United States, in response to the tariff increases announced by the Trump administration

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Coface Barometer: general slowdown in the global economy despite central banks’ actions

With business morale being affected by a summer marked by a multiplication of areas of political uncertainty around the world, it seems likely that 2020 will be a year of economic decline.
The Argentine currency crisis, major demonstrations in Hong Kong and Russia, Brexit, the attack on oil installations in Saudi Arabia – these are just some of the many events that marked the third quarter of 2019. Increasing political uncertainty, combined with the decline in the volume of world trade, the high volatility of oil prices, and the decline in automobile sales in Europe and China, has continued to affect corporate morale.

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The "Made in Russia" strategy: a limited instrument for economic diversification

Faced with fluctuations in hydrocarbon prices and economic sanctions from Western countries, Russia has developed a strategy that favours "Made in Russia" - but the results have remained mixed.
In an effort to accelerate the diversification of its economy following Western sanctions linked to the annexation of Crimea, Russia has implemented a series of mechanisms to reduce its dependence on imports and hydrocarbons. But the willingness to substitute local production for imports depends on many factors, not all of which are present.

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Netherlands: What is the secret of Dutch trade?

Rising protectionism in China and the United States, Brexit, contracting world trade... despite all the clouds on the horizon, the Dutch economy remains surprisingly bright.
A dominant global maritime and economic power in the 17th century, the Netherlands has remained a major player in world trade. In 2018, the Netherlands was the sixth-largest merchandise exporter in the world and, in terms of GDP, ranked third in 2015 (just behind Ireland and Switzerland).

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Insolvencies in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE): despite an increasingly difficult global economic context, the situation remains posit...

The Central and Eastern European region has experienced unparalleled growth in the European Union. However, a slowdown is expected in the coming years.
The CEE region has seen an improvement in economic activity in recent years. In 2017 and 2018, GDP growth in the region rose to 4.6% and 4.3%, respectively, the highest rates since 2008.

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Coface publishes CEE Top 500 companies: Do external risks overshadow long-lasting solid economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe?

The international credit insurance company presents its eleventh annual study on the biggest 500 companies in Central and Eastern Europe – the Coface CEE Top 500. It ranks businesses by their turnover and additionally analyses further facts such as the number of employees, the framework of the companies, sectors and markets as well as the new Coface company credit assessments. The economic development of the CEE Top 500 is representative of the market trend in the entire region.

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GCC: tight financial conditions for businesses feed alternative sources of financing

Despite improving economic performances across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), monetary and financial conditions remain tighter compared with before 2015. Access to financing remains one of the key issues for companies, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Loan growth in the region has recovered somewhat thanks to higher oil prices, but it remains below its historical average

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Asia Corporate Payment Survey 2019: Deteriorating payment trends amid trade war woes

Coface’s 2019 Asia Corporate Payment Survey covered over 3,000 companies in nine economies (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan). 63% of companies surveyed stated that they experienced payment delays in 2018. The length of payment delays increased to 88 days on average in 2018, compared to 84 days in 2017. The length of payment delays was highest in China, Malaysia and Singapore; as well as the energy, construction and ICT sectors.

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Coface's political risks overview: the temperature is rising on the African continent

With numerous bouts of conflicts, terrorism, and social and political tensions, which show no signs of stopping in the near future, Africa will continue to experience fragility and destabilization. The countries on the African continent have been regularly afflicted by conflicts of different intensity and nature in recent decades that made them suffer from a decline in investment and trade flows, delaying the development of some countries on the continent. In its latest panorama of political risks, Coface looks at the African continent and highlights, not only the latest trends in terms of conflicts, but also the risks of instability that impact the region's economic development.

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Coface Survey: 4% increasing income for the wholesale of pharmaceuticals

A new survey conducted by Coface Romania on the wholesale of pharmaceutical products indicates a positive trend of the revenues of the companies operating in this sector of activity in 2017, but with a slight decrease in profitability. This study aggregated the data of 1,662 companies, which submitted the financial data for 2017 and generated RON 28.6 MLD consolidated turnover.

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Coface Survey: 33% decrease of Insolvencies in Romania in H1 2019 compared to the same period of the previous year

A new survey conducted by Coface Romania on the evolution of insolvencies in Romania in H1 2019, points out a 33% decrease in the number of insolvent companies during this period, in the context of a real and sustainable economic growth of 5.1%. However, the macroeconomic evolution is not sustainable due to many imbalances: the growth of the fiscal deficit by 81% during the first half of this year compared to the same period of the previous year, the highest annual inflation in the EU of 4.1%, the increase of the trade deficit and depreciation of the national currency. Moreover, Coface’s analysis shows that the decline of insolvencies is offset by the increase of the number of radiated companies, the payment delays increase significantly and the large companies are facing a challenging economic environment.

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Coface Barometer - Trade tensions return to the forefront of the global economy

US/China trade war, struggling automotive sector, slower growth in emerging economies... the second quarter of 2019 highlights a global economic slowdown
The decline in world trade is confirmed for this first half of the year and even if a slight recovery is expected in the second half of the year, it should suffer a 0.7% loss in volume over the year according to the Coface barometer. World economic growth is expected to decrease from 3.1% in 2018 to 2.7% in 2019 and then remain stable in 2020. In this context, Coface expects that a majority of countries should see an increase in corporate insolvencies this year.

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Corporate insolvencies in France: microenterprises in the trough of the wave

While the yellow vests movement did have a strong impact on corporate insolvencies at the beginning of the year, the decline in mobilization and the resilience of economic growth had a positive impact on the health of French companies in March and April.

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