Coface conference to assess trading risks and rewards

Coface UK’s free biennial Country Risk Conference this month at the British Library, London, will look behind the headlines to give an insight into domestic and overseas trading risk for UK businesses.

With the release of the latest GDP figures showing limited economic growth of 0.3 percent and following the IMF’s decision to downgrade its UK economic forecast, concerns have once again been raised about the long-term prospects for the UK economy. The UK companies who do best in this difficult environment will be those who stay in touch with the most promising global opportunities and can take advantage of these, without taking unnecessary risks and Coface’s Country Risk Conference is intended to help businesses meet this challenge.

The conference speakers and topics are confirmed as: David Smith, Economics Editor, The Sunday Times, gives his prognosis for the UK economy and predicts how the UK’s industrial structure will look in five years; Dr Robin Niblett, Director, Chatham House, questions whether the USA will remain the motor of the world economy; Yves Zlotowski, Chief Economist, Coface, looks at how the economic situation in Europe will develop and provides an update of country risk on the continent; Bruno Weymuller, former Head of Strategy at an oil major, offers an overview of world energy trends and implications for industry; and Rain Newton-Smith, Head of Emerging Markets, Oxford Economics, explains how geo-political trends are shaping opportunities for global trade.