1:28 pm
October 27, 2013
Loonie, getting the charts in https://thebusinesscouncil.ca/report/competitiveness-scorecard/ seems to be difficult but the article may be the most recent significant study done on this matter. There are good points like workforce but there are challenges in taxation, innovation, infrastructure, productivity, access to markets and regulation. I am not aware of more recent studies, but StatsCan will have some more recent data including 2020 once it is back online from the latest cyber threats.
P.S. I think the actual Deloitte study is https://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/finance/articles/canada-competitiveness-scorecard.html/#accordion1 but I didn't download nor read it. The green/yellow/red bars represent where the issues lie.
My speculation, but I don't think covid response would necessarily be a driving factor as it is likely a temporary curve ball rather than the multi-year look business would have to consider in any material investment. I think more damaging will be lingering effects from supply logistics issues, e.g. wildfires and flooding in BC in particular. Vancouver is by far the most important shipping port in Canada and we are stretched both in road and rail and port container storage. Hundreds of billions need to be spent on that infrastructure.
2:27 pm
October 21, 2013
2:48 pm
October 21, 2013
Bill said
No, not really more to it, guy has hired a USA firm, on a commission basis, to flog his business (valuation is crazy high, thanks to virus), he's looking to sell for around $US 200M, and the feedback he's got from the firm is that as soon as many potential buyers find out it's Canadian-based (i.e. pretty well right off the hop) they say "no thanks", that's one of our checkboxes. The feedback so far is there's not usually a specific reason, it's just that Canadian society is seen by these folks as pro-socialist, anti-business in general, so that's why the no-Canada checkbox is there, easier to put money where you're going with the flow, I guess. Having said that, while we're talking about a significant % there are still some who remain interested, are not deterred due to the Canada connection.
Interesting. Well, that's the story he's telling you anyway.
If he's hired this outfit to sell it for him, it doesn't sound like that was a good business decision. I"d be wanting my money back. Maybe it's overpriced.
If all these guys want is the cheapest possible arrangement, let them to to whatever impoverished country they prefer. Not here. Even the outdated study that AltaRed cited claimed only about half of business types were concerned.
It would be interesting to see their list of acceptable countries.
Canada has some serious challenges, no question, but this incident shouldn't scare us.
3:07 pm
October 27, 2013
Loonie said
This research is almost 3 years old and everything under the sun has changed since then in some way. It's also a highly charged political issue, full of pressure groups, of which the Business Council is one.
Not going there.
Your choice to choose to not engage. Maybe Figure 1.6 of https://www.international.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/state-trade-commerce-international/2021.aspx?lang=eng is helpful for more recent actual data up through 2020 which comes from StatsCan of May 31 of this year. It will be well into 2022 to get final 2021 data.
Chapter 2 of the document goes into FDI in much more detail. The good news is the sources of FDI are more diversified (Figure 2.5). There is a huge amount of information there for those who wish to dig.
Added: The Business Council report was based on the Deloitte report, the themes of which were similar to the 2011 Deloitte report. None the less, each of us can take the results for what they are worth. It has been well known for a long time what Canada's negative factors have been and apparently not much has been done to turn them around (if Canada chooses to do so). It takes quite awhile to turn some of those negatives around given political will to do so. In some cases we cannot do much about it due to physical constraints.
Added2: FWIW, Canada still rates high on a OECD basis for attractiveness for FDI, which can be measured in many different ways. It depends on the measure one is seeking, e.g. net FDI (inflow vs outflow), % of GDP, etc.
4:05 pm
September 11, 2013
No money to get back, Loonie, only sales commission to pay, zero to pay if a deal isn't consummated, that's the arrangement. And sales have gone crazy due to virus so he's just seeing if he can cash in at a nice, high valuation for the business. He'll only sell if an offer he can't refuse falls into his lap, otherwise he's content to keep raking it in from running the business.
Funny thing is the manufacturing plants are offshore, connections to Canada are really tangential, a few head office/customer service employees here, but even that's enough to send some potential buyers packing, just want nothing to do with anything remotely connected to Canada. But I agree, being "scared" really wouldn't accomplish anything.
4:17 pm
October 21, 2013
AltaRed said
Your choice to choose to not engage. Maybe Figure 1.6 of https://www.international.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/state-trade-commerce-international/2021.aspx?lang=eng is helpful for more recent actual data up through 2020 which comes from StatsCan of May 31 of this year. It will be well into 2022 to get final 2021 data.
Chapter 2 of the document goes into FDI in much more detail. The good news is the sources of FDI are more diversified (Figure 2.5). There is a huge amount of information there for those who wish to dig.
Added: The Business Council report was based on the Deloitte report, the themes of which were similar to the 2011 Deloitte report. None the less, each of us can take the results for what they are worth. It has been well known for a long time what Canada's negative factors have been and apparently not much has been done to turn them around (if Canada chooses to do so). It takes quite awhile to turn some of those negatives around given political will to do so. In some cases we cannot do much about it due to physical constraints.
Added2: FWIW, Canada still rates high on a OECD basis for attractiveness for FDI, which can be measured in many different ways. It depends on the measure one is seeking, e.g. net FDI (inflow vs outflow), % of GDP, etc.
You're right. I'm not going to engage. I can only do so much, and this was not on my agenda at all. My goal was to broaden the negative view of Canada presented earlier, and that has been accomplished.
4:25 pm
October 21, 2013
Bill said
No money to get back, Loonie, only sales commission to pay, zero to pay if a deal isn't consummated, that's the arrangement. And sales have gone crazy due to virus so he's just seeing if he can cash in at a nice, high valuation for the business. He'll only sell if an offer he can't refuse falls into his lap, otherwise he's content to keep raking it in from running the business.Funny thing is the manufacturing plants are offshore, connections to Canada are really tangential, a few head office/customer service employees here, but even that's enough to send some potential buyers packing, just want nothing to do with anything remotely connected to Canada. But I agree, being "scared" really wouldn't accomplish anything.
So, he wants to capitalize on market conditions which apparently prevail in other countries, hoping buyer won't care? I don't think he wants to sell very badly.
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