Small Businesses Eyeing More Exports.

Most small Canadian companies intend to expand the amount of business they do outside the country over the next five years, according to survey results released Thursday.

The Leger Marketing survey, conducted for Bank of Montreal, showed that 57% plan to grow business in the United States over the five-year period and the same proportion have similar plans for China.

India and Europe also factored among highest priorities among Canadian business leaders as locations to increase exports, with 47% and 38%, respectively, having plans to grow sales there.

Gail Cocker, BMO’s senior vice-president for commercial banking, urged companies to diversify their markets by region.

“In the same way that diversifying an investment portfolio can guard against market volatility, a company that diversifies its sales geographically can achieve the same benefit,” she said.

The survey found that more than three-quarters of the business leaders polled were interested in doing business in emerging-market countries.

BMO said economic growth in developing countries will amount to about 6.5% this year and next, compared to 2.5% in industrialized nations.

“With significant and growing export opportunities to emerging nations and the unprecedented ability to invest through imports, Canadian companies remain well positioned to take on the world,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets.

The survey was conducted online of 507 small-business owners between Feb. 1 and 25. The results are thought to accurately represent Canada’s small-business sector within 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Source : financialpost.com