Finding new opportunities and partnerships to grow your business is exciting – but also comes with key financial challenges. As an export supply chain business, you may find that delivering on your contracts can put extra strain on your operating costs and cashflow.

Do you an awesome idea? Firstly, SHHHH! Please keep it secret.

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic growth in private brands around the world. In 2017 every continent showed growth in the market share of private brands with Europe now just under 50% in unit sales. The global market share approaches 17% of all food products sold and is increasing at an accelerating rate.

CIIE is the world’s first national-level Import Exhibition and a significant innovation in the history of international trade. Following the highly successful inaugural event last year, the Chinese Government will again host the Expo on 5 - 10 November at the Shanghai National Exhibition and Convention Center. The Expo will be attended by Central Government trade delegations with purchase demand as well as buyers from other countries.

At Efic, we work with a wide range of supply chain businesses and understand that partnering with other businesses in the export supply chain can be a powerful growth strategy. A strong relationship allows you to work together to leverage each other’s strengths and create time and cost efficiencies.

Your brand is your identity; it’s how your customers know who you are. This could be your business name, logo or a catchy slogan. The more successful your business, the more valuable your brand becomes, so it’s worth protecting.

Strap yourselves in for an ECA “Get Set and Go Global” intensive program as we cover topics that are crucial for new or established companies involved in international trade. This one-day program is jam-packed with export essential discussions delivered by industry experts covering trade barriers, business structure and operations, intellectual property, asset management, plus so much more.

Thinking about exporting your franchise system? Visiting New Zealand and hearing first hand from local experienced specialists will assist in your understanding of the potential of the market for your franchise. Use the seminar to do your homework.

Building on the success of last year’s ‘100 Days for Change’ campaign, Women & Leadership Australia is administering an initiative to support the development of female leaders across Australia’s international trade sector.

Tapping into a large international market can help you rapidly grow your business. As a vital link in a strong chain of businesses, you can gain access to networks, opportunities, industries and regions that you might not be able to achieve alone.

Join us for ECA’s FAST FEBRUARY, a jam-packed month of Lunch & Learn events covering topics crucial for all companies involved in international business, both established and new. Come and hear from our experts on getting started in export, who is out there to help, the scary bits, getting paid, dealing with financing, navigating policy and FTAs and much more. These are small group fast paced info sessions with plenty of time to drill down on your burning questions!

In Efic’s latest edition of World Risk Developments, economists Cassandra Winzenried and Fred Gibson provide insights into Australia’s export outlook for 2019, including risks and upside opportunities.

The digital economy is awash with fast-paced innovation, and for tech start-ups there is constant pressure to keep up. With so many other competing business priorities, thinking about intellectual property (IP) for ICT products and services can sometimes seem like a waste of precious time and money.

We know that start-ups are busy and thinking about intellectual property (IP) management can often seem like a waste of precious time and money. However, finding ways to protect your ideas is one of the best investments you can make in the long run, even with financial and time pressures.

Australian farmers and businesses will continue to reap the benefits of Australia’s free trade agreements with further tariff cuts set to boost Australia’s competitive advantage in two of our major export markets.

Asia has been under pressure following tighter global liquidity in 2018. Coface’s index for measuring relative vulnerability to outflows points to increasing divergence in Asia. A few markets will benefit from strong fundamentals, proactive monetary policies and ample buffers to resist outflows but others will be under pressure. Above all, the relative sustainability of the real external position is the most significant factor. Lastly, countries that do not possess flexible exchange rate regimes may struggle to smooth out currency fluctuations.

To better understand the corporate credit risk status in Australia, Coface conducts the 8th Survey of Corporate Credit Risk Management in Asia Pacific in 2018. You are cordially invited to participate. By completing this brief survey, you will go into the draw to win a $500 David Jones gift card. 

Improving business conditions in Emerging Asia, which account for 45% of Australia’s goods and service exports, are positive for Australian exporters. India has shot up the World Bank’s annual Ease of Doing Business (EDB) rankings, climbing 23 spots to 77th out of 190 countries in the last 12 months.

As the 56th Australian Export Awards season comes to an end, it’s a great time to reflect on Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the impact they are having globally.

In the third quarter of 2018, after two years of improvement, French companies experienced a reversal of the trend with the number of insolvencies increasing by +2.3% (compared to the same quarter of 2017), in line with the slowdown in growth (1.6% in 2018) and consumption.

Do-it-yourself (DIY), perhaps even more than rugby, is Australia’s great passion. Bunnings is a temple to Aussies love affair with making and fixing things by ourselves. While this approach might be OK if you’re tiling a bathroom it leads to major problems in business, and the bigger the business the bigger the problems.

ECA CEO, Alina Bain, attended the summit in Papua New Guinea in mid-November to champion Australian SMEs and take the temperature of attending APEC leaders, CEOs and global experts on vital issues impacting Aussie businesses. 

Aspen Medical and SEAPA have been awarded the prestigious Australian Exporter of the Year award. Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham announced the 2018 Australian Export Award winners at a ceremony in Canberra last night.

The Liberal-National Government has today welcomed new data showing Australia’s services exports reached a record $88.0 billion in 2017-18.

After a decade of negotiations, 30 December 2018 is the start date for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP-11).

HSBC has recently launched 17 new International Business Guides which provide business leaders with key facts and insights on doing business in countries and territories around the world.

We are seeking expressions of interest from individuals who have experience in International Trade and are looking for casual and contract presenting positions with the ECA.

“Manufacturing” conjures up images of machines, production lines and products. In the past, the value of a manufacturing company lay primary in its tangible assets such as land, buildings and equipment. However times have changed. Today, the real value of a manufacturer is more likely to lie in its intangible assets such as the industrial know-how, systems and processes that keeps such organisations running safely, efficiently and competitively.

Regional Development Australia Sydney, Camden Region Economic Taskforce & NSW Department of Industry invite you to a free “Building Export Capability for Small to Medium Enterprises” workshop to be held at Camden Council on 22 November 2018. 

Rising trade tensions, ongoing geo-political ructions and tighter financing conditions saw the IMF cut its global growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 3.7% per annum in 2018 and 2019. While the global economy remains on track to match last year’s performance, which was the strongest pace of growth since 2011, this was the first IMF downgrade in more than two years.