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COFACE CEE TOP 500 - 2023

The 15th CEE Top 500 study provides an insight into the future and summarizes the region’s economic activity for the previous year. Moreover, it describes the condition of the 500 largest companies in CEE by their turnover.

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WEBINAR: COFACE CEE TOP 500 COMPANIES Tuesday, November 7th, 2023 at 10 a.m. CET

Register to our exclusive webinar and gain valuable insights into the CEE region's business landscape!

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Gulf Cooporation Council: A real winner of the global economic headwinds?

After a slowdown in 2023 mainly due to lower energy production and prices, 2024 is expected to be a year of higher economic growth for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as, after several months of pessimism about global oil demand, prices have been on the rise since summer. But all countries are not equal…

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Country and Sector Risk Barometer Q3 2023: Macroeconomics put to the test by microeconomic deterioration

All the leading indicators point to a sharp slowdown in activity in North America and the Eurozone towards the end of the year, and the recovery of the Chinese economy has rapidly collided with structural weaknesses and a lack of confidence among households and businesses. In this context, we have modified 7 country risk assessments (2 upgrades and 5 downgrades) and 33 sector risk assessments (17 upgrades and 16 downgrades).
More in our latest barometer.

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COFACE SA: Moody's upgrades Coface's main operating company to A1 IFSR, stable outlook

The rating agency Moody’s, on 28th September 2023, has upgraded the financial strength rating (Insurance Financial Strength Rating – IFSR) for Coface to A1 from A2. The agency has also changed the outlook for Coface to stable from positive.

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On the way back to the bad old times in 2023's Germany Payment Survey

Although payment behaviour remains in a relatively good shape even after this deterioration, companies are very pessimistic about their business outlook.
Learn more in our full publication.

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Debt sustainability in Africa under the spotlight again

The successive shocks linked to the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine have had a clear negative impact on African economies. They have revealed, materialized and even exacerbated major structural weaknesses. Over-indebtedness and food insecurity, with their economic, political and social ramifications, are the chief hallmarks. Read our press release about it here.

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Transport sector: Recovery takes hold for air transport

While the global macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain, the transport sector has recorded the highest number of risk assessment upgrades in the latest Coface barometer.
Read our expert's analysis now.

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El Niño, a threat to global agriculture

The El Niño weather phenomenon, which is due to return in the 2nd half of 2023, is set to amplify the effects of climate change. Coface's forecasts point to major uncertainties for certain agricultural commodities (cereals, sugar, palm oil, citrus fruit) in the medium term, and significant risks for food security in certain regions of the world. Read our press release here.

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Lost illusions and great expectations in our latest Country and sector risks Barometer

The year 2023 began with great enthusiasm, but in all likelihood it will not be the year that most observers were expecting. The 1st half of the year has reinforced some of our convictions... Read them and our economists' forecasts now.

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Companies in China report shorter payment delays in 2022 and expect higher economic growth in 2023

Coface’ survey shows that fewer firms encountered payment delays in 2022. 40% of respondents reported overdue, down from 53% in 2021. The average payment delay was shortened from 86 to 83 days in 2022. More information here and in our publication.

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Coface records a very good start to the year with a net income of €61.2m

Coface releases its Q1-2023 financial results: a very good start to the year with a net income of €61.2m.

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United Kingdom: Corporate insolvencies are going from zero to a hundred after end of government support measures

In 2022, around 23,400 companies went bankrupt in the United Kingdom, causing corporate insolvencies to reach its highest levels since the 2009 Global Financial Crisis “GFC”.

Read our analysis of this rapid rise in insolvencies.

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A further tightening of the oil market

In early April, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman announced combined oil output cuts of more than 1.1 million barrels per day (b/d), surprising the markets. This commitment follows a first production cut announced in October 2022 by OPEC+. It comes in addition of Russia's decision to cut output by around 500,000 b/d in reaction to the implementation of a EU ban on seaborne imports of Russian oil and oil products.
Read our press release here for more.

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US: Economic resilience could be further tested by a debt ceiling showdown

The United States could run out of cash as early as June 1 if Congress does not suspend or raise the debt ceiling.
As the deadline approaches and a political comprom Janet Yellen recently warned that the US could run out of cash as early as June 1st if Congress does not suspend or raise the debt limit. As a reminder, the debt ceiling is set at 31.4 trillion USD, an amount reached in January 2023. Since then, the federal government has relied to "extraordinary measures" to meet its obligations.

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7 tips for effective credit management and risk protection

Preventing delinquencies or collecting receivables immediately is critical to the survival of many companies. To help you gain insight into your own credit management and improve your business risk prevention, here are seven tips to better protect your business.

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Numerous challenges for companies in CEE result in an increased number of insolvencies

Corporate insolvencies in Central & Eastern Europe increased in 2022 due to high prices when it comes to energy, inputs, series of prompt interest rate hikes, the highest inflation in decades and the uncertainty related to the war in Ukraine.
Read our analysis and download our full study.

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Coface celebrates its 100th anniversary in Germany

Coface Germany celebrates its 100th birthday! The company was founded in March 1923 in Mainz on the initiative of Isaac Fulda, a local banker.
To mark this milestone, Coface is looking back on its history in the country.

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Silicon Valley Bank’s failure highlights heightened financial stability risks amid monetary tightening

California and federal banking regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and seized its deposits citing both illiquidity and insolvency. This is the 2nd largest failure of a U.S. financial institution after Washington Mutual in 2008. Read our expert's analysis of the situation.

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How United is the Kingdom? The Northern Ireland Protocol and Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation

The U.K. is currently experiencing political turmoil, adding to an already difficult economic situation. Read our brief analysis of the situation.

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