COFACE Conference: providing invaluable information for decision-makers

The Monaco Economic Board (MEB), Banque Populaire Méditerranée and Gramaglia Assurances organised another Country Risk: analysis and opportunities for business conference on 31 January at the Café de Paris. For the fourth year running, COFACE Chief Economist Julien Marcilly was in the Principality, fresh from last week’s big Country Risk conference in Paris attended by 1,200 experts, to discuss major trends shaping the world’s economy.  

Over 100 delegates were there to hear what this global leader in credit insurance predicts for 2018. For MEB member companies, particularly those operating abroad, this is always an opportunity to reflect on their investment strategy and future actions, especially as COFACE now complements its assessment with ratings for 13 sectors in 24 countries, representing nigh-on 85% of global GDP.

Julien Marcilly began by taking stock of 2017, a year that produced some nice surprises despite the protectionist threat that seemed to prevail.  Buoyed by a recovery in commodity prices, performance figures from Europe, USA and some emerging countries exceeded forecasts.

For 2018, COFACE expects confirmation of global growth which could reach a peak.  It is a positive trend but not without risks. Julien Marcilly highlighted three: a risk of the economy overheating that could lead to equipment shortages and problems with recruitment, mainly in developing countries; a banking risk still present in China; and lastly political risk as another year of elections looms, notably in Latin America.

The verdict was then given, revealed in a Country Risk ratings chart.  After summarising the ranking, Julien Marcilly answered specific questions from Monegasque companies related to regions they are operating in.  All received a copy of the latest issue of the Country Risk Guide by country and sector, a valuable tool to further their knowledge and inform their decisions.

* Coface, a world leader in credit insurance, offers 50,000 companies worldwide solutions to protect them against the risk of financial failure of their customers, in their domestic market and export. The Group is present in 100 countries and has 4300 employees. Its consolidated turnover amounts to € 1.411 billion in 2016.

Media contact: presse@meb.mc

l-r: Michel Prost-Dumont (Deputy Manager Monaco Branch - Banque Populaire Méditerranée), Julien Marcilly (Chief Economist - Coface), Michel Dotta, (Chairman - MEB), Olivier Labédan (Sales Manager - Gramaglia). Credit: Michael Alési